Little Lovely Creeps

October! Finally!

School has become a welcome routine, though sometimes I feel more like a student than a teacher. There's one thing missing though, that weird twist of the stomach that I am forgetting some homework or test. For some reason that's gone away, even though I have a lot more to keep track of now. Music lessons have begun and I teach beginning piano, beginning trumpet, beginning mallets, and french horn. Today I even lassoed a painting student! Oh, and I'm the accompanist for the Lower School choir. With the extra cash I should be able to afford all that travel I have been dreaming about, not to mention that I'll be teaching my favorite subjects.

Last weekend was Family Day and I was impressed by the paella pans. I am not sure my pictures do them justice. The paella is cooked on a camp fire with rice, saffron, sea food, and sometimes vegetables. The shrimp often still sport their creepy antenne and legs so I'm not the biggest fan of the non-vegetarian version. Luckily the school has begun to sympathize with those of us who are less enthusiastic about meat. My favorite lunch ladies already know to get me the vegetarian lentejas and will even let me know if the fish has ham slices slipped into the breading. They joke with me in Spanish and I pretend to understand. The lovely lady pictured with me and the paella is my roomie, Anna. What a good sport.

Today was the first day of "Garden" for my second graders. The real teacher, Susan, is nuts about science and gardening. Lucky for the kids, too, because it means getting outside, playing in the dirt, and beginning to understand the world around them. They loved it. We also interviewed various staff members this week. I would take small groups of kids and wander around looking for people on my list. It was a blast. The staff members left on the list after the other second grade classes interviewed were all middle and upper school staff and they were thrilled to get to talk to little people. The kids went nuts they were so excited. The pictures are hilarious--but they show too many faces and I'd rather not post them on the web. Gotta protect the little ones.

Today after school I threw a frisbee around with a few people--it was glorious. The sky a robin's egg blue, the chill wind whipping my hair around my neck, the cool grass under my bare feet.... I love fall. It's a beautiful thing. It feels colder here, but with the sun shining and breeze blowing, it's still delightful.

Happy October.