01.14.2003 | 9:58 pm

I had a foreboding feeling as I rifled through my purse, not finding my keys, that today would be a day I�d be sorry I didn�t have those keys. The reason for that foreboding didn�t become apparent until late in the afternoon, but the reason, when it did rear it�s ugly head, was BIG and aggravating. Inevitably during the school year, I find myself half-way to school and realize my school keys are at home, or hopefully just locked in my room. Since all our classrooms are inside, I normally don�t lock my door when I leave. The janitress does it for me. Having acquired this habit, the consequence is that I can leave school and not realize I don�t have my keys with me till the next morning, when I�m back on the road, headed to school. Today was one of those days. No keys in the purse....they must be in my room at school. All I need do is find Bob, the head honcho janitor, and he could open my door. Well....open door, search desk, search computer desk, look under papers...no keys. Oh, well. Back to the office I went for the spare and my problem was solved.

The day sailed smoothly along except for: Mia getting sick with 101 degree temperature, Mrs. C (an occasional parent helper) showing up and sending the class into a dither, the nurse calling three times to get information about Mia while I was trying to do reading groups...nothing really out of the ordinary. After lunch we wrote in journals and jumped right into an art project. We were to make big, Emperor penguins by tracing out and gluing the body parts together. The project required tracing and cutting six different pieces using three colors. The whole class was tracing, cutting and gluing diligently, except for Christopher who was in a *snit* because cutting is hard, when we suddenly ran out of time. It was time to drop everything and trot on down to the cafeteria for an assembly. So we did. The assembly was terrific...full of singing and dancing, but we definitely needed to break for recess when it was finished.

Out at recess the sun was shining, the skies were clear and blue, the children were playing happily, and there was a stray dog on the playground...a stray dog!!! AHHH! Instantly the squirrels from all six first grade classes went ballistic! The girls ran around screaming, while most of the boys wanted to chase the poor thing, Mrs. Painter, the other teacher on duty with me, went to get Bob, the trusty head janitor from earlier in the day. I was alone on the playground, with 120 squirrels, a stray dog...and NO whistle. Yes fans, the teachers friend to keep large groups from killing things, my whistle was on the key chain with my school keys, at home. DOUBLE UGH. It was pandemonium to say the least. Even when the other adults returned, not a soul of age six or seven appeared to understand a word of English. Of course, Mrs. Painter did not have her whistle either. Poor Bob was frustrated to no end trying to corner the stray dog in the midst of the 120 squirrels in every state of panic to frenzy on a 10 acre play ground.

Using my finest and biggest operatic lungs, I ordered all the kids off the monkey bars, swings and turf and into their lines. We trudged into the building only to face the unfinished penguins. I quickly hustled everyone back to work, except for Christopher. He had become quite obstinate about even trying to finish. I asked Logan, then Matthew to help. Finally I started to see some progress. All of a sudden, there in the doorway was Maddison�s mother with her guinea pig for show and tell. The class was on the verge of a boil over. I looked at mom in frustration and fatigue, and said, �We�ve had a busy afternoon.� (Fib and understatement) As fast as I could draw breath, I rattled off about five instructions which produced the final result of everyone being cleaned up, packed up, penguins drying on desks, and all the little kiddos sitting in a circle, so as to not squish the guinea pig. It all worked out in the end, but I sure did miss my whistle today.

catsnapples~ in first grade and at life

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