School Days

This week I’ve been working (you know, the kind of work, where you get paid money) at the elementary school a few miles down the road. The school is nothing like the elementary schools my kids went to, this school has a huge parking lot with empty spaces and acres and acres of grass for the kids to run and play on.

I’ve been a substitute aid in a couple of kindergarten classes.  It is quite a good fit, if I do say so myself, as I really do excel at crowd control, shoe tying and milk carton opening.

This particular job also includes morning recess duty.  I have to be out of the house at ‘Bad word’-thirty, down the road and into my neon yellow vest, walkie-talkie in hand, before I’ve had my second cup of coffee.  Day 1, someone even called me on the walkie-talkie, which was not good, as I did not actually know how to use the darn thing.  Luckily, for all I did figure it out, as we had an emergency situation to deal with, a ball for the younger kids was in the older kids area and I was being alerted to assist in rectifying the situation.  Let me remind you, in case you are not a kid…recess is serious stuff!

By the middle of the week, the situation had improved as I’d learned that recess supervisors are allowed to drink coffee while on the play ground, this really is a good safety measure for all involved.  I’ve had to learn the updated rules for tether ball, monkey bar etiquette and what to do when ‘they’re not playing fair”!  Today found me in a four square game, as there were not enough kids to get the game started, which meant we had to add a new and important rule…all four square boys agreed upon the new rule as it being best for all involved…the new rule?  “Go easy on the old person, and don’t spill her coffee”.