What a crazy day!

Yesterday was spring Picture Day.  The one where the photographers takes pictures of all the students against a pretty background of the woods and a brick wall... and they send them home and expect parents to pay for them, and if not, to send them back. 

So our class was scheduled to have our pictures taken before lunch, which would fit in fine with our Daily 5 rotation (our class' reading curriculum).  But the office called and said the pictures were backed up and we'd have to go after lunch.  That was fine with me; I could work with that.

After lunch came and the office called to say someone else was scheduled for that time, so we'd be moved to 1:50.  That's right in the middle of my math lesson, but the 4th graders were taking a test, so I could make it work.  Then it was time for PE.  Normally, my students stay in the gym and I go pick them up afterwards.  Well, it was so nice yesterday, they got to go outside.  The only problem with this is that I didn't know where to pick them up.  I don't go outside by the gym, so I wasn't entirely sure how to get to the playground from there.  I only had my students' sketchy directions to follow: Go out that door in the gym and there's a door there that you go out.  Or you can go up by the music room and go down the stairs and out that door.

PE's end rolled around and I tried to get to the playground.  I went out the doors my students pointed me to a few days before and... didn't see a door.  The only exit sign I saw led me out a side door to the street.  I didn't want to miss them, so I went back to the classroom, hoping Mrs. J would be around or maybe my students would miraculously appear.  Nope.  Didn't happen.  What did happen was the phone ringing telling me it was my class' turn to get their pictures taken.  Here's my conversation with the secretary:

"Can your class come get their pictures taken?"
"Yeah, they're just getting done with PE, so I can bring them over."
"Okay, is it going to be long?"
"No, they're done right now.  I just have to go pick them up.  The only thing is, I don't know where to pick them up.  They went outside for PE."
She thought for a minute, "Hmm, I don't know either!  Maybe go out the lunchroom door?"

I went down to those doors and looked outside.  Well, there were plenty of kids out there, but I couldn't tell if they were mine or not.  I didn't know if the door would lock behind me, so I was hesitant to go out there (I didn't have a key or fob to get back in the building).  But I saw some paras out on the playground, so I chanced it.  I happened to look over and saw my class being herded to a different door.  Thank goodness!

So we waltzed into the auditorium where the photographer was set up, red faced and sweaty from playing outside.  My class made a mad dash to the table with those free combs and started brushing their hair.  A few boys asked if they could go get a drink, but I'm pretty sure they went to check themselves out in the bathroom mirror.  We got all 18 of my students through the photographer in about 20 minutes.  Whew!  What a crazy day!