So from the moment I woke up this morning, I felt physically horrible. I'm not sure if it is from the bug that is going around school, the atmospheric pressure changes from the weather that is rolling in this weekend, or the stress of trimester assessments and upcoming report cards, but I just felt all kinds of "ick" today. Because of all of this, it could have easily been a horrible day... but I am happy to report a few little things that made me smile through the ick.
Little Entrepreneurs with Big Hearts
I have a group of about 5 girls who spend their recesses creating artwork that they then trade for donations they plan to send into American Cancer Society. They call it "Canvasses for Cancer". In the past few weeks they have been talking about creating a website, researching the price of renting a P.O. Box, and designing a logo for t-shirts. Just today they were disappointed when the elementary school library catalog turned up zero results for books on "running your own business".
I also caught wind of another charitable endeavor. A co-ed group of students from my class are planning to begin a neighborhood dog-walking business. They want to bring their earnings in to contribute to our school's Pennies for Pasta drive, which benefits leukemia research.
Hug Therapy
The "words of wisdom" during this morning's announcements spoke about recent research on "hug therapy" and how the simple gesture of a hug can help someone prepare heir body and mind for a stressful event. After the message, I joked that maybe I should pass out hugs before our math test later in the day. A few hours later, while preparing to hand out the math test, about six hands shot up in the air. They all wanted hugs. We ended up having a massive group hug before they all headed back to their own desks to quietly complete their tests. The tests have yet to be scored so I can't say if it actually improved their performance... but I'm pretty positive that something more important than bar graphs was picked up today.
Appreciation of the Arts
"Why oh why did I start this Homework Club?!" - me, upon waking up with a horrendous headache and realizing that I had promised 22 kids, who turned in ALL of their homework this month that they could join me for lunch in the classroom today.
Any teacher will tell you that lunchtime is basically holy. Yes, we love our kiddos but we definitely need quiet breaks from them throughout the day - ESPECIALLY when we feel like crap. Well, that was out of the question today so I just had to grin and bear it. Last month, I played music and let kids play games during the lunch and it definitely got noisy but there was no way I could handle that today. Thank goodness for Netflix. I found some old Disney Silly Symphony shorts and they LOVED quietly watching those while they ate. I realized in this age of Pokemon and Spongebob that they really aren't accustomed to good old fashioned cartoons. It was great to hear their genuine laughs and many of them even made a connection to a text we had recently read (an unexpected bonus!)
Fourteen hours since first waking up and yes, my head is still pounding despite the various medicines, tons of caffeine, and after-school nap I attempted today. However, I do have to admit that I am pretty lucky to have a class full of such smart, sweet, little personalities that can bring a smile to my face even on the ickiest of days. :)
That being said... bring on the weekend! T.G.I.F.!
