[teachers = thearpists]

MT asked me the other day if I was keeping up with my blogging. Right then I came to the sad realization that I had, indeed, NOT. I don’t even remember what I blogged about last. Oh my! The last time I blogged was 2 months ago! SO much has happened since then!

Well, not really.

But let’s see if I can list some things and then elabroate.

1.) Kids say the darnest things.
2.) Parent-Teacher Conferences are painful
3.) Teacher’s are basically therapist
4.) Happy Hour

1.) Kids say the darnest things.
There are so many quotable moments in any given day. I wish I could keep track of them all of the time. But the beauty of it is that there is something joyous every day – and it’s completely unfiltered. Honestly, if you ever need a real opinion, just ask a 5 year old.

Granted, I did get proposed to by my 9th graders.

Ultimately, though, there is no better feeling than to have one of your kids randomly come up to you and say, “You’re awesome!” Why yes, yes I am!

2.) Parent-Teacher Conferences are painful
Okay, not all of them are painful. But at a Kindergarten age, they’re hard. I feel like in Kindergarten, it’s the first time parents are really getting a third party opinion about their child, and sometimes, it’s not what you want to hear. So the question then becomes – as a teacher, how do you address those difficult moments and frame them in a way that is both productive and non-accusatory.

Which leads me to point 3

3.) Teacher’s are basically therapists
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a parent ask, “What do I do?”…

MT in her kindergaren therapist teacher role knows how to ask the hard questions – but in a nice way. I love the question that she asks (well, it’s more of a statement), “you must see yourself in your child” or “were you like that as a child?”

BAM.

Burned.

And more so than not, the parent would admit to being just like their child. Well then, parental units – take a long, hard look at yourself and ask us why your child is the way he or she is.

And then you have those parents that practically break down in front of you because their perfectionist tendencies don’t allow them to fathom how their child is not as perfect as they envisioned him or her to be. And then you have to remind them that their child is only 5 or 6 years old…

I feel bad for them.

But more important – I wonder if I’ll be like one of them.

4.) Happy Hour
I <3 God because God said, “let there be Happy Hour.”

Seriously, why did I not realize this sooner? Granted, I’m breaking out from all of the alcohol and fried foods. But makes the weekday so much more enjoyable. I think Happy Hour was made for teachers. Or something like that…

 

Not the best list I’ve made. But will do for now. More reflections later!