Bubble Wrap and Rainbows

My working week has just ended with two full days indoors (due to torrential rain) with a classroom full of preschoolers. I’m no maths person, but I worked it out to be around 14 hours and 50 minutes… or 890 minutes, if you’re counting every single minute. (And believe me, I was!) All you lovely educators out there—if you know, you know.

So, I’ve got two things to share that might have just saved my sanity.

Bubble Wrap and Rainbows

First up—bubble wrap!

I never thought I could love bubble wrap so much, but I sure do. I am in L O V E!

I’m a hundred percent sure I loved it as a kid and remember spending ages popping those bubbles, which I didn’t get to do very often. Back then, there was no online shopping, and not much came packaged up, so bubble wrap was pretty rare. It was special. It was treasure!

So today, when I was flying past the office after my lunch break to get back to the classroom, my lovely director asked if I thought the kids would like to use some bubble wrap she was about to throw away. We try to repurpose as much as we can for crafts.

We’d spent the morning doing painting, drawing, playdough, construction, puzzles, singing, and stories. As well as all that, we had a dance party and survived collisions during The Floor is Lava and The Freeze Dance. A big win! Heck, I was fully prepared to swing from the ceiling to keep the kids entertained and safe. They’re a lively bunch this year (and last year, and the year before that…).

When I heard “bubble wrap,” I thought, Sure, let’s give it a go. But part of me didn’t expect it to be such a sanity-saving hit. But it was.

As soon as the kids saw the bubble wrap, they immediately started popping it. And, of course, arguments were about to erupt — “I want to hold it!” “No, I want to hold it!” Something happens when you hit desperation. You get innovative.

So, I calmly (on the inside) said, “No one is holding it — we’re taping it to the table.” And we did. They sat down and popped away. And I breathed.

Now, this is no fantasy, so I have to be honest: not all the kids sat there popping bubbles like the children from Little House on the Prairie would have for their teacher (if there had been bubble wrap back then). No, that didn’t happen. But it did settle the class down just enough to give me hope for the rest of the afternoon. And that, my friends, was gold!

I was surprised it was such a hit. I mean, with all the deliveries these days, you’d think bubble wrap would be everywhere, right? But I guess with everyone trying to be more eco-friendly, maybe bubble wrap is starting to feel like a rare little treat again. Who knows? Whatever the case, all I know is that today it saved me.

Rainbows

Then, on the way home, I saw the most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen. It was so close I could see every line in it. Rainbows are meant to be a sign of hope, right? And without sounding cheesy, it felt like the perfect end to the day! It was like a reminder that hope can turn up in any way, shape, or form. Sometimes it’s a rainbow. And sometimes… it’s bubble wrap. Haha, that is cheesy, but it’s okay. I’m too tired to be anything else.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have the best weekend, and I look forward to being back here on Monday.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favourites