In response to Aline’s question: working with 19 kids for 7 hours a day is exhausting. Something is always going on that you have to be aware of, and it’s difficult to keep up with the kids (in carpool today, when I asked Barit if she was as tired as I was, she announced: I only get tired after I run around my house 100 times!) who are always going. I guess it’s good to have at least two teachers in the classroom at once, so one of them can have an off-day and the other can be the more aware of the two.

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  ...means a day outside. We ate outside, we played outside, and we rehearsed for the Greek play outside. The main attraction was the sandbox: the boys dug huge crevasse and then filled them with water to make rivers and lakes. It’s a good thing parents pack an extra change of clothes, because everyone was soaked as well as dirty. The invisible rug has been converted into an indoor sandbox.

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 The nesters are warming up to me. I was greeted by name (!) by many, and kids with questions or requests were able to tack my name on the end of their plea. I also felt more like a real teacher: Felicity had me stay in the classroom to help her with miscellaneous jobs instead of joining the kiddos at Library and recess (which I was secretly looking forward to).

Disclaimer: I’m not that good at teaching children yet. Mostly I just observe, though I help the kids during reading, writing, and math work periods. I need practice helping the kids sound out words (I don’t know how much to help them!). Watching Felicity and Robyn work with them is so wonderful, because they know exactly how much to help, how much to praise. The way they tie events from the day and their study of the Greeks into their class plan is stupendous.