Indoor Recess

I wish I had a scanner so I could show everyone the lovely pictures that I received today during indoor recess.  The 2nd graders I had were quite delightful and I had five kids draw pictures for me to take home.  Adorable.

But first things first.  I got called for a 2nd grade class today and made my way over to yet another elementary school.  Not only did the teacher leave me really excellent notes but she also has a teacher's aid.  So I was golden for yet another class.  I feel totally lucky to have struck gold four times in a row.  The aid was so useful - she kept kids focused, checked to make sure they turned in their homework, and organized all of the worksheets they turned in today.  I'm sure this is what she usually does, but I think with a substitute in the room it is even more important that an adult who knows the rules is around.

The day went very smoothly.  The kids went to language class right away in the morning and that gave me time to read through all of the notes the teacher left and organize all of the worksheets.  Morning meeting went well, the kids did a really good job staying quiet.  They seemed to really respect me today.  There was a lot of noise and scramble between activities and I had to wait for kids to sit and be quiet a few times but I think that must be standard.  There was an overly helpful girl who was a bit annoying and a boy who clearly has some sort of mental disability and needed extra attention.

Unlike kindergarten, I got to eat lunch with the teachers and they were really nice and chatted with me.  I am amazed that all of them are under 30 and many not married.  I remember my teachers being way older when I was in school.

Generally I've found (and I'm sure this is just so common sense, but I really had to see it in action to understand it) that the kids really respond if you ask them to be helpers and give them encouragement when they do any little thing.  They also just want to be heard so if you let them tell your their story about whatever then they'll be happy.  Story hour is the worst for the kids - they raise their hands for practically every page and they always start out with "One time..." or "My brother/sister/aunt/cousin..." and are long and drawn out if you don't stop them when it no longer relates.  Books took forever to read today!

And now I will enjoy the weekend.  I'm sad that the school system had this past Tuesday off and next Thursday off 'cause I'm losing money!