Bugs, Pink Eye, and Invaluable Resources

Today we were supposed to start our science unit on Insects (via a FOSS kit). I was all ready to go and the bugs didn't show up until after the students left for the day, and not the ones I had planned. So I spent my afternoon separating milkweed bug eggs from a piece of cotton and partitioning those eggs into vials for the eggs to hatch out of. I don't know what it was, but the entire process made me so incredibly itchy. Just the thought that I was dealing with insect eggs that were going to hatch and eventually make milkweed beetles made me itchy and feel somewhat grossed out. But nonetheless, I completed the task and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, nor as gross as I was expecting.

Earlier in the morning I had a student come up to me and ask to go to the health room. As I bent down to his eye level he explained that his eyes were really itchy and wanted to see the nurse. As I looked at him I noticed that his eyes were completely pink and red, a tell tale sign of pink eye. Sure enough he came back to class with a note for home explaining that he had pink eye. After I found that out I religously washed my hands - after working with the kids, after I took them down to recess, and after they started working on independent work. Moreover, I did everything I could to not touch my face during the day just in case.

It also hit me today that there are three resources that all elementary teachers should have. Things that I use on a daily basis and are honestly things that I consider to be invaluable for teachers.

1. Clorox Wipes
2. Shoebox sized plastic tubs with lids
3. And last, but certainly not least, ziploc bags

These are things that I never want to be without in my future classroom because I use all of them SO much!