Who uses the word 'cockles' in a sentence?

Only Moose. Good to hear from you, o my brother. How's that Cockney coming?

Speaking of dialects: Arr, I missed Talk Like A Pirate Day! Every time I think of that (admittedly not often), I think of the time we went out for coffee in Berlin and discussed how one would talk like a German pirate. Matt has an impeccable German-pirate accent, just for the record.

So this week has been an interesting one... My coteacher has been out sick for the past four days; teaching by yourself when you're used to sharing the responsibility is quite the Umstellung. (sorry non-German speakers; can't think of the word right now) Tuesday was hell on a stick, rather like a corn dog. (name that inside joke!) I managed to break down twice, once almost in front of the afternoon kids. Thank goodness my director had arranged for me to observe a kindergarten class at her daughter's school on Wednesday, which subscribes to the same classroom management theory as our school. It was nice to actually see theory in practice; it does, in fact, work. However, it made me realize how much easier things are in English: The kids all listen when they're supposed to! And they follow directions on the first (or second) try! And you can talk with them about things like choices and how they are distracting other kids and they'll understand! Whereas it's all I can do to teach my kids 'please' and 'thank you'. Though they do have Toilette pretty much down.

Anyway. Thursday was great; Problem Child (Who Shall Remain Nameless) was not there and it was amazing how well the class worked. Unfortunately, he was back today and class involved a wrestling session on the floor and people being sent to the office. The kid has a real problem with authority and he honestly does not care a bit about other people, including how his behavior affects them. It's a bit scary, actually; I hope he's not the next psychopath.

But let's end with a cute kid story. When I returned to class on Thursday, the afternoon group seemed to be very glad I was back, and one of them was semi-attached to me for the rest of the day. Aww, my kids love me.