Busy, Busy

Things have been thundering past me so fast that I can't believe tomorrow is Tuesday already.  If the parents ever acknowledge receipt of the invitation -- which we sent certified mail after all my notes were ignored and the family's phone numbers wouldn't work -- my first IEP (boy J) will be this Friday.

The big news, of course, was that Aide T was back today!

Of course, Aide S was out, so I still have not experienced a fully-staffed day.

Still, E was out, so it worked out.  For a brief, shining moment, I had capable people handling both Superhero and Bulldozer, and I got to hang with M!  Now I just need a few precious minutes to assess boy J before his IEP.

(And to program specialist PM, who seems to think that it's easy to pull kids daily for a week to assess prior to an IEP above and beyond what you normally do, I say:  fine.  Come teach my class when one aide is out and two kids are melting down simultaneously, M is freaking out 'cause she has to go number 2, and Superhero is spitting on him, and we'll see how much assessing you get done.  So there.  :-p )

Plus, I seem to have acquired the "fatigue" portion of PMS -- though, in return, I also seem to have ditched the clockwork-like migraines -- and that's why I haven't been around for a few days.

However, I must share the Aide K moment of the day.

After science this afternoon, I had scheduled "catch up day" because nobody actually finished on Friday.  After agenda books, the second thing on the list is journals.

Knowing to whom I spoke, I made sure to say slowly and carefully, "This is only journals from last week.  They are at the BACK of the journal.  Do NOT do the ones at the front of the journal -- they are this week's."

Not five minutes later did she approach Aide J and ask, "So, is she done with this?  I can't find today's journal, and this one is tomorrow's."

I turn around from Bulldozer, who is having his first meltdown of the day (begun at 1:15! wow!), and say, "No, those are THIS week's.  Remember, I said the old journals are in the back?"

I kid you not, I got a blank stare, so Aide J takes the journal from her.  "The old ones are in the back."  Another blank stare.  She -- I swear to God -- flips to the back of the journal and shows Aide K.

"Oooooooooooooooooooh," she says.

I might have slapped my own head if Bulldozer hadn't been trying to do the same thing at the time.