Have you ever had a to-do list so long that instead of ticking the items off one by one you decide to become incredibly overwhelmed and do something totally irrelevant anyway?

Yea, me neither.

I mean, the pile of journals and papers that need to be graded, my grade book that needs to be filled in, the posters that are waiting to be made for my homeroom, and the three lesson plans that need to be created are not daunting…okay, maybe just a little. But hey, I try to stay positive.

We are now about halfway into the second week and there seems to be a never-ending pile of things to accomplish. It’s no one’s fault but mine though, I am the teacher, I am sure my kids would love to not have any homework for a change; I guess I’m not that nice. 

Today as I was going around and checking homework, one boy told me he had forgot it at home. “That’s too bad,” I replied, and I moved on. “But, Miss! Can I turn it in tomorrow?” he asked, I replied “class, what is my policy on late homework?” A storm of answers followed that question, most of them were playing with me and saying “you get an A!” But finally one little boy answered, “you can hand it in but you get points taken off.”  “Very, good” I replied. And then the boy asked me “how much points?” (that’s a direct quote) I thought about it for a minute then I replied “ten,” and I watched his jaw hit the ground, “nah, miss! Five.” So I said “ok, but you are going to have to bring me some chocolate.” His face lit up and he said “Miss, I will bring you the nicest chocolate ever!” I doubt that he will be able to find me the nicest chocolate ever here in Benque, but you never know! I also hope he knows I was kidding…

In other news, Belle (my dog), is not pregnant! For a while we thought there was a possibility that she was, but yesterday we all but confirmed that she was not.  Judging by the amount of male dogs hanging around outside my fence I can guess that she is in heat.  However persistent they may be, they certainly will not be allowed in, the last thing I need is a liter of puppies to take care of. I hope they get the picture and take a hike because I don’t like what they are leaving behind.