Jammies!

One of the things I love about working with preschool children is that there's always a chance to be silly. Today was one of them; it was pajama day in our classroom. The teacher has been promoting this to the students for almost a week so they'd get pumped up about it. Everyone showed up today in their pajamas, carrying a pillow and their favorite stuffed animal.

All the adults working in the classroom were taking part in the day as well. I had to find something to wear; my comfortable, knee-length nightgown would leave my legs exposed, and the temperature's too cold for that. On a trip to Goodwill last week I found a silky polyester pajama set. It had a vaguely Oriental style print of electric blue. black, and gold on a midnight blue background. Quite comfortable and elegant!

When I rolled out of bed this morning I put ON my pajamas and a pair of tennis shoes,because my slippers aren't made for wearing outside. When I went out to get the newspaper I realized that the polyester material was not made for cold weather; the cold wind whipped right through it. BRRRR!

On Tuesdays I go to work early for a classroom team meeting, leave and go to the gym, then come back to start my scheduled work day just before lunch. We're not the first class to wear their sleepwear to school, so all of the other staff knew why we were dressed differently today. However, when I got to the gym a couple of women in the locker room gave me funny looks. The first few times I explained, but then I decided it would be more fun just to keep people guessing. After my workout I showered, dressed, and walked out to my car proudly showing my silky outfit. I stopped by the library to check my e-mail before work, where I noticed that the man at the next computer kept sneaking glances at my outfit. I didn't say anything.

Many of the activities today took the day's theme into account. The students squeezed orange juice and made cinnamon rolls for a snack, and took their stuffed animals with them when they laid down for quiet time after lunch. In the afternoon I got to supervise pillow fights between small groups of children. All too soon the day was over.

On the way home from work I stopped at a restaurant for a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of coffee. It was great to have breakfast food in the middle of the afternoon. Why not? I still had my pajamas on!