Recess Duty

**Now that my blog isn't considered Spam any more....here is the blog that I was going to post last Thursday.  I'll have another one tonight but thought I would get this one posted since it has just been hanging out in my dock.

I honestly look forward to recess duty.  I have it three times a week and feel like it gives me the chance to take a deep breath.  I have yet to feel overwhelmed this school year but know it will happen at some point.  I do though feel like I run around like a chicken with my head cut off some days.  I am an overly prepared person but there are days where a a 40 minute special and a couple recesses just aren't enough.  This is partially because I don't do a lot out of workbooks but more hands on things so I am constantly cutting things out and sorting.

When I get outside, there is nothing to worry about!  I walk around and watch children use their imagination in ways that I envy.  Jump ropes become rings of fire, horse and buggy reins, and once in a while get used in a good ol' round of Double Dutch, songs and all.  Groups of students scatter themselves around often huddled around and dart when you come near.  Girls and boys alike giggle and skip around.  My personal favorite is when I get asked to play, give a push on a swing, or watch how fast they can get down the slide.

We have three different sets of equipment, which leads to students spread out all over.  Its never a good thing when a group of students come sprinting at you.  It surely means that someone got hurt, or so they say, because someone else allegedly pushed, shoved, hit, or tackled.  It normally comes in the form of tattling and no one to be found that is actually hurt.

I do become a professional band-aid putter oner while on duty.  While I send a lot of students away with the phrase "I think you'll be okay.  Be tough!", there are still lots of scrapes that need to be covered.  I feel as if there are lots of clumsy children some days!

The game of kickball!  When I was in elementary, this meant you had two captains who picked teams and then one team took the field and the other kicked.  You made your own rules.  There were always disagreements but you continued play.  If you lost, you went back in and came back out next recess ready to play again.  Either I'm old or these kids haven't learned how to play that form of kickball.  Their form of kickball is to get all of the balls out of the ball cart, stand in small area, and kick the ball at  each other.  What?!  Someone always gets hit in the face.  Someone always gets hit below the belt.  And it is always because someone was being mean.  You were playing this silly game for gosh sake!  So, I took it into my own hands on Wednesday to try and teach a group of them how to play my form of kickball!  They were pretty excited and played pretty well.  They came over to me several times after I had moved on to walk around to let me know someone wasn't being fair!  They didn't like that I didn't have sympathy for them not getting their way.  I saw some tears on the way in.  I'm guessing they had lost or didn't get to play the position they wanted.  I guess I'll see if they try and play tomorrow when I'm out on duty!

Have a great night and even better Friday!

Toodles!