school on a sick day

I told Jonas he should work with angus on his abc's, and thus, the little school began. 

Jonas had them sit down in front of their easel as he began the lesson of the afternoon.  

Angus and Paloma tried their hardest to wait patiently, occasionally laughing, wiggling and jumping around.  Jonas, the teacher, began the lesson.  Paloma kept trying to hog the dry erase board.  

Jonas had Angus read the alphabet out loud.  He pointed and spoke the letters he knew.  Some he needed help with.  

Jonas tried to teach them vowels, but that lesson fell through.  The students had no idea what a vowel was and weren't too interested to find out.  He moved on to the next thing.

It was pet time.  They each got to touch the class pet, turtle burtle, mr. Luke.  

One of the students lost interst fast.  Angus was waiting for the next subject.

Story time followed.  Jonas read aloud to the class.  (At this school, shirts are optional.)

He then asked them to write or draw something from the book.  

They sat at the table and drew pictures of what they saw in the book. Jonas watches and encourages his students.

Time is almost up.

Angus drew Plankton and Luke.  Paloma drew a bunch of stuff and sponge bob.

They presented their drawings to the class and talked about their pictures.  They were pretty good at standing in front of the class.  Jonas sat and watched his students.  

He graded papers.  They both got a 10 and a sticker.

You can't do all that work without a snack.  They really enjoyed this part.

And of course, he had to include free time, with a list of stuff they could do.

Paloma chose dress up.  Angus went AWOL. 

Teacher Jonas was left wanting to teach more, but his students had already dispersed.

2 a.m. thoughts

I can't sleep. 

Someone woke me up from a deep sleep. I won't say any names, (cough, Miah, cough, cough). Had to clear my throat there for a second.  It's the second night in a row this has happened. I am sure tomorrow night will be similar.  

I keep thinking about the kids and about how much they're growing and learning.  The things they do and say on a daily basis are too sweet to forget and sometimes the things they do and say drive me nuts. 

I wish I could bottle some of the precious moments up and open them up when I begin to feel nostalgic for the past.  Being a parent is hard.  It is so hard.  Hard because you re always thinking about what is best for your children and sometimes you fail in some moments and sometimes you get it right.   I am always helping them, teaching them, but most importantly, loving them. These things are important, but there are so many other things, too.  

I feel like my patience is tested everyday.  I am still learning as I go, just as they are learning.  

All I can say right now is that it is hard.