FREE AT LAST! Balloons, Kindergarten Hugs & the Element of Surprise

NO KIDS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. YOWWWWWW!

As an end-of-term surprise, I gave pink and purple metallic balloons and lindor chocolate truffles to all my kids. You should have seen them tossing the balloons around (and hitting each other with it) and laughing and giggling and having a grand old time. I've never seen them so happy. They grew even more excited when I showed them how they could draw stuff on them, like a small heart, and watch as it grows bigger as you blow the balloon up. Then they all baa-ed and begged for drawings on their balloons.

• I often see my KG'ers as sheep or puppies whenever they come at me en masse. It's quite unnerving to have 27 kids coming at you begging for things and crying out your name, “Miss Angie, Miss Angie!” Baaa, baaa! Oh my god,...I'm not a teacher, I'm a shepherd!

Little Hoz attacked me with the most exuberant hug while I sat around drawing on balloons. For such a little person, he gives the warmest, cuddliest hugs. That is the best thing about teaching kindergarten. Young kids aren't the least bit bashful about showing their love for you. Not being the overly huggy type, I recall my first kindergarten hugs as a truly novel experience that made my insides go 'woah!' A Kindergarten Hug is a real treasure that you won't find in the richest of treasure chests. 

• What's better than a hug from a 5-year-old? A hug from a warm 5-year-old on a cold winter's day, when you are so busy teaching, that you don't even realize you are cold until he wraps his little arms around your legs and you feel your freezing body warming up as if you were standing by a fire. Those warm hugs are much appreciated on a cold winter's day.
  

Last night we had a Christmas dinner at the “Balcony Bar” (just one of our balconies that's usually open for drinks and chats), and boy was the food amazing! My cornbread turned out even better this time, though different. This time, I topped it off with a layer of sour cream/chedder cheese/hot dog/sauteed onions/bread crumbs mix, mmm! There was a nice medium-sized tree beautifully decorated, with Secret Santa presents underneath, and we boisterously broke out into Christmas tunes, singing two different versions of “Away in a manger” at the same time. 

• Isn't it strange that the British have a different version? Same words, totally different tune.

And considering that there is nothing of value to buy around these parts, we all got pretty cool nifty gifts from our secret santas- a barking mug, an etch-n-sketch, and me, quarky costume rings that I wore to school the very next day. I love Secret Santas. Presents from family and friends, you expect, but with Secret Santas, of course, you don't know who the gift is from until they write it on the etch-n-sketch, hold it up, and wait 10 minutes for you to notice it and be utterly surprised. You should have seen my face. They actually caught it on camera. Really, you can't beat the element of surprise.

Baaaa!

Evil Shahan lurks past the camera