Finest Physique

No, this is not a blog about my weight loss adventures. "Finest Physique" is the middle name of a new student at my school. I wish I was kidding, I really do.   Anyway, I've only had 50 minutes with him, but so far he seems like a nice, quiet kid. They can change quickly, though, so I'll be watching him.   It's lunch time for the 7th and 8th graders. I have eleven kids (ten girls, one boy) in my room working on art projects just for fun. They LOVE the oil pastels I got recently. They're quietly chatting with heads bent over the desks. I love these kids.   One, Molly, is very troubled. She's smiling--I can't recall ever seeing her smile before. She's sitting with Mary, and they are quietly chatting and drawing. Both are superb artists, and only came to this school this year. Molly is an angry girl--I joked with the counselor this morning that I think of her as our little Daria (the apathetic MTV cartoon character from back when MTV was actually watchable). She doesn't get along well with a lot of her peers, but she must feel safe in my room at lunch time.   Like I said, she's smiling. So am I.   The kids are so excited--tomorrow night is the school district's annual art exhibition and I have selected forty paintings to display to represent our school. They did a great job--not bad for being led by a music teacher who is teaching out of her credential area!   The bell is about to ring. The kids are cleaning up after themselves and I have to get out to bus duty. This is the fun part of my day, for sure, lunch with my good kids.