I went to work today to sub for the Spanish teacher who is also the pastor who married us almost two years ago! I anticipated a fairly easy day since I actually still remember a lot of the Spanish I learned when I was in school (3 years in junior high, 4 years in high school, and 2 semesters in college since my college advisor kind of pushed to continue with it instead of starting a new language like I had wanted). Though I might not remember the words right off the bat if you were to ask me, a good chunk of it comes back when I actually see it written. Plus, it's still middle school level Spanish and not college level!
The classes were easy for me and pretty straightforward as 8th grade was working on a project in preparation for their trip to a Spanish restaurant and 7th grade had lessons on "estar + adjective" phrases. I still remembered all the words except I did learn the word apurado (ex. "Estoy apurado" = I'm in a hurry). Those were the easier periods of the day. But then I also had lunch duty. Twice. Yes, I had to do lunch duty for both lunch periods!
First lunch is always easy as it's all the middle school kids and Pre-K and kindergarten. The assistant teacher is with the Pre-K kids, so they're always under control. A few of the kids in kindergarten might need a gentle reminder to continue eating their lunches, but other than that, they're also well-behaved as well. Middle school is the easiest. The only issues might be calming a handful of the girls who get a little loud, but other than that, they know the rules of the lunchroom and follow directions.
Unfortunately, second lunch is a completely different story with the 1st through 5th graders. The 3-5th graders are usually well-behaved, and even if they get a little rowdy, a simple correction or a nice "You won't have recess" threat gets them in line. The younger ones are a handful though as there's a constant need for "Sit down the right way; I don't want you to fall" or "Why are you out of your seat?" The elementary school kids also have higher pitched voices, so their voices seem much louder to my ears.
Recess gets even crazier whether they're in the gym or outside. Since there was supposed to be rain, I kept them indoors so the chaos was a little bit more insane. I had to deal with a lot of reprimanding and dealing with minor injuries and a few tears (from a kid, not from me, haha). One of the boys had a sweatshirt that zipped all the way up to the tip of the hood to completely cover his face. He zipped it up, and I told him that he wasn't allowed to have his hood on like that in school, so he undid it. Just a minute or two later, it was zipped up again all the way so I told him to sit out because was disobedient right after I corrected him. Immediately, the pleading began. "Can I just have one more chance?! I promise I won't do it again!" No amount of begging would change the consequence, but once he sat down, he started saying, "Is it for all of recess? When can I get up? Can I go play?" No, kid, NO! The more he asked, the more it reaffirmed my decision for having him sit out for the rest of recess, which was really only 5 minutes anyway.
Besides, I had to deal with two of the upper elementary school boys who were arguing about accidental versus intention "tackling" when grabbing the basketball in their game of Knockout. I said to them that if they couldn't get over whatever happened, they could both just sit out and not play at all. Sometimes it's kind of funny noticing that more of the drama occurs with the boys than it does with the girls!
When the bell finally rang, I looked at my mom who has to experience second lunch every day and mouthed, "Thank God!" Phew, I survived. Haha, and the kids did too. Even though there are some kids who continuously misbehave and need correction, I also do love seeing the quieter ones or the helpful ones who make it easier on me. There were a few younger boys who were trying to protect a group of girls as they reenacted a wedding because some naughty boys were trying to mess with their pretending. Then there were two other boys who were helpful in getting all the balls collected and put back in the sack. I see the kids like that and know that their parents taught them well!
I was exhausted by the end of the day and eagerly awaited my return home! My mom and I stopped by just a few places on the way back to the house. One of the stops was AC Moore, but I didn't part with any of my money because I really felt that I worked really hard today to earn it! I did snap a quick picture of one of my favorite parts of the store. I just like seeing such a wide assortment of colors when it comes to the two widths of ribbon that I purchase. I was going to pick up some white or silver since those neutral colors work well for treat bags and such regardless of the cardstock color or pattern, but then I just couldn't deal with the idea of spending part of today's paycheck! I'll be back for them in the future when I need 'em! It just makes more sense to purchase it there as it always has the outlet pricing since I wouldn't exactly use 50% coupons at Michaels, haha.
But for now, I think the reward for a long day is going to be SLEEP. Oh, how wonderful that sounds, doesn't it?
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