School has been out for a couple of days now, and I have finally caught up on my sleep! The three weeks between Thanksgiving Break and Christmas Break were wild.The first week after Turkey day was supposed to be our first class field trip. I spent quite a bit of time and energy planning the trip, only to find out THE DAY BEFORE that the trip had to be canceled because it was "too far away." I was a little frustrated. However, I knew that we had another field trip the following week that would soften the blow a bit. The kids were disappointed, but they didn't tie me up and gag me like I was afraid...hahha:)

The rest of that week passed without too much madness. Week two between the breaks was totally crazy. We took a field trip on Wednesday to a Cabildo (it's like an art history museum) in the French Quarter. If you have ever been to the French Quarter, the Cabildo is directly to the left of St. Louis Cathedral. This part of the trip was interesting, but most of my students enjoyed the unplanned part of the field trip more. After a quick lunch, we ventured into the cathedral. It was incredible! The ceiling is painted, there are candles everywhere....It was like nothing I had seen before...and it was definitely nothing my students had seen before. They were totally silent, completely in awe of the beauty of the place. We found someone to give us some information about the cathedral. After that, it was time to head for the bus. On our way there, a couple of street musicians called out to us and taught the kids a song. We sang and sang and then sang some more. We were standing in freezing rain, but every one of the students wore a huge smile the rest of the day.

Thursday of that week, I left for school around 6:45am. The streets were dry, but low clouds filled the sky. I remember looking at the sky and thinking, "If I didn't know better, I would think those looked like snow clouds....but not in New Orleans." I pulled up to the school and got busy preparing for the day. At about 7:20 it started to sprinkle. Then at 7:30 the rain turned to snow. Snow! In New Orleans!!! Snow!! Nan (a friend who teaches next door) and I ran outside to play in the snow. The kids started arriving at the school an hour later, and it was STILL snowing! My students were so excited that they practically tackled me to give me a hug. One of my students walked in with a look of wonder and said, "Mrs. Kelley, it's a miracle." Out of my 32 students (oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I have 32 now) only 16 showed up that day, and one student went home early! It was a fun, very laid back, wonderful day.

Finally, only one week to Christmas break!! Monday started off well with the discovery of a dead mouse IN MY PRINTER. The whole day I couldn't figure out why the printer kept getting jammed...turns out my classroom mouse finally ate the poisen and found a quiet place to die...hahha. The week that followed had many moments that were difficult for me. These stories aren't appropriate for the internet, but what I will say is that God reminded me that there are hurting people in the world, all around us. He has me at this school, in this overflowing classroom, to serve his purposes.

Thursday night was our Christmas Program. I was like a proud parent watching my student on stage. They were soooo great! They sang a few songs and gave a presentation on Kwanzaa (an African tradition that begins right after Christmas). My favorite part was when my students wanted to meet "Mr. Kelley." A couple of the boys even came over to shake his hand. It was cute! Friday was the craziest day of the year so far. I got several gifts from students, which I am very thankful for. We ended the day with a Christmas party, and then it was over!

I survived my first semester of teaching! It was nothing like what I expected...but when is life ever what I expected??

Merry Christmas!!!