Teaching is not for the weak

I seriously do not know how teachers do it. Everyday. All day. All that kid energy! Whew, exhausted just thinking about it!

Our school had it's first field trip this week. We took 75 K-3 kids to the freaking ballet.

Granted, it was a 50 minute performance of Alice in Wonderland that incorporated ballet and hip hop and it was geared specifically for young audiences, but wow quite an adventure for our first outing.

I was in charge of four kindergarteners two of which were mine. Man four kids is a lot. (yes, Linds, I was thinking about you all day)

It really wasn't that bad except the walking all 75 kids from the theatre to the park in which we planned on having lunch. It was 5 or 6 blocks through downtown at lunchtime. And then finding half of the "Occupy" protesters camping in our lunch spot. And then the scowls we got from the regular occupants of the park as 75 kids descended screaming and hollering as if they had been forced to sit nicely and watch a ballet for an hour. It was fun.

I find I am much more relaxed when it comes to the safety of my own kids, you know as opposed to the safety of kids that don't belong to me. I was terrified that one if my charges would get lost, abducted or run over by a car.

By the time we got back to the school I was done. My whole being was exhausted. Ms Kari said field trips are really exhausting and that the everyday is much easier. That being said, as room mom I'm buying her a case of wine for her holiday, birthday, and teacher appreciation week gifts. A case for EACH!!!

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Kindergarten

It has been quite a struggle getting the boys launched into kindergarten. I spent so much time researching, agonizing, and visiting schools. I spoke to parents, principals, and teachers. I finally made a decision and then the school closed, just seven weeks before school was to begin.

Needless to say there was panic, stress, and then some. I e-mailed and called and visited my second, third, fourth, and some new choices. I crashed parent meetings to get our names on wait lists. I then heard
that out of the ashes of my first choice a new school was rising.

The rest is a long and tedious story of waiting, literally the Thursday before our second choice school started our school found a location. Ten days later our school opened. Let me say this again. They found a location and in ten days a group of hardworking and dedicated parents cleaned, painted, moved furniture, set up classrooms and had the school opened.

We are now in our fourth week, and while driving 500 miles a week is already old, I am sure the boys are where they were meant to be.


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