Earthquake!

So today was eventful!

I was subbing in kindergarten all day, but not the all day kindergarten - so I had 2 classes. They were very different! Not so much the behaviors of the kids, but more what we did - which is odd.

To start, both classes had a different IA. In the morning, the IA and I set up the morning stations, which included Legos, blocks, drawing, stringing beads, and something else I can't remember. During the day we did writing and recess and sharing and math centers. Then they went home and I had lunch.

In the afternoon, the new IA set out different stations. There was a drawing station, a writing station, a reading game station, and a station where they made words with magnetic letters. Eventually I ended up reading books to a few kids who couldn't seem to occupy themselves with the stations. Later we did writing, recess and sharing. The sharing took really long with this group and then I learned we were about to have an earthquake drill! The principal came on the intercom to the whole building and explained the procedure, as well as what an earthquake was, (something along the lines of "the ground shakes and moves and that makes building shake and move around too.") I look out onto the faces of the class and see one girl with a wide-eyed look of terror on her face. She then starts to cry/hyperventilate. The "mother hens" of the class immediately swarmed around her and started patting her and cooing "it's gonna be ok!". I pretty much have no patience for the mothering and tell them all to sit down and listen. I told the girl it was just pretend and to calm down. Anyway, we then get under the tables, wait a few, then line up and go outside to the designated place. A few children ran over to get their backpacks - apparently they thought we were going home...or they still thought it was real and they wanted their stuff! I had to tell them to leave it and get going! We eventually made it outside all in one piece. That pretty much took up the end of the day so we didn't do math stations like the morning class did. We came back to the room for about 5 minutes and tried to explain why we got under the tables and that an earthquake didn't usually mean a giant crack opens in the ground to swallow you up.

In other news:

--One girl in the morning class misheard or misremembered my name and kept calling me "Mrs. Barney"

--While reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a group of kiddos, and reaching the page where the book proclaims the Caterpillar to be a "big, fat Caterpillar", one boy proclaimed, "My mom's fat!" His fellow listener shushed him and said, "Don't say that! My mom's the same size as yours!"

--I ALMOST FORGOT THIS!! Upon meeting a little girl in the afternoon class, she told me, "I like your lips." Finally a student who doesn't comment on their oddness!!