In a Perfect World

Today was a special day.  I had TEN students absent!  Now, while I enjoy all of the students in my classroom, there is nothing like having your class list diminish by almost 50% over night.  I went through the same mental process anyone in my position probably would.  First step: denial.  Surely there was a late bus, or late breakfast eaters.  Something must be going on, but certainly these students will be showing up in due time.  Second step: hope.  Call the office just to make sure they know what's going down in Room 136.  Yep, they know all those students are absent.  No late bus, no breakfast eaters, but a lot of families calling in sick.  Third step: tentative acceptance.  It never hurts to be too cautious.  Any of these students could wander in by 9:30 or 10:00.  Better not get too comfortable.  Fourth step: adjusting.  Feeling pretty good.  Things are easy going.  Wondering how to make this special day worthwhile (We ended up taking our recess out on the "snow mountain"....not something I would allow all 22 five-year-olds a chance to do.)  Fifth (and final) step: carefree bliss.  Smiling from ear-to-ear.  Enjoying students individually.  Able to give everyone a chance to contribute.  For me, this was a pretty good alternative to the snow day that everyone has been begging for.

In a perfect world I would have 12 students every day!  First of all the number twelve is divisible by 2, 3, and 4.  That's pretty exciting in the land of small groups and partnerships.  If I had twelve students I could have three 20 minute guided reading groups with only 4 kids in each group!  If I had twelve students I could let everyone have a chance to write on the board, or contribute to a discussion, or have a daily "helping job".  If I had twelve students I would be able to enjoy each individual personality, rather than feeling like I'm running an assembly line of learning.

We ended our special day with some good old fashioned cleaning.  Clearly something had infested our room.  We had some help getting all of our toys washed up (thanks paras!).  I gave the kids some wipes and let them have at it.  They joyfully scrubbed chairs, tables, and shelves.  Everyone helped put away the freshly washed toys.  We proclaimed that our room would be clean and ready for all of our sick friends to come back to school.  "Best day ever."