My annual furry house guest has joined the clan for the next 10 days. Fifa, my nephews' Maletese-Shitzu cross fits right in and has a ball with his cousins. He also has a lovesick relationship with Seamus the cat, who seems to revel in the attention. Instead of sleeping, Fifa remains sitting up on the end of the bed and staring at the feline all night, who sleeps in an elongated belly-up position, taking long, relaxing stretches and periodically popping an eye open to ensure his fan is still in attendance. It is funny but also a little pathetic. I tell my sister that Fifa needs a kitty of his own at home (doesn't every house?) but she declines the suggestion. So, at Camp Reading, Fifa gets little sleep. Ah, unrequited love.
So much to do today despite the art making backlog that is waiting. Several class lists are in and need to be sorted with my colleague, which often works out to be like the NFL Draft. If I had my druthers I'd have classes of 45 kids in my Art Studio enrichment courses -- the more the merrier. Time to start really rolling up the sleeves on next year's curriculum, too, as I wish to re-tool it to be more online and paperless to allow kids to access material from anywhere on their ever-present devices. Simplify, offer expansion points for those who are interested and willing to work harder, and make it a rich and fun experience for all involved.
Over the past week I've had five encounters with three former students that I love to pieces and two parents of former students, reminding me of the amazing opportunity I have as a teacher to connect with people. Not just "students," but people. One of the kids has become an elephant trainer, another scuba-diving welder. Another just traveled to France and Italy, and another, who was in my homeroom and art class twenty years ago during my very first year teaching middle school, works in the medical field and is such a lovely person that I plan to go out with her some time. They each shared fond memories and it is so nice to know that we share them. We never know what career direction our little people will pursue when we meet them at 11, 12, or 13 years old. If we, as teachers, can help them understand themselves a bit better and support them as they grow, great things can happen. This week has shown me that for sure!
Imagine elephant training as a career. That is so fabulous! What will you make today?