A whole buncha love.

So I'm finally on the road to recovery which is a great thing seeing as I was tired of getting my tush kicked by a cold. Hopefully once this is gone that nothing will come back until after May... I've taken the advice of several and invested in some Airborne. Apparently it works pretty well. I think I just like it because it's effervescent. :P

A few things that were notable today:

1) A runs up to me, holding her panda book. "Pandas can mate when they are three or four years old. Miss Chelsea, what does MATE mean?" Yeah, never thought I'd have to even touch the whole sex issue in 2nd grade. I started laughing, trying to think of a way to say it without having a parent come after me. Bless little S's heart because she chimed in and asked, "Isn't that like a 'couple'? Like a Mom and Dad?" I replied, "Why yes. That's exactly what it means. Thank you, S. So, it means when a Mommy and Daddy decide to have babies." Oh, the preciousness of kids. I love it!

2) For the first time since September, I finally saw some technology in the classroom. Ms. DT used a projector and laptop to show a slideshow on China. The kids got a big kick out of it because Ms. DT was the narrator and began as if everyone was in an airplane about to take off. The students were all into it, pretending to buckle their seats and prepare themselves for takeoff. Again, I love it!

3) Ms. DT didn't come back into the classroom until after Writing should have started... so I made the transition by myself and got the kids to start writing about their weekends. I was a little nervous because I didn't know if I'd be stepping on toes (one reason I don't like student teaching-- you never know if you're crossing over too much!), but I did it anyway, and Ms. DT seemed thankful. I even enforced our star system and got perfect behavior. Talk about a confidence booster!! I really, really hope I can find a 2nd grade job next year.

4) I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day. BUT. Now that I'm in a classroom again, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. Maybe because of the innocence of 7 year olds, it's a tolerable, even cute holiday. Fun stuff happens and the cuteness begins with giving out valentines. I even bought little Peanuts valentines to give out (I thought of you, EB, when I bought them!)!

5) The past 2 days that I've been in school has been neat. I find myself connecting more to the teachers there. Ms. DT and I aren't so different after all. We end up chatting for quite a bit at different free times. At lunch today, I even chatted with a few of the other teachers. I guess I just had to prod a little to get a bit of a welcoming feeling.

6) Another awesome thing about 2nd grade-- Hellooooo, girl scout cookies. Every girl is involved with Girl Scouts in one way or another. I have access to the cookies! I cannot BELIEVE they are $4.00 now though. What's up with that? Back in my day, it was $2.00 a box. Pfft. AND they changed the name of Samoas. They're now "Caramel deLites"?!! No. No. Not right.

I REALLY love not having real classes right now. I really, really, really love it. It means that I come home, settle into comfy clothes, relax, get chores done, prepare for tomorrow, organize here and there, and even work at my own pace on my thesis. If this is what teaching is like, then bring it on! I'm going to love it!

Because I just started walking the recovery road, today wore me out. I had no energy. So because I got everything I wanted to get done, I'm heading off to bed as soon as my blanket finishes its cycle in the washer and dryer. Ohhhh, I could so get used to this schedule.

- Miss Chelsea :)