On the first day back...

I knew that today would be interesting, being the first day back from Winter Break and all. I figured the kids would be hyper, we'd all be tired, and it would be hard to get back into a routine.

I had no idea.


The most notable thing that happened today was right in the middle of science, an hour before school ended. Here we were, all spread out all over the floor. We were building ramps with cardboard and clothespins, building "rollers" with different sized buttons and straws, and rolling them down our ramps. Then the electricity went out. My kids, of course, screamed. Because obviously, when the electricity goes out, it couldn't possibly mean anything other than that "the gremlin" is coming to get you. I learned that today, by the way. After they calmed down, it was apparant that the lights were not coming right back up. I got my flashlight out and did my best to shine it around the room so the kids could see their ramps. This worked for a while, until people started losing buttons, breaking straws, and tripping over things in the dark which resulted in falling on (and breaking) the ramps.

So Science was over early today. We packed up in the dark and I read aloud out of our chapter book (by flashlight) until the end of the day. I remembered tutoring at about 2:40 and then called 7 parents to cancel it last minute due to having no power. I had to speak Spanish to two of them, since there was no time to find a translator. My end of the conversation went something like this: "Despues de escuela, no hay tutoring." Complete sentences? No. Grammatically correct? Probably not. Got the point across? Bingo.
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I also have a problem with trying to reason too much with 6 year olds. Today I had this conversation.

Me: K, is it appropriate to be playing with your eraser like it's a gun?
K: Yes.
Me: K, appropriate means that it's okay. When something is right to do, it is appropriate. Is playing with your eraser right to do?
K: No.
Me: So is it appropriate to be playing with your eraser like it is a gun?
K: Yes.
Me: (repeat meaning of "appropriate" and cite several examples). So is it appropriate to be playing with your eraser and pretending it's a gun?
K: (shakes head no) Yes.

I guess he figured he couldn't go wrong with both answers. Oh well.
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Today T was throwing a huge fit right about the time indoor recess was about to start. After several unsuccessful attempts to calm him down, I called the aide from his class to come get him, as he did not deserve to do recess with us today. Upon seeing her enter our classroom, he started screaming bloody murder. I had to actually stop what I was doing because I couldn't even hear myself over the noise. He laid down and started kicking people and objects uncontrollably. Eventually, he had to be carried out by two adults - one at his feet and one at his hands.



...So would you say today was a crazy day?



I'd say that's an understatement.