Oh Mercy Me!

This weekend was a real working weekend.  No rest for the weary.  I helped to get a new kindergarten classroom set up for the first time.  Wow!  That is a major undertaking!  No more are the classrooms with rows of desk and a chalk board at the front.  Where is the front of the classroom anymore?  Where are the desks?  Little round tables have replaced them.  Gone are the days that the room had to be painted pale blue, green or yellow to keep the children calm.  Primary and bright colors are in!  Polka dots abound!  Every single inch is filled with absolute awesomeness.  The teachers wear microphones now so the students can hear better.  What happened to teachers straining their voices or talking soft until the kids got quite?  There are computers, electronic listening centers, ipads, digital cameras and the over head projectors are now called Elmo and a lot fancier than we had.  No more transparencies......it uses paper!  It is just amazing!  For free reading time, there is a tent in the middle of the room for two students to curl up in to read.  Everything is done in "centers" - two here, two there, and two more here.  Times have changed.

But the real change that totally took me off guard was when I needed to relieve myself.  I was told I could go use the restroom in the teacher's lounge or use the one for the kids which was right across from the classroom.  Since there aren't any kids using it now, I thought to myself, I will use it because it should be clean.  (I do not like dirty restrooms!)  I know I lead a sheltered life and don't get out into the real world much, but this totally took me off guard.  A sea of purple on the floors and walls!  When you open the door expecting a blah bathroom, this totally took me by surprise......a PURPLE MONSTER!

Never in my life have I seen this much purple in a room!  The school colors are purple and white.  And this greeted me when I opened the door along with these scenes......

The paintings are adorable - it was all the purple that almost sent me running for my life.   I think this is something you have to see in real life to get the whole affect.  It just hits you in the face - BIG TIME!  I never liked purple to begin with and now everytime I see purple again, I will think back to the moment I opened that door.  It was life changing.  One of those moments that is implanted on my brain until the day I die, I am sure.  Pure culture shock to this little old lady that leads her sheltered life.  Bless ALL the dear teachers in our world.  It is a whole new ball game.

Have a Blessed day!