what a difference a day makes

i approached the library this morning ten minutes early, again. newspapers in hand, again. and there was a loud alarm sounding from the building. i immediately assumed that someone had broken in and it was somehow my fault. then i saw that the door was unlocked. i panicked, trying to remember if i had locked up the night before and then i remembered that ms. manager had locked up, so if something was amiss it was not my fault. phew. as i walked in i began constructing scenarios of "inside jobs" where employees with keys may have broken in and stolen all our dvds. turns out it was just that the clerk came in early and forgot his code for the alarm. so i shut it off, crisis averted.

ms. manager is out today and while we were opening up the building there was much chatting and joking around and the environment here was downright pleasant for all. amazing. it was like a little glimpse of how nice life could be under slightly different circumstances.

then i had 14 two and three year olds come in. i have been dreading this, but it was actually really good. in fact i think i like it better than the kindergarteners. these kids are entertained by anything. they're so easy to please! i love them! here's what i did:

1. introduce them to Monkey, my monkey puppet

2. Monkey leads us in a game of Monkey See Monkey Do
(just realized i forgot to play the Touch Your Nose Game. next time i guess)

3. read Where's Spot by Eric Hill (they loved this book! i remember reading it as a kid and it is still entertaining to guess where spot might be)

4. sang "five little monkeys" with use of 5 monkeys hand puppet. they ADORED the 5 monkeys hand puppet, whereas my kindergarteners were a little over it and wanted to see the book version)

5. read I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry, which is one of my new favorite books

6. then did the rhyme Two Little Blackbirds

7. read Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield (pop up books, gotta love 'em)

(forgot to sing If You're Happy and You Know it)

8. read A Good Day by Kevin Henkes (during which i had a small coughing fit and nearly died)

9. read Wheels on the Bus (i have an oversized version of this so its very exciting to look at while we all sing it and do the hand motions, although i have to admit i forgot the motion for the wheels going round and round and then had to copy one of the kids. it's all due to my coughing fit.)

10. then ended with my closing song of "The More We Get Together"

it went really well. even with the two things i forgot to do, i think a good time was had by all. i think soon i will stop freaking out about small children visiting. soon, but not yet.