The rain would have been number SIX.

Top five reasons the teacher is going to the “candy” store tonight.

5. When Gary put his finished breakfast garbage into its paper bag , the orange juice he neglected to drink spilled out like it was running out of a spigot full blast. He managed to soak the carpet, the class’s completed dot-to-dot morning work, Angela AND Frank. School hadn’t even officially begun.

4. When I was putting a few of the completed leaf print journals on the drying rack, I managed to dodge Frank’s flying miniature skateboard as it flew across the room in front of me. I had two HUGE green leaf prints across the front of my tee shirt ALL DAY LONG; right on my boobs. The most disturbing part of that? No one on the staff noticed, or thought it was out of the ordinary.

3. The child who is the neediest of all the children in the room, left school today rambling about how all we ever do is PLAY; play, play, play! “It’s ridikulus!” She said. Did I remind her about our literacy centers, the listening center, the phonics center, Starfall phonics computer game, Calendar Math, math centers, math groups, sorting and the math GAME we play every day? EVERY DAY? No. I gave her a hug and sent her on her way.

2. Carl came to school wearing his Flash Gordon Halloween Costume. While I DID laugh out loud when I saw him, and most of the morning, the fact that “Flash Gordon doesn’t HAVE to follow the kindergarten rules” prohibited me from enjoying this new daywear properly. Frankly, I have a Flash Gordon headache.

1. When I went into the kindergarten bathroom in our classroom after school to turn off the lights, I found a cryptic message written in a brown substance all over the outside of the toilet bowl.

It wasn’t paint.

Now pass the super-juice. I have a throbbing headache.