Getting Twitchy

We survived our first full week with the Snowbird schedule, where we added on 30 minutes to each day to make up for all the days we missed due to the Winter From Hell. And just in case you doubt me, local stats point to this being the coldest winter in 30 years (I believe it). Since December we have had only 4 days near our normal temperatures. We are all sick and tired of being cold, dealing with rotten weather, and just winter in general.

Of course spring means massive amounts of yard work, tornadoes, and twitchy kids.

However, they're already twitchy, so I'm not so sure how much of it is actually spring coming.

The Guidance Diva informed me the other day that we've suspended more kids this week than she has ever remembered suspending. Is it that they now have 30 extra minutes to get in trouble? Doubtful. Those 30 minutes really go by fast and the kids don't seem to really mind it much. The only time I really notice the day being longer is that I'm used to wrapping up things after school for a bit and then going to the gym around three. Now I look at the clock and it's already four!

I once had a friend who said the last few weeks of school were like a long cross-country road trip with a bunch of kids. They may start out liking each other but by the end of the trip they are sick of each other and ready to go at it.

We're on a hell of a trip, apparently.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Reading got a phone call from her day care yesterday informing her that her little one was sick and "would you please come get him?" So, she typed up some fast lesson plans and went to get a sub to take the half day.

Except there were no subs available anywhere.

(Come on, the weather is decent, it's Friday, and who in their right mind would want to do an afternoon sub gig with Seventh graders?)

So, the only option was to divide her classes up and give the three of us left about ten kids each to add to our own classes.

Which meant, in some cases, kids sitting on the floor doing their work. I only ran out of chairs for one period, which is good. However, just having about ten more kids changes the complete dynamic of the class. It's Friday, they're getting worked up about the weekend, and then all of a sudden there's an influx of other kids for whom it's also Friday and there's nothing to keep them busy but seatwork which they finish in ten minutes (yeah, and you can just guess the quality of the work) and then they want to spend the rest of the time talking to my kids.

The last three periods of the day were just annoying beyond belief.

I sometimes wonder if Friday night happy hours were invented for middle school teachers to regroup?