Mrs. Gordon

Yes, that's my new name, according to some kindergarteners. I subbed for the second time on Friday. This time I was in kindergarten class. Unlike last week's resource room, I had no down time to speak of! It was busy, busy, busy all day, even though there were only 15 kids! Each age has bright spots. The great thing about kindergarten is that they warm up to you quickly (I even got a beautiful picture made for me!), they don't try to pull one over on you to get away with things they shouldn't, they are overly anxious to help in any way that they can, and the curriculum and activities are so fun. Lots of singing, etc. On the flipside of that is that they have a very structured routine usually (with calendar and specific ways of transitioning, etc) and can have difficulty adjusting if you don't do things exactly the way Mrs. _________ does it, they tattle and tell (which drives me crazy), and they cannot seem to remember my name. I always write it on the board and make a big deal of practicing it (we wave "hi" for HY, and I point to the door for DOR, and then we add an "n" sound. So these precious, not yet reading, children look at my name, make valiant efforts to sound it out, and usually fail, which sometimes results in hysterical laughter (only on the inside) on my part. I have been Mrs. Hydork, Mrs. Hydorf, Mrs. Hydron, and, my personal favorite, Mrs. Hardon. Friday brought a new name- Mrs. Gordon. I think they remembered the OR sound because we had emphasized that, and he went with Gordon. The funny thing was when one little boy started saying it,(and he said it every 5 minutes because he had many important things to tell me!) everyone began calling me Mrs. Gordon. We practiced again a little while later and then they began getting it right! Oh, the funny stories I will probably accumulate as I sub in many different classrooms this year!

I have a sick one home today. Brennan is complaining of a stomachache. I'm still trying to determine exactly what the issue is. I know he is not feeling 100%, I can tell that, but I'm not sure how "sick" he really is either. Allergies and his asthma might be a factor because he told me it hurts when he breathes. Hmmm... It's so hard to know what to do on days like these. I would hate to send him to school when he really isn't feeling well. As a teacher, I have seen that done too many times, and I always felt so sorry for the student who really should have been at home, but yet I don't want him to think he can just tell me he's "sick" and then get to stay home because TV seems more appealing. I won't let him play. He does have to lay down, but I do let the kids watch TV.

Not much else to report. The garage is almost done. Just the back side for Gary to side, and then he has to paint the house and garage. The siding project has gone on for exactly 3 months now, and has pretty much consumed all of my husband's free time. I am proud of him for working so diligently on it. He has an incredible work ethic, and the job looks wonderful.

Bradley's first football game is tonight. We have to go to Adel. I hope they win! All I know is that they have been practicing hard for weeks. He comes home dripping in sweat every night from all of the running and plays they have done. Don't get me wrong- I think it's good for him. It would be good for me to come home dripping in sweat from exercise!

Well, I best get something done. Toodles for now.