Benefit of getting to preschool a few minutes late...

Tiersten's three-year-old preschool class in our elementary school starts at 8 a.m. The rest of the elementary school, and the Jr High/Sr High School across the street, don't start class until 8:25, so when I walk her into her classroom, I get to see all the elementary kids in the hallways, shout a "hello" to any high schoolers I know standing around on that side of the street, and chat with staff members and other parents that may be loitering before school starts. Our boys prefer to ride the bus to school in the morning rather than ride with the girls and I, so sometimes I get to see them, on their own respective sides of the street, chatting with their friends and doing the typical before-school activities.

I have discovered that if I'm running a little late, I get an added bonus that I really enjoy. Every morning, a high school student reads the bulletin over the loudspeaker, which is broadcast indoors and outdoors over the campus. It doesn't broadcast inside the elementary school, but if I'm outside the building, it is loud enough that I can hear it from across the street. It is truly GREAT fun!! As Dane is only a 7th grader, he doesn't seem to know how the reading student is chosen, but I'm guessing it is probably a member of the ASB?? In any case, it is great to listen to. They always recite the "Pledge of Allegiance" and then go through the day's announcements--which teams won or lost a game the previous evening, the lunch menu, all those types of things. Sometimes, I can tell that the reader is a little uncomfortable with the microphone because they will read it all pretty quickly in a monotone. Other days, you get someone who can "ham it up" a bit better and they'll throw in a "woo-hoo" behind the team announcements if a game has been won, and add some fun adjectives to the lunch menu. It makes the days announcements so much more interesting to hear them from the teenage perspective and I really enjoy listening!

I can't help but wonder, when my children take their turn at the microphone, will they be the shy ones, or the extroverted "woo-hoo" and "DEE-licious Macaroni and Cheese" kids??? :)