Halfmann Huddle: Playing Catch Up!

So I am doing a lot of posting in one day! I have been playing with all the fun things you can do with this blog before I posted for the first time. So now I feel the need to update you on several big happenings.

First would be the Race for the Cure. It was on October the 18th. Ms. Noemi, who I have known since middle school, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She recently completed all of her chemo and radiation treatments and is well on her way to recovery. She is the reason we formed the “Preschool Pacers”. There were 14 of us on our team, including Ms. Noemi, and we had a blast. Well besides having to get up at the butt crack of dawn (you all know who much I love doing that) to get downtown we had a blast. Six of us actually ran the race. The rest of us had signed up to walk the 2k but then when it came down to it we ended up walking the 5k. Which if you know me I have this underling urge to just be Switzerland and let the group pick my fate. So when they all decided at the last minute for the 5k I thought CRAP! Really? Are you sure you don’t just want to stick with the 2k and all the little kids? But then when I really starting thinking …hmm 3 or so miles that’s like walking around Disney for the day with out all the stops. And I love to walk around that park. I can pretend downtown Jax is like Disney can’t I? If I squint had enough the Modis building could be the castle can’t it? Well when we got the hill I thought nah there are no hills at Disney! I might just die here at this pace! But I didn’t. I walked a 5k and it felt great! And for such a great cause! Maybe next year I’ll run it! Yeah right who am I kidding!

Ms. Noemi our Warrior!

Before the Race for the Cure!

The Preschool Pacers!
We did! We finished the race!

The next event I wanted to catch you up on is that the pre-K team asked John Michael to come and talk to the kids during Safety week. They had police officers, EMT’s and the firefighters. And they asked John to come and talk about being a solider. He planned for the big day for at least 2 weeks. He pulled out all his uniforms and made sure they had all the appropriate ribbons and name plates, he made sure they were spaced and correct in posting. You would have thought he was having a uniform inspection by the Commandant himself! John pulled out all this pictures and gear. He kept asking what all he should talk about and what to bring or not to bring. I of course being the teacher that I am made sure that the pictures of building and things being blown up and any other questionable pictures were taken care of . I reminded him that they are only four and would really just want to see all the gear that he carried in his pack. Well the day finally came I skipped some of my class so that I could be in there during his presentation. No way was I missing John being surrounded by 45 four & five year olds! Oh and the questions those little minds light ask! I wasn’t missing it!

Well talk about socks being blown off! He did so great! He came in wearing full out face paint and uniform to the T. There was this collective gasp in the room. I have never seen or heard so many four years sit so silently! We teachers looked around and couldn’t decide if the mouths hanging open were because the screams and tears were coming or because it was just so cool. It was definitely the latter! He introduced himself and told them that he was a Marine and asked if they knew what that was. They all still been shell shocked shook their little heads no. So he went on to tell them that the Navy (ooh my dad does that) used the boats to protect us and that the Army (I have army men) used the tanks, and that the air force used the planes. But the Marines we use it all to keep us safe. He then told them that when the Marines think something is really great that they say oorahh! And that if they saw anything today that they thought was really cool he wanted them all to shout oorahh! He had all his gear packed up in his backpack and had volunteers come out and pull things out and then they would try it on or what ever while he told the group about it. I was so Proud of him!!! He was amazing! The rest of the day as I took my class to their various activities I could hear shouts of ooorahh! And did you see him our solider he was sooo cool was all you could hear at pick up! I think I might just sign him up to be the solider again for my three year team! Minus the face paint, that might send some of my recently turned 3 year olds over the edge!