DAY 122

I walked down the hall of the Montessori upper school with some trepidation. I didn’t feel very well, and it had been awhile since I dealt with 6th graders and the secretary said I was going to be in there by myself, with no teacher’s aide. With the Montessori system, it really helps to have an assistant because the kids work independently and someone has to go around and check everything.

Well, I saw Mr. D’s smiling face when I entered. At about 6’5″ tall, he is an imposing figure, and the big smile on his face and his loving manner has endeared him to all of the students and staff there. It turns out that Mr. D is the aide in the 6th grade class and so he ran the show and I was free to help kids with their writing and editing. It was a very good morning.

The afternoon was spent in a Livonia Kindergarten which turned out to be Spec. Ed. On the Aesop list, it just said KDG Center and they assumed that everyone would know that means it’s Spec. Ed. It turned out okay – there were only 7 kids and a full-time aide who knows them well, so I just helped as directed. Also, the directions to the school were incorrect, and my cell phone is lost, so I stopped at a credit union and boldly explained my situation and asked to use their phone since they also didn’t know where that school was (it was only a mile away, but it required an odd sort of way to get there, not unusual for Livonia). Not a bad half day, but I was very tired and weak from this allergy/cold/whatever it is, so I was eager to get home and climb into bed. Sometimes – many times – it’s the nicest place on earth.

I really had thought it was allergies to the pollen in WA, not a cold, or I wouldn’t have subjected students to it. Now I’m not so sure, though. 😦