Lunch is Always at 11:15. Always.

I love a good routine.

Thankfully, after five weeks of teaching, my life has started to fall into a pattern.

Here's what it's like to be Ms. Love for a day.

Wake up at 4:50. Take a shower. Get ready for school.

Arrive at school at 7:00. Look through the windows to see if any of the middle school boys are feeling chivalrous enough to open the door for me. Smile if they do.

Spend an hour doing a lot of things but not really knowing what those things are and crying because your classroom will always be a mess no matter how many times you try to straighten it up.

Turn on instrumental Pandora at 7:50, open the door, and remind all the loud children to PLEASE GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFORE CLASS STARTS.

At 8:14, tell everyone to settle down. At 8:15, tell everyone to settle down again. At 8:16, GET IN YOUR SEATS AND STOP PLAYING WITH THE STAPLER.

Remind yourself to hide the stapler.

Forget to hide the stapler.

On Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, begin the day with Language Arts. First period is always the best because the kids are still tired and only treat their desks like jungle gyms for part of the class.

At the beginning of Language Arts, do the Daily Proofreading Practice, where the students correct a sentence from the board in their notebooks. Then pick three students to write the corrected version on the board. 

Begin by saying, "Alright, I'm going to choose three--"

Expect to interrupted with,

"MISS LOVE PICK ME I'VE NEVER HELD A DRY ERASE MARKER IN MY LIFE AND I WILL DIE IF YOU DON'T LET ME WRITE ON THE BOARD PLEASE MISS LOVE DO YOU SEE ME I'M FALLING OUT OF MY SEAT IN DESPERATION."

On Tuesday and Thursday, the day begins with specials. Drink all your coffee in a hurry because the only other pee break the whole day will be during lunch.

Lunch is always at 11:15.

Always.

And between 9:00 and 10:00, a student will ask when lunch is. 

Always.

"And our next word--'qualifying'. Does anyone know what that means?"

"Ms. Love, when's lunch?"

"At 11:15. It's at 11:15 every day."

"What time is it now?

"There's a clock behind me."

"I can't read it."

"Sorry. Tell me what 'qualifying' means."

At 11:40, pick the kids up from lunch. They're supposed to be picked up at 11:45, but somehow they magically end up in the hallway at 11:40.

The child at the front of the line, no matter who it is, will be excited.

"Ms. Love! You're alive! We missed you! You were gone for so long!"

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, specials are after lunch.

Those days deserve to be kissed. 

On Tuesday and Thursday, wrestle the second class into their desks for another round of Language Arts.

Every day at 1:15, Social Studies starts. 

At least that's what it says on the schedule. 

Expect to actually begin at 1:22, when they get back from the bathroom and have their supplies out.

At 1:21, have the same conversation with at least three different students.

"Ms. Love, I forgot my sort cards."

"How? You know you're supposed to bring them every day."

"I also left my Social Studies notebook at home."

"Why was it at home?? You didn't have any homework in it last night!"

At 2:00, gear up for another round of Social Studies. The day begins and ends with the homeroom group, and by the time they get to Social Studies, they pile in like they've never seen a classroom before.

Get excited for the days that end up with GREAT discussions, though, about what makes life worth living, what's it's like to fight for a cause, and how Northerners have always taken their tea without sugar.

At 2:45, have the students start to pack up. Prepare to have all brain functions scatter like cockroaches under a lightbulb. Start using the same script.

"Do you have all your homework?"

"I see trash by the desk in the back corner!"

"If you're finished, have a seat!"

"No talking during announcements!"

"If you are finished, have a seat!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF SHARPENED PENCILS, NO TALKING DURING ANNOUNCEMENTS."

At 3:00, tell them goodbye.

For the next 2-3 hours, run around the school like a chicken with its head cut off.

(Doing what? I couldn't tell you specifically, but I know I'm doing something.)

Get home between 5:00 and 6:00, eat food, and watch the news.

At 7:00, go for a walk to think about something other than school.

Spend the entire walk thinking about school.

Do random school stuff until bedtime. Sometimes that includes filling out the attendance document that was forgotten in the morning. Sometimes it's grading papers. Sometimes it's trying to find a new worksheet because the lesson planned for the next day isn't going to work out.

Every once in a while, call a friend instead.

At 9:00, get ready for bed.

Then drift off and have dreams about telling students to be quiet so you can sleep.