Bug's Done!

He's finished! I really like the way he turned out! I had problems with the backstitching. The graph didn't show all of the backstitching, so I just did it the way that made sense to me. I think it turned out pretty good. (PS: I found the address for this pattern. It's here: http://www.borduurblad.nl. Click on "Patronen" on the left. The ladybug is "Patronen van borduurblad 11.) Now I just have to turn him into a pillow. I'm glad I took a break from the PM girls. I am ready to get back to them now!
I subbed yesterday at a middle school very close to my home. It was a good day. We watched a video the first half of each class, and then they worked on a couple of worksheets. I even got in a good bit of cross stitching. I have a little ornament that I work on during my breaks when substituting. I keep it in my school totebag. I'll show a picture when I get it finished. The teachers at this school get 2 planning periods - back to back. So I had 1 hour and 40 minutes free time! And all the classes were first, so I was finished with classes at 1:15 pm and then they came back at 2:55 for announcements and dismissal. I love to sub at this school! In addition to the great breaks, the kids are very good, and I rarely have any problems. When I took the 3rd period group to lunch, we passed the office. At the end of the day, the secretary said, "I watched you take that class down the hall to lunch. I have never seen that class go down the hall so quietly!" I have very few problems when I sub. I have 2 rules: (1) I will treat you with respect as long as you treat me with respect; and (2) no one can do anything that keeps anyone else (including the teacher - me!) from doing what they are supposed to do. I explain how they show me respect and how I show them respect. I also tell them what we will be doing that day in class and how they need to behave so that everyone can do what they are supposed to do. I also tell them the consequences for breaking a rule: they have to move their desk facing the wall and copy the rule they broke several times. I also tell them right off the bat that I am the teacher that day and that we will do things my way, not their teacher's way! That stops them from telling me what the teacher "lets" them do or what they are "supposed" to do. When I had my own classroom, almost every time I had to be out, the subs would believe everything the students told them that I let them do! I would come back to a totally destroyed classroom with many things missing! One sub believed the worst thief in my class when she said I allowed them to go in my cabinets and closets and get whatever they wanted. That student took almost everything I had! When I leave a classroom, it looks just like it did when I entered it that morning. I don't let the kids go in the cabinets or closets at all. The other teachers always tell me they have overheard the students telling other students, "You can't get away with anything with that sub!" lol But when the day is over, a lot of them will come by the classroom to tell me goodbye and when I go back to that school, kids will call me by name and say hi and will be disappointed if I'm not subbing in their class! So it's still very rewarding to be a "teacher," even if it is part-time! Have a happy stitching day!