Where were you when the lights went out?

I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time, but I'm fairly certain Wednesday was the first time since I first began working at school (nearly 18 years ago) that the power went out for more than a few minutes.  I had a group of 12 - 13 small folk in a small area off of a main hallway.  We had just finished our journals--the last step of our science lesson--when the lights went out. 

Our school has very few windows, especially when compared to the schools of my youth.  So it was dark.  Dark enough that I had a tough time being able to see everyone.  No screams, no panic and no tears, instead we began to have a casual chat about who thought the lights would probably come back on.  They did for a moment.  And then quickly went back out again.  I decided it was time to gather the group into a line and head back out to our building.  At least the annex has windows.

There's nothing like a schedule changing event to send both adults and children off kilter for the rest of the school day.  We always have plenty to do, but trying to corral and regain the attention of 25, 5-6 year olds after their day has completely gone off course is a big challenge.  Teacher L and I tried to be satisfied with the attention of 50% of our class.
What a relief it was to have a second chance at normal in the afternoon!