Field Day

Today at school we held Field Day- the first one to occur in September instead of May. Anyone who's familiar with my part of the country knows that spring/early summer means lots and lots of afternoon rain, so they decided that fall weather would be more predictable.

So, wow- what a great day. I was expecting to not enjoy myself as much as spring Field Days, simply because the weather wasn't as warm and you don't have that 'Yea- the year's almost over!' feeling you do in May. However, I had a great time... I got to know a lot of my class better (yes, we're still bonding and learning to appreciate each other and work together as a whole) and I feel like I have some fantastic memories as a result. I also have some killer sore hamstrings, due to a few intense 50-meter dash races and an ongoing long jump rivalry.

I have always competed in Field Day alongside my class (well, not exactly competed, but more like "played along"). One of the few simple joys of teaching, though, is that when you compete against another adult in front of the kids, they really think you are the most incredible athlete in the world, and they cheer for you with vigor! One of my teaching partners last year barely squeaked by me in the 50-meter dash, so I demanded a re-match. This year- I crossed the line just ahead of her. So much fun...

Also, when we do the relays, I jumped in on a team that had a lot of slower kids- I ran one leg and ended up helping them win 2nd place ribbons... one kid who's not very athletic at all said with extreme pride, "My first red ribbon ever!"

One funny story... at the end of the day, we do a cross country run, around our school field. They dismiss one class at a time to run, then greet them with popsicles at the finish. So I started running with my class when all of the sudden I practically tripped over a kid who looked to be about 3 years old, walking on the pathway. I stopped to help him up, when he started walking the opposite direction, toward the stampede of kids behind us. What does a gal do??? I grabbed him, picked him up out the of the way, and set him on the sidelines. I felt like such a hero. I tried to find who he belonged to, but I had to run on with my class. I bet some parent on the sidelines was saying, 'Why is that teacher touching my child?'... but I just got scared and saw horrible things if he was in the pathway of 100 3rd-graders.

Awesome day today. These kids and their senses of humor make my recent breakup seem a little more distant.