(Devil's) Day in the Life

From 6/6/6...Many, many, many days late due to exhaustion, report cards, Blogger being down and several other factors. Maybe I'll get July's done within a day or two...NAH.

0630: alarm goes off. I ignore it and hit snooze.

0639: see above.

0648: see above.

0657: see above.

0706: see above.

0715: jump up in a panic, since usually I leave the house at 0720.

0716: do my usual getting ready stuff. Weigh myself...I'm at 163 lbs.

0729: leave the house and begin driving to Gigabyte.

0730: get irritated at morning DJs talking about (oooh...scary...) how today is evil and/or commercials and/or that stupid Miss New Booty song and change the station.

0736: see above.

0739: see above.

0746: see above and continue until the end of the drive.

0812: arrive at school, dump my stuff in the classroom and sit down to make sure my stuff is organized for today. It is, because I have to have everything ready for the next day before I leave. I do various stuff around the classroom, chat with my sponsor teacher and the special needs worker. I also check with the other teachers in my open area to see if they're interested in coming out to the field to watch us let the butterflies go this morning.

0845: the bell rings and I let in my students. They're adorable, as always. They go and do their noisy reading and I read with some of them.

0858: Subject 392-B wanders in late, as usual. Probably visiting the library and talking to the librarian. This happens a lot. I'm a little annoyed, but whatever. It happens. A lot. I pick my battles.

0900: I stop the reading and call everyone to the carpet for attendance. I explain that it's time to let our butterflies go so that they can live in the wild. There is a general outcry because they've gotten very attached to the butterflies. So have I...but I know it will be less traumatic for the kids if the butterflies are gone than if they all die in their tank. I answer a ton of questions. (aside: for some reason we aren't allowed to release butterflies that can survive in our area, even if they're native to the area. I can understand if they're invasive species, but Monarch butterflies are on the decline here...so wouldn't it be a good thing to raise and release some to help the population? /soapbox)

0910: We head down to the field, soccer ball in hand, for the release party. All three classes stand in a circle with the butterflies in the middle. The butteflies are going crazy in the tank because they're feeling sunlight for the first time since they were eggs (if then!). We talk about expectations for when the butterflies take off (don't run around, if they land on you don't squish them, etc. [It's a good idea to outline expectations for five year olds...things aren't as obvious to them as to we who have some life experience.])

0912: The lid is lifted off the butterfly tank and some of them flutter out immediately. They land on the grass around us, slightly dazed by the fact that there is so much FREEDOM all of a sudden! They had been in a ten or fifteen gallon tank for the last while, and a tiny dixie cup as caterpillars. My sponsor teacher and I lift out the reluctant butterflies and hold them on our fingers for a moment before letting them go. The butterflies begin scattering. I have three butterflies on my hands and show them to the circle of students.

0915: We watch the butterflies for a while, then begin heading up to the playground. I carry three butterflies whose wings aren't working very well off to the side of the field and through the fence. My sponsor teacher makes the call that playing soccer on a field with a multitude (22, minus the three I moved) of butterflies on it, may not be such a good idea.

0916: Sparrows start swooping around the field. I distract the students. These butterflies aren't going to be breeding anyway. I'm not sad...I didn't actually SEE any get eaten...

0920: The kids play on the playground for a while.

0940: We bring the kids in and get ready for a lesson before recess. I panic slightly because I had planned for two periods of butterfly release, not just one.

0945: Teach a lesson about the rainforest. (There will now be a massive lack of detail because this was almost a month ago.)

1025: Recess. I have my snack and plan for what else I'm going to be doing in the afternoon.

1040-1205: Teach a few things...worry that I'm singling out Subject 392-B for misbehaviour that I would allow with other kids.

1205: K's go home, I go to the staff room for lunch. My sponsor teacher has left to go to the zone track and field meet so I have a sub this afternoon.

1250: I let the 1's in from outside and we do some more rainforest lessons. I teach everything except math.

305: I let the 1's out to go home. One of the kids's moms is late, as usual. Whatever. I threaten him with making him do all the chores in the classroom until she gets there, as usual. He squeals and protests, as usual. His mom picks him up.

310-450: I kill time at the school until it's time for me to leave and go to my sponsor teacher's house across a bridge to another municipality/city.

520: I arrive a little early and wait until he shows up.

530-700: We work on report cards and have dinner (tacos) with his wife and two daughters. I see the family pets...a dog who won't stop yapping at me, a lizard and a medium large fish tank. Coooooool. I show one of my kata to my ST's daughter who is in tae kwon do and showed me one of her forms.

700-1000: General chatting about teaching (ST's wife is also a teacher) until their friend shows up and I learn how to play euchre. I'm pretty terrible.

1000: I go home and am in bed by midnight.