Herding Cats

I volunteered at school yesterday, and I was able to help Ella's teacher get some materials prepared for future lessons. I was in and out of the classroom all day. It is like herding cats to direct a classroom full of 19 kindergartners all day. Mrs. Webster has the patience of a saint and a song about every activity. They have songs about how to sit in circle time, songs about how to walk in the hall, songs about listening.

Even the simple act of walking down the hall is excruciating. Those little children can't walk a strait line to save their lives. They giggle and talk. They twirl in circles. They get out of line to run their hands along the wall. They simply stop, turn around and talk to the person behind them. And all the while, Mrs. Webster is as calm as can be trying to get them to walk down the hall in a simple line. I watched a group of first graders today. At some point the lessons do actually sink in because those kids actually understood the principle of walking quietly down the hall in a line.

Now for an Ella brag, Mrs. Webster told me that she is doing tremendously well with her reading. She said she could tell that I had obviously worked at teaching her to read. I'd love to take credit for that, but the things Ella knows about reading she has pretty much figured out on her own! I was very pleased to hear that she is doing well in that area though. Now, if we can just keep her talking under control. I told her that if she came home with good behaviour reports all week that she could pay for a special dessert treat in the cafeteria each Friday. Apparently, I can even put a restriction of no desserts except on Friday on her account.