12.17.2002 | 10:12 pm

All the little boy squirrels who were on the outs with me yesterday, spent today with their desks facing the wall during morning work and reading time. My, oh, my how the dynamics of the room changed. All of the little guys tried extra hard to stay on task and mind their manners. Guess what happenes when little squirrels get busy instead of talk?? All their work is completed in fine form and everyone feels so good about themselves. Nobody felt mistreated or denied a thing after all was said and done. I was able to finish all my individual testing and now parents will be happy I have accurate assessments of their little darlings. Hooray for the grade book! Later on, in the PM, we sat through the �Band Concert� Boy, oh, boy...what a treat the elementary band concert can be. I have to say that it was just the right amount of rhythm, melody and flair for the little squirrels. They loved the whole event. They were rockin� and rollin� to the beat of �You better Watch Out� and other seasonal favorites for a good hour. We totally missed PM recess...with NO tears or groans. When I announced that it was time to go home instead of go to recess, everyone was completely happy that the afternoon was over....including me!

This morning I had playground duty. It was wet from overnight rains. I actually had a parent tell me he �didn�t appreciate me� telling his son to stay out of the water. I don�t get it?? This is the same father who would probably get after for me for allowing his son got all wet and catch cold. Hmmm... is dad just a little sensitive??

My mom is doing much better. It turns out she had a very bad case of bronchitis, not pneumonia. They weren�t able to fully determine that until her x-rays were read. She still sounds like Gravel Gertie. Thanks to my friend l-empress, who informed me that Gravel Gertie was indeed a character from the distant past. She was part of the old Dick Tracy radio series.

I now have a total of 8 (eight) Christmas presents. Believe it or not, that is good for me. I know I will end up shopping like mad on the weekend and then Monday after school lets out. I just can�t seem to find the innards to shop and teach in the same time period. I need to have one chore completely over and done before moving on to the next. That somehow seems odd, when I consider all the multi-tasking I do during a school day. I wonder why I can�t get that skill to transfer to other parts of my life?

My friend, kitchenlogic asked if I would be interested in taking her own two naughty boy squirrels off her hands. She even offered to stamp and send them to me. I politely declined, but I wish her good luck through the holidays with the guys. I think I�ll be lucky to emerge sane and whole at the end of this week to carry on for the family after the little squirrels in my first grade nut tree go home to hibernate for the holidays.

catsnapples~ at first grade and at life

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