"...you go to pieces so fast, people get hit by the shrapnel!"

Today marks the second day in a row that I have spent time around elementary school kids.

Thursday I was with a Special Ed class all day, which was interesting. There were about 8 or so kids, half who were incapacitated in some form or another, and the other half who were down syndrome kids. All in all, I found the kids to be cool, though one or two of the DS kids were extremely stubborn, which made for an interesting recess. To be honest, it was their teacher that I had issues with. She was nice, to be sure, but one of the most frenetic and disorganized individuals I've ever worked with. Her aides (one of which I was replacing for the day) were very capable, and seemed to be able to do everything calmly and efficiently. The teacher, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. It was a mildly frustrating day because of that.

Today I was an aide for the P.E. Dept. at San Marcos Elementary. I just got home, and let me tell you, I'm rather sore. We played soccer all day. I wish I knew more about soccer, but it didn't seem to matter. 3 periods in a row of little kids, split into several teams, and running around small areas of grass, colliding with each other, desperately trying to kick the ball generally in the right direction. And in the middle of each field, there were inevitably a small knot of kids who (regardless of which team they were on) would just stand there and cringe when the ball came in their direction. Then there were the kids who completely went to pieces when the ball smacked into them from two feet and the foot of those particularly passionate soccer maniacs. There were no major disasters, though quite a few kids trying to play up a tumble into the grass, or pretending to have a broken leg to get a penalty. I guess a few of them were watching Portugal play in the World Cup last year.

So far subbing has been interesting. Next week I am in the same class all week, a Learning Handicap class at the elementary level again. I have no idea what to expect.

Cheers!