I've been working in the elementary school for two weeks now but strictly with third and second graders. Until today. Today I got to go to kindergarten. Both of my usual classes were on a field trip so I was farmed out to three very grateful teachers on the lower level of the school (Angela was talking this morning about how kindergarten would probably not be on the second floor like my usual classes are. I believe her exact words were, "Could you imagine trying to get a whole class of Olivia's up and down the stairs several times a day?" and no, I couldn't. Mostly because I could carry my cousin's little one Olivia and it's not possible to carry all 20 kinders all around all day!)
So I found my way to room 8 (and yes, it was on the bottom floor) and was welcomed with open arms. I had a seat waiting for me in the front of the room and I was quickly welcomed with sign language! And just my luck today was an awesome day to be in kindergarten -- all 3 classes I would visit were making stone soup! So my first job was to help 8 five year olds cut veggies and potatoes with real, sharp knives! Very exciting. But can I tell you -- I never saw a drop of blood and the veggies were perfectly cut! They were awesome.
Then I moved on to my second classroom of the day where I was welcomed with hugs and Spanish. When I asked the teacher to translate she said they were asking if I knew any other languages besides English. I replied in French that I spoke "un peu francais" and they cheered. Apparently if I had said I didn't know any other languages they'd have hung their heads and said, that's so sad in Spanish! In this class I helped with a handwriting station while a grandma helped cut veggies. I prompted little ones to use the magic "c" to make their "a"s and their "d"s. And this is where I was very quickly reminded of one of the best things of working with the wee ones: their love of cuddling. I immediately had little Leah on my lap (I have no idea how she got there, one minute she was in her chair writing, the next - bam! on the lap) and she was snuggling close.
When I moved on to my third classroom they were just starting their stone soup and by now I was an expert. I helped wash veggies and pass them out and watched as they tried and tried to cut them up with plastic knives. Remember how I said there was no blood with the real knives? Well, there was blood with the plastic knives, 2 boo boos that I had to band-aid! But I totally understood why -- tonight, try cutting your raw veggies and potatoes with plastic cutlery!
As I said goodbye to the last of my kindergartners and headed out from the school I thought about these teachers who do this -- make stone soup, teach handwriting, bandage wounds, instruct on hand washing, cuddle, hug, teach sign language and Spanish and reading and math -- and so much more each day. And I think about my teachers. And then I say a prayer of huge Thanksgiving.
1 comment:
I feel for you. I love teaching, but K5-2nd is the hardest to teach. They are so sweet and so cute, but they are hard to handle and so accident prone. After two weeks with the K5's I was frustrated and I had to ask my son's teacher how to get them to do what they were supposed to do. After a few wise words of wisdom, it was a breeze. I still have to remind them to wash hands if I catch them picking their noses (boogers on the keyboards are a no no), but they do what they are told and are enjoying class so much more. So, ask other teachers if you have any questions. They are full of great idea that come from many years of experience with tiny people. Anyway, glad to see that you are working now and having fun doing it.
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