Today was: Great

Today was great, except that I felt WAY tired all day [yesterday was really exhausting], and now I feel like I'm getting sick again [so soon!]. Well, it's easy to pick up nasty viruses when you've got 20 kids sneezing and coughing in your face all day. I swear to you that today, when we were sitting on the rug, I ran my finger across the carpet and felt something gooey stick to my finger. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was an ENORMOUS SNOT BALL. I almost threw up. Panicked, I immediately ran over to get a tissue but couldn't find the tissue box, so, I sprinted over to the nearest thing that caught my eye: the recycling bin. After rubbing my finger on a piece of scrap paper, I then composed myself enough to go over to the sink and wash my hands. ICKY.

Miles and I really didn't get a chance to talk much today about how yesterday went for me. When I got to school this morning, we talked briefly, but only while we were frantically getting things ready for the day. After school, the Speech & Language teacher talked Miles' ear off [a specialist with the district had been in the room earlier in the day to take a look at the girl with autism], then a former para with the school stopped in to talk to Miles, and then he had to leave early for a dentist appointment. What's worse, tomorrow morning Miles has a meeting with the Principal, and then tomorrow after school there is a cluster meeting [the kindergarten and 1st grade teachers talk about stuff] and then I have to leave early to get to my seminar by 4:30. I don't go into school on Friday, and there is no school on Monday [Indigenous People's Day - no WAY does this district celebrate Columbus Day], so the next opportunity that we'll have to talk is on Tuesday. OH, and Miles is going to be gone all day on Wednesday, again. Not sure if I'm going to be taking over on that day or not...

A para who works half the day with the girl in the wheelchair approached me today and said, "I just wanted to tell you that you did an AMAZING job yesterday. I mean, you were FANTASTIC." Wow. Then, when we had Community Circle time after lunch and went around the circle saying how we felt today, when it was her turn she said, "I feel happy. But, I also want to say that Eric handled things perfectly yesterday and he should be very proud of himself. He did a GREAT job." Double wow.

The girl with autism had a pretty good day. Monday and today she has worked with me while we were doing some Math book pages as a group on the rug. Initially, she resisted, but when I got out her book and set it on the rug [along with a pencil] next to me, she came over and sat down and got to work - no explanation on what exactly to do necessary - she just sat down and started circling all of the circles, etc. She did so well, and worked so diligently [after she completed each section she grabbed my arm, pointed repeatedly at what she did, and then I said "Good job!" and gave her a "thumbs up"], that I gave her a sticker for her efforts [it was decided at her IEP meeting Monday afternoon that she should be given these as a reward].

Oh, and speaking of Community Circle and the girl with autism: as we go around the circle, with each person getting a chance to answer the posed question, a white stuffed bear is passed. The rule is: the person holding Honey Bear [the bear's name] is the only person that should be speaking. EVERY DAY, when Honey Bear is passed to the girl with autism, she holds it close to her for a couple of seconds, and then passes it on. It's SO cute - like, she sees other people hold it and then pass it on, so, even though she doesn't want to say anything, she still does what everyone else does. Painfully adorable.

I thought you might like to know the lyrics to Mimi Mouse's song - we met her today. It's just as embarrassing and ANNOYINGLY infectious as Sammy Seal's song. In case you REALLY want to hum along, it's sung in a "jazz-style" to the tune of This Old Man:

Mimi Mouse, Mimi Mouse,
Minds her manners in the house.
When she sips her milk,
she never makes a mess.
Mud pies never stain her dress.

[And then, much to my gut-wrenching horror, the singer on the tape actually SCATS a bit!]

Mud pies??

I have to take a test on Saturday, and I'm starting to get freaked out about it. I haven't mentioned it before because I'm trying not to think about it. It's called the RICA, and, barring anything going horribly wrong in the next 9 weeks of my Student Teaching, it's the only thing that stands between me and my FINALLY getting my Credential and being able to FINALLY get my own classroom. Not much pressure at all.