She comes in with a bag full of surprises. (But some of them give me a headache..)

I never know what she will bring with her to school each day, and I look forward to every bit of it with great anticipation and a tiny drop of dread.

She’s no bigger than a minute, incredibly gorgeous already and full of spit and vinegar.  Frankly (and no, I’m not talking about my dog) she reminds me a tad bit of the tiny version of myself. 

She, along with several other children, attend what we call “the number club” at the end of the day.  They go with the learning support teacher (for only a few minutes) and practice numbers and number sense in the hopes that we can bring them up to speed by the end of the year.

Today their departure was coinciding with our recess and Sasha was livid.  “Do NOT GO OUTSIDE!” she turned and yelled at us as they unhappily exited the room.

“I won’t!  We’ll wait for you!”  I assured her.

Then, as they walked down the hall we instructed the children to clean up and prepare for recess.  (Yeah, I know.)

They bundled up and went outside with the other classes, teachers and my pre-student teacher.  I stayed behind to furiously pack folders and clean the paper, glue, glitter, crayon and marker explosion that occurs daily.   I was wiping off a table when I heard a faint yelling coming from the hallway. I lifted my head to see Sasha come barreling into the room dragging the special teacher behind her. I had forgotten that their room had a bird's eye view of the playground.

“YOU LIED!    YOU LIED!” She yelled furiously.  “You said they would WAIT for ME! You lied!!”

“We just went out Sasha.” I tried to say calmly.  “We knew you were coming in two minutes, and we JUST went out.” 

But she was not be placated.   She turned to get her coat and yelled, AGAIN, “YOU LIED TO ME!” 

Then she looked at the special teacher, threw her hands in the air and yelled, “What kind of place IS THIS, anyway??” 

I laughed as she ran out, and then sat on the table and thought.  Well, it’s the kind of place where your teacher will say and do anything to help you learn. And she might not always make the right decisions.  But each and every one is made with love.

Lots and lots of love.

(Yeah, I’m bringing in treats tomorrow.  Sometimes, just sometimes,  the teacher needs to make amends…)