Glad To Be Back!

Today was a hoot! My kiddos were remarkably well behaved considering it was our first day back from spring Break AND we had indoor recess because of construction. Ongoing construction I might add, meaning that we will probably have indoor recess for at least a few more days. I may be singing a completely different tune by the end of the week, in that case, but for today I really enjoyed being back at work!

I have to be honest and say that part of it was due to my class ham having moved away. Loved that kid to death but his antics required me to keep an eagle eye on him at all times! I also had two absentees - guess the week off wasn't long enough for them!

 Coincidentally those two are also my talkers/arguers. You know, those kiddos who, when you say "Get out a pencil." will, instead, proceed to either a) tell you a story all about the time their sister took their pencil or b) tell you that it's not time for writing, you're supposed to be going to Music, even though you are the teacher AND  you can tell time whereas he can't.

So yes, I was down to my best 18 today, but it was still a really good day and I was proud of how well we behaved considering we had a week to forget about procedures! We didn't do anything all that earth-shattering, although we did write about our Spring Break experiences and I realized that I really need to do something about their propensity to use "And" at the beginning of every other sentence. Example:

Yep, definitely have to teach them about "also" and "then".

What's that? You want to know about the chicken?? You mean you weren't there during spelling when every time I introduced a spelling word one of my darlings managed to use it in a sentence about her dog/chicken disaster? Well, it went something like this:

Me: Our first spelling word is "sadly". "Sadly" is an adverb that describes how something is done, for example, "I forgot to do my homework, the first grader said sadly."

Chicken Girl: Or like "Sadly, my dog ate my chicken."

Me: Um, yes. Moving on, our next word is "badly". "If you behave badly you might get sent to the principal's office" (cue horrified gasps from 1/2 the class)

Chicken Girl: Or "My dog behaved badly when he ate my chicken."

Me:  Ahh..yes, um...good example. Our next word is "slowly". Can anyone think of a sentence with "slowly" in it?

Chicken Girl: "My chicken died slowly in my dog's stomach."

Me: Well, hopefully it wasn't slowly, I'm sure he went quickly. Hey that's our next word! "Quickly". does someone else, anyone else, have a sentence using the word quickly?? (Cue crickets as everyone looks at Chicken Girl)

Chicken Girl (waving hand wildly): "My dog quickly ate my chicken in two bites!"

Me: Ooookay. let me see, what's our next spelling word...(I reviewed the list, ruling out "painful" for obvious reasons), "Playful"! That's a fun word isn't it? It has the ay dipthong and the -ful suffix! Let's think of sentences with "playful".

Chicken Girl: "My chicken was very playful before my dog ate it!"

Me: Well, that's it for spelling today, let's move on to our next activity! (cue chorus of complaining firsties) Yes, I know I said there were 13 words and we only went over 5 words. The rest are going to be surprises for your homework tonight! Won't that be fun?!

I feel compelled to mention that Chicken Girl did not seem unduly distressed by the chicken fiasco, more thrilled that she had such a fascinating subject and everyone was hanging on her every word.

I really have nothing to add to this post, so I will close it with a picture homage to one funny lady, Staci, aka Miss Squirrel!  I took these pictures last summer at the pool and I couldn't delete them without sharing!

I'd love it if you'd Rustle Up A Response below! Honestly, any comment will do, even if you just want to tell me I'm crazy for posting pictures of squirrels in costumes!