Food rationing and the first day of school

I have a few observations I just want to put out there:

1) In the real world, without a meal plan, pizza is a better option than any other food. That, and intermittent meals of indulgence will get you through the week.

2) As a Jew, I can't believe I've been missing NY bagels all my life.

3) Use discretion in everything you do, be it cooking or lying to the doorman.

Enough of that. Thursday was my first day of public school revisited. The school is immaculate, and their head janitor/handyman/superman is capable of amazing feats. For example: I walked into the classroom on my first day, met with the teacher, and put my belongings in the closet she uses for storing her purse. It was a bit cramped, so I put my backpack on the floor of the closet behind the boxes she had stacked up. I heard her say something like, "Oh, don't put it there, there's paper--" so I quickly picked it up and realized a piece of sticky mouse trap paper was on the bottom. As I started to peel it off, we both heard a squeaking, and I saw a pair of little eyes and a furry round body was stuck to the paper. Well, I almost screamed, Isabel screamed, and we called the aforementioned man to help us (which he did, and quickly.)

But that was only in the first 10 minutes. The rest of the day was far less chaotic, and as soon as I met the students, I realized how perfect this placement is.

They are very responsive, respectful students. They chatter a little bit when they're full of energy at the beginning of the day. But Isabel is good at getting them to focus and to think "deeper" (her word.) I forgot how much bigger the girls are than the boys at this age! Maybe I never noticed? We have some very quiet students with a tendency to play with their pencils or tap their fingers. Some students hardly say anything, then light up at a joke from one of their friends. Several students have hall/classroom jobs, such as holding the door while the class moves through the halls, being a classroom secretary, and passing out papers. I'm still reeling from the fact that there are so many "progressive" (I use the word loosely because I'm still not sure what it means) approaches here. The principal (who is also wonderful) made an announcement on Friday that my fifth graders will have a special privilege this year. Instead of their teachers walking them from class to class, they will be able to walk themselves.

I would like to add a picture of a bronze frog donated to the school by Tom Otterness, a sculptor who believed that the kids were so jumpy they needed a frog in their playground:

Everything is new and shiny right now, even the rug I got from Target (It really ties the room together.) Last night we went to a Jazz concert at the Society of Unique Artists. It was an art gallery doing a tribute to 9/11 firefighters and rescuers. Pretty neat stuff.

That's all for now!