30-Day Writing Challenge

Day 15: Bullet point your whole day

Friday, December 16, 2016
4:55am – Alarm goes off, I jump in the shower

5:15am – I sneak a few more minutes in bed, due to utter exhaustion

5:35am – I get up, make the bed, then head to the kitchen for breakfast. This morning it’s yogurt & fruit, tea, and cold cereal – I sacrificed a fancier breakfast for those few extra minutes of sleep.

5:40am – I eat breakfast while having my quiet time

6:15am – I head to the bathroom for make-up, Scripture review, and hair

7:00am – I finish my hair, make my lunch, and scoop up all the supplies for the Christmas party at school

7:10am – I leave the house for school with all my bags in tow

7:20am – I arrive at school and do the initial settling in of opening the blinds, turning on the computer, and putting things away.

7:35am – I head down to the library for our staff Christmas breakfast and Secret Santa gift exchange – to find out that my Secret Santa was my dear friend, Linda! She showered me with love this week in the form of tea, journals, Flair pens, and more.

8:05am – I open the classroom doors to let the students in while continuing to set up for our party. I lay out the hot chocolate supplies on the back table and the craft supplies at the Awesome Table while brilliant sunbeams come through the window to light up the room. As the students enter in ones and twos, they surround me to help, their excitement bubbling over for the day ahead.

– The second bell rings and we do the Pledge of Allegiance. In the next ten minutes, the students on patrol come in the room, and we do attendance and the morning routine.

– We start off our party with our Christmas craft – decorating ornaments. Stickers, glitter glue, and confetti snowmen, oh my!

– We finish up our craft, and the kids head to PE. I get the movie ready and continue straightening the room.

– The kids come back from PE, and we start making our hot cocoa with all the delicious topping options of peppermint, sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, and caramel syrup. Some have one topping. Most have all. And then there is the distressed kid whose hot cocoa smells strangely of garlic and herbs. We dump that out and try again for another one.

– Some kids go next door for “Arthur Christmas,” while some of her kids come to my room for “The Polar Express.” It’s my third year of watching it with my class, and I never get tired of it – especially of seeing the kids’ reactions to it.

– Pause the movie to go to Band & Strings (to the sounds of their groans of disappointment) – while they are gone, I work on cleaning up the mess from the hot chocolate bar.

– They come back and we continue the movie up to the beginning of indoor recess.

– Lunch time with my three amazing co-workers, and we exchange gifts among ourselves. I am so blessed by their thoughtfulness and generosity! They really are the best teaching team.

– Pick up the kids from lunch and finish the movie. At the end, they get their stockings with little gifts inside from Mrs. Caldwell and I, one girl passes out cupcakes, and we clean up and hug good-bye for the break.

1:20-3:20pm – We have our last five conferences, then I clean up my room, pack up all of my gifts, and say good-bye to my classroom for just a short while (you know I’ll be in over break!).

4:00pm – I take off – originally to drop everything off at home before going to Mom & Dad’s for dinner, but then I just decide to go straight there – especially when the tears of relief from being done come rolling down.

4:15pm-6:10pm – I relax on my parents’ couch, talk to Mama, play with Theo, eat a pizza dinner with them, and have a toaster strudel before I leave.

6:30pm – I get home, unpack everything from school, open my gifts again, and snuggle down in sweats with tea.

7:15pm – Do an hour of HYPE work until I can no longer keep my eyes open.

8:15pm – Take my contacts out and curl up on the couch.

9:15pm – Eventually get up to brush my teeth and fall into bed – to get a whopping 9 ½ hours of sleep! I needed it.