You think I'm a baby; nobody likes to hear "Why don't you grow up" at dawn

First day back with the kids! Had two crying, a girl who was just being dramatic and poor L3, he of the health problems and medically induced depression. More on him below.

The kids are:

A, nice girl, somewhat mopey, seems to be a bit uncertain how to join others in play

E1, super-cute tiny girl whose mother is rumored to be a Hard Case.

E2, another tiny little cute girl with a no-nonsense mother, though I haven't had any problems with her.

G1, girl whose twin brother is in Mrs. Hatfield's class.

G2, the daughter of the High Maintenance mom (ex-attorney, now stay at home mom, probably transferred that argumentative energy into current position); very sweet and cheerful

H, small little tow-headed boy; Mrs. Tall told me that he was a problem in her class, but he was very helpful to all the other kids, offering them the color marker they were looking for and so forth

J1, brother of a girl from last year's class; a bit hyperactive; very nice parents

J2, very pale boy, type that loves explaining things earnestly with words too complex for his mouth

L1, blonde girl, sister of a girl from my first class at Prestigius; much quieter than her

L2, blonde boy, was quiet and kept to himself, seemed sweet

L3, with the health issues noted yesterday, came in crying and saying he wanted to call his mom and go home at lunch

M, sweet blonde girl, part of a very large and noted area family

R1, small and scrappy brother of a boy from last year, a bit hyperactive and given to attempting a cold stare when redirected

R2, cute black girl, seemed cheerful

S1, blondish girl, one of only two in the class with divorced parents

S2, blonde girl, only child, with two arty parents who spoil the hell out of her, very entitled and demanding, although decidedly creative; given to pouting if she has to wait for something

S3, black-haired girl, kept to herself

T1, very large (tall and weighty) boy, cheery, good listener, popular with peers

T2, precocious boy of Chinese descent

And that's the lot. Oh! 74 and Zaftig's daughter, who made her first appearance in this blog, and the world, here and has appeared sporadically since, is in K now --- lord, they grow up fast, even if they're not your own. She is in Ms. Bluestocking's class. Don't think I've mentioned her before --- Ms. Bluestocking is a very young teacher on my team. Previously an assistant, this is her second year as a full teacher. She is extremely good looking, even by Prestigius standards, and pretty cheerful, but kind of ditzy.

Another bit of High Drama in the Workplace (on the first day!) when an in-house substitute, Ms. DeWolf, took it upon herself to take L3 out of my classroom because he was sad. She had a camera, so I sort of assumed that she was just taking his picture, but no --- she took him to the other end of the building to sit and read a book. I was livid. The lack of professional courtesy --- you just don't take out a kid without explaining to the teacher why and what you intend to do --- the insulting assumption that she knew better than me how to make the boy feel welcome and wanted, the overweening arrogance mixed with pure wrongheaded ignorance (I disagree strongly that a child should be allowed to dictate terms in the classroom, especially on the first damn day, and feel strongly that a child's self-worth and happiness improves when he is shown that he has the strength to make it through initial uncertainty). And I have over ten years' worth of kids and parents that loved the hell out of me for my affectionate/strict classroom demeanor, so I'm not just some insensitive creep trying to bring the hammer down on a poor unhealthy kid. I truly believe that my way would help him best, and I know that taking a kid away from a teacher without asking first is not cool.

Of course, it doesn't help that Ms. DeWolf is the one I had the very brief, ill-fated relationship with last year.