A fate worse than death . . .

I had a hard time this week getting back into the groove of school . . . I came back on Tuesday and was glad to see my first grade friends for about 3 minutes . . . then they turned into total monsters. I don't know if they were paying me back for being gone Friday and Monday, if they forgot who I was, if they loved the sub ("guest teacher" as they are called now) more than me, or what, but they were being WILD and I in turn, turned into the crabby teacher from hell. When I got home that night, I felt really embarassed at how I had handled the situation . . . it is so easy to get a short temper with them and want to scream if I hear "Mrs. DeeeeHoooog" one more time. But then I started thinking about how funny, innocent and sweet they are . . .

Examples:

I gave a kid snack and he said, "thanks, yo. Peace out."

A little guy had to leave early to go to the dentist and he called it "a fate worse than death."

A little girl had a Polly Pocket and was licking her hair

I have a "shoe tying expert" in my room

A kiddo was being crabby and another kiddo called her "grump girl"

One of my toughest kids brought me a real 4 leaf clover he found in the grass

I could go on and on . . . I adore my 1st grade friends and all their silliness. When I came to school yesterday and kept my attitude positive, we had a fabulous day. It's so easy to let all the management issues (wrangling 23 6 and 7 year olds freaks me out sometimes), but when I focus on how much fun we are having, how much they are learning, how much they are growing as human beings . . . I am in awe . . . I can't imagine a better place to be.