October!

I thought I'd share this recipe that I would love to try and make sometime. You can find all the details here.

I hope I can just find the time and energy to make these now!

As promised, here are some stories from work. But first, a little back-story. I recently moved jobs from working at the middle school, to now, in the preschool. Really it was a bittersweet move... it seems much more sweet now that the move is all over and done with. I really miss the middle school, including my students, the staff, and the schedule! My last day was Wednesday, October 14th... little did I know that this day would be a day I will never forget.

The beginning of the day seemed pretty normal. I was quite sad it was my last day, trying to prepare (and keep my mind busy) for the next few weeks: extra work and homework. I was perplexed at how many of my students stopped by my desk just to say hello. Some of them, repeatedly walked over to my desk and said, "Hi Ms. Diaz". One of my students came over to me and said, "I'm not going to tell you anything!" and walked away... peculiar, but I do work with special education students, so I didn't really think anything of it, as I hear some pretty weird things everyday.

Many of my students worked 1st and 2nd period at a back table with the other teachers while I prepped for the next few weeks. I was asked to take my lunch period at another time instead of 3rd, my regular time. Thinking nothing of it, I stayed. Third period was VERY confusing. All of my students left! They all went somewhere to "work on another project".

Blindly accepting the fact that all of my students were gone while I worked in the classroom alone, I thought, "Gosh, I wish I could have spent more time with my kids today". Finally, Don (the head of the operation) came and walked me to another room where we would be having lunch. HUH??? I thought, wow, what in the world is going on? We walk up to a classroom that is an empty room and Don opened the door. All I could see was darkness...then came....SURPRISE!!! The lights flashed on and my eyes welled up with tears.

I walked into a room with balloons, streamers, table cloths, food, and of course my beautiful, smiling students. They all rushed over giving me hugs and chattering excitedly while some students (specifically the ones with autism) sat at the tables making loud excited noises : )

My kids had hand made four pizzas; cheese, pineapple and canadian bacon, salami, and sausage and bell peppers. There were enough chips to feed an army, cookies galore, a soda frenzy, and homemade salsa. They served me and gathered around my seat asking me questions like:

"Did you know we were here?"

"We were up here the whole time!"

"Did you try my pizza?"

"I brought the chips!"

"Do you want some more soda?"

"Want some more pizza?"

"Do you want to see this balloon?"

"Did you see our cards?"

It was heaven. I was treated like a princess. They all made me individual cards that had pictures drawn on them, smiley faces, and stars. One of my students drew a cell, yes a cell with mitochondria, a cell wall, and vesicles (can you tell what he was learning in science class??). I said to him, "WOW, this is beautiful! Where do you get your inspiration?"

He replied, "From my heart Ms. Diaz."

I know... tearing up....

I wish I could post more pictures to show you their beautiful faces, however the law says they are too cute to post on the internet. I will show you their handiwork on my desk though:

Here is one more story from my wonderful class:

One of my students LOVES to say Hi. I get a Hi when she comes in to class, leaving class, when she returns from the bathroom, even just walking by my desk. She also likes to give high fives. So, being the special education educator that I am, I figured she should learn some more modern techniques on saying hello. Therefore, I showed her how to "fist bump" as some may call it. I said, with my fist out, "Pound it.." and she replied, without any prompting, "POUNDING" as she bumped my fist. : D

I hope that I end up back at MPH someday. That was the most rewarding and happy month and a half of my life.