Fire Drill...Fire Drill

How long has it been since you were in a fire drill. Today at Emma's school, we had a fire drill. Ok, ok, I know what you are going to say...why is Cyndi writing about such a silly little thing as a fire drill? Well let me tell you. The kids are all over the floor, having a little down time, when all the sudden this strange bell that I have never heard rings. All at once 19 little heads fly up and then stand up and then line up. It took me longer to realize what was going on. Yup fire bell. Of course at this point you don't know if it is a drill or if it is a real fire. As we walked out to the play ground (safety) and saw all the kids lined up, it struck me that if this were a real fire the kids would most likely be doing the same thing. Then of course you have to have the head count. At this point of the drill the teacher and I became a little worried. As I said before there are 19 kids in the class and both of us counted twice and only came up with 18. Can you imagine leaving one of those kids in the class room?! For about 30 seconds I saw this look of terror on the teachers face and then recognition and relief as the speech therapist walked up with the 19th student, having just had speech therapy. I have to say that even as the principal was saying that they were not fast enough and that she wanted to see straighter lines and less running and less talking....I was impressed. I guess I was most impressed with the two kinder classes as they all stood there so astute and calm while my little heart was still beating a mile a minute.

On another note... I wanted to tell you about this other thing that happened in today's class. We picked corn. At the very beginning of the year all the kids planted a bunch of fruit and veggies in a garden on their special Kindergarten play ground. It was so fun to watch them plant it and then be so excited when the corn and other things started to sprout. Then of course the strawberries and the snap peas came up pretty quick. Soon the kids were picking this or that off. The finale finally has arrived however today and that was the corn. It was so cute to watch them pick the corn and then try to shuck it They were the tiniest little ears of corn that you ever did see but it was so cute. There was only one really complete ear and all the others were splotchy but it was still sweet corn and the kids had so much fun. If you have never tried to plant something yourself go get a small pot and some good soil and a few seeds and follow the directions. It is so incredible to see the fruits of your labors come to something tangible and real. I couldn't help but think that Heavenly Father might be sitting up there full of smiles and a few little tears today as he watched his little ones finding joy in such a simple way. What a great day to be a volunteer!