05 May 2010

Half-Day and some unexpected fun

Today was a half-day for the kids so we could have Parent-Teacher Conferences in the afternoon. As usual, about one-third to one-half of the kids were absent. Half-days are a relict of the days when Mom stayed home vacuuming in high heels and pearls while Dad worked in the office. Today we act as child care and when we are not available all day, families often have to arrange other care and simply keep the kids there all day.

It was a nice day which worked out well with our plans. The gym teacher arranged activities on a field next to our school and the teachers were assigned areas to manage. I worked with two middle school teachers at the soft ball field. We raced the 7th and 8th graders through a fast paced softball game that kept the kids moving so fast there was no time for problems. It was nice to have some positive interchanges with the middle school kids. The three of us are going to try and work out some kind of repeat of the game over the next few weeks.

Only two parents came by. Attendance is better when we stay after school, but not a lot better.

1 comment:

maryb said...

I've enjoyed these last few posts. I'm watching season five of The Wire which made me think of season four which reminded me of you and your middle school. And suddenly you started writing about it again. Like magic. :)