1.) Kindergarten is fun.
It is. It really is. There are moments when I want to pull out my hair, but that’s mostly because I lack patience on my side… I mean, ultimately, 5 and 6 year olds are hilarious. We were making pop-up cards today (which was SUPER successful) and one of the kids wrote “Live Your Life Symmetrically” on his card. What does that mean? I have no idea. But it sounds profound. That’s all the matters right?

I wrote before that kindergarten is joyous – and while I attribute my general happiness this year to my independence in this new city, I also know that it is because I get a bolt of joy and love every single day. Endless hugs, sloppy kisses (not often, but sometimes – haha), and little notes that say “I love you!” – you really can’t beat that.

2.) I love my coworkers.
I really do. First of all, MT and Uncle Cracker and the best. It’s that perfect blend of colleague and friend where you can be comfortable enough to ask about what their doing in the class in a personal and nonjudgmental way. We are all learning – especially me! And I feel like I learn how to communicate with the kids, be compassionate, silly, be an attentive teacher, and all around loving person from MT. With Uncle Cracker, I learn (slash am reminded) to hug often, accept the kids for who they are, and to run around like an airplane during recess.

I tend to be on the more straight and narrow side of life. I like rules, I like order, I like thinking ahead. BUT, slowly, I’m learning to balance it out.

I also love the other teachers I work with. This year, I have quite a few more coworkers who are the same age as me and in the same place in life. But even if they’re not, I work with a team of student-centered educators who put the children first. See, I want to go to grad school because I want to cultivate more teachers like my coworkers. They exist! See? But they are all in a very specific location. But can’t all teachers be like them?

3.) It’s weird to be sitting.
I’m so used to standing all day, that now that I’m on holiday and have more time to sit… it’s just weird. I think it’s necessary for me to sit sometimes, but I also find myself being fidgety. Man, my body just can’t make up it’s mind. I’m  in better shape than last year though. Now that I’m back home, people have commented that I look slimmer. So I respond – that’s because I’m “cooking” for myself.

I just baked coffee cake and am in the processes of making butter and honey doused baklava… so we’ll see how long this “slim” thing lasts.

4.) Everyone should be a kindergarten teacher at least once.
I think it should be mandatory for teachers and strongly suggested for non-teachers.

I think to learn why we are the way we are, we need to learn where we came from. You can’t see yourself in kindergarten, but you can be in a kindergarten class and identify with at least one child. And then hopefully you’ll have a moment of, “Oh! THAT’s why I am who I am” or “I can see why [insert annoying coworker here] is the way s/he is.” I don’t know, I think it just gives you perspective on human kind.

Also, there is no bigger exercise in patience than being in a kinder class. And if soemthing is not going the way you want, honestly, you only have yourself to blame. Sure, the kinders have some sort of responsibility for themselves, but  when they’re being difficult, you can’t blame them. They’ve only been in this world for 5 years. You should know better, you’ve been here significantly longer.

It’ll help you be kinder (like… kind-er) and compassionate towards others, and honestly, towards yourself.

Okay, I really need to work on this dang statement.

But that is no excuse.

And since I have about 30 more minutes in this coffee shop  before I move on to my next activity, I  will take the time to write.

yup.

I’ve been thinking about the differences and similarities of kindergarten ahd high school. A lot of people assume that they must be completely different worlds. They are… But they aren’t at the same time.

I was at a coworker’s holiday party yesterday (where I had the most delicious eggnog – my first ever homemade eggnog) and a new friend at the party and I got into a discussion about grading and how the school I work at now has no grades, we have narrative report cards instead. And I was thinking about all of the energy and though that goes into writing them. I remember when I was teaching high school last year that I had a great resistance to give grades in the first place. Instead, I wanted to write comments to each student about their progress in class, what they were achieving at, and what they could work on.

And then it hit me. For me, as a teacher, kindergarten and 9^th grade is not too different because of the way I interact with the students. I am attentive to the same things in a kindergarten classroom as I am in a high school classroom. How is the class feeling as a group today? Are they fidgety? Energetic? A bit off? Or right on board with me? Why is Johnny sitting next to April rather than David? Wow! Holly is really attentive today! She must really like today’s lesson. Must keep a mental note to expand on this topic again. How can I best support Felix, who has so much potential, but needs to be redirected every 5 minutes?

What goes through my head as a kindergarten teacher and as a high school teacher is exactly the same. So of course I don’t see the big differences between the two (besides the obvious).

I don’t think all teachers think the same way as I do.

But I think all teachers should.

HAHA.

But no… really. I think they should.

Lately, I’m struggling to find patience. With no real holiday, I’ve been going straight since September and I’m just starting to lose it. My body shut down last week for a few days because of the stress and emotional fatigue from the Kindergarteners and grad school apps.

I dislike having less patience. I think I still mask it pretty well. But I wish I had more patience, especially in the last few days before the winter holiday when all the students want is to love and be loved in return.

So I have to remind myself to accept their love in all forms because their loves is the most pure and genuine of all love.

But how do I remain patient and remind myself of love when little Joseph decides to pull his pants down in front of the class?

I am also realizing… well, I’m not realizing this because I already knew this… so I suppose I am being reminded yet again, that I see some of my students for more hours in a day than their own parents see them. I know how the child plays, reads, writes, interacts, cries, smiles, and eats. Some parents do. Some parents don’t.

So it becomes even MORE important for teachers to be able to attend to the whole student, and not just the academic part.

Clearly my thoughts are all over the place today. I think they’ve been all over the place for quite a while now and that’s why I can’t seem to make progress on my personal statement. There’s only so much I can say in 1500 words. I just want the grad school to have a conversation with me. Then SURELY they’ll understand that my mediocre GRE scores do not define me. But the world is not as kind.

I wish I could fast-forward 10 years and see my kindergartners as teenagers. What will they look like? Who will be dating whom? What would their interests be?

I’m going to take a walk now. I’m long overdue for one. Haven’t had one since school started. I think that’s my ultimate downfall.

A few key issues come to mind.

a.)   Varying philosophies from teacher to teacher in regards to “play”

b.)  Creating lesson plans and units that are age appropriate

c.)   Why am I going to grad school?

To address the first: Varying philosophies from teacher to teacher in regards to “play”

Lately, I have been having a hard time negotiating my place in the playground. It’s not so much I don’t know what to do, but more so that I find myself having to negotiate my boundaries of what is appropriate and what is not on the playground in the presence of other teachers.

I can’t decide if I’m old-fashioned, but I am of the belief that children should be able to run amok on the playground. They should be able to run on concrete, with a stick in their hand, and make disgusting mud water concoctions in big buckets that include dirt, leaves, sticks, and rocks.  While they shouldn’t blatantly hit other kids with ill intention, they should be able to play tag, crash into each other, and fall on the ground. This is the nature of children. And they will not learn to play safe and within their own boundaries and capabilities unless they test it out.

Or maybe I just haven’t heard enough stories about kids whose eyes have been poked out due to a peer running around with a stick in his or her hand.

Unfortunately, when one of my colleagues joins us in the playground, I am forced to reevaluate and second-guess my ideas of “play.” This particular colleague, it appears, would prefer to prevent anything bad from happening by preventing anything from happening at all.

This picture is kind of scary.. not gonna lie.

In one incident, my students were making a magical concoction to mimic a Halloween song they just learned. They filled a bucket with water, found a large stick (quite impressive and very witchlike in appearance), and began to mix their muck with dirt, leaves, sticks and rocks. Halloween play at its finest. A few minutes later, my colleague in question approached my students and began talking to them. Unfortunately I was too far to hear what she was saying. After her conversation with my students, she walked over to me and said, “just so you know, I’ve asked your students not to use dirt, leaves, or rocks when they are making their magical concoction.”

Blink blink.

My immediate thought was to retort, “then what are they supposed to put in their cauldron?!” But instead, I nodded and replied, “ok.”

We talk about how this young generation is so removed from the nature that surrounds them, so we surround them with nature so that they can relearn what is so fundamental and innate in our species. But then we tell them that they can’t interact with nature in the most visceral and organic way possible? Hmm…

b.) Creating lesson plans and units that are age appropriate

It’s weird. I constantly teeter between thinking that lesson plans for kinders are easy versus hard. On one level, they seem easy. In the 50 minutes that I am allotted, I really only have to plan for 30 minutes since it takes 50 minutes to do a 30 minute lesson plan, whereas in high school, I used to have to plan for 1.5 hours for a 1 hour lesson in case the kids lose interest, I lose interest, or we plow through the lesson.

On another level, they are hard – especially within the teaching philosophy of the school I teach at currently. I need my lessons to be aesthetically, intellectually, and kinesthetically stimulating. The kids need to be able to work with their five senses and gain at least a bit of knowledge when they leave for the day.

I’ve had a few lessons that have been successful, but a few that erred to much to the traditional and academic side that didn’t quite jive with the school’s philosophy.

With the high school students, I had a clear goal for the end of the year: to constantly question the world as it presents itself, consider multiple points of view, be able to articulate those inquiries in coherent English sentences, and be active participants in their learning.

What are my goals for kindergarten? What do I want my students to leave with at the end of the day, the week, or the year? Is there a reason why my goals for high school should differ from kindergarten? Can’t they be the same questions? But why is it harder to grapple with at this age?

c.)   Why am I going to grad school?

As I write my personal statement for graduate school applications, I’ve been finding it somewhat difficult to articulate what I want to study in grad school. I think at a fundamental level, I want to teach teachers. No. I don’t want to teach teachers. I think I want to help teachers realize the importance of the ‘whole.’ But then I have this part inside of me that says, “well, you’ve only taught for two years! How can you possibly be arrogant enough to state that you want to teach other teachers?!”

But I don’t think my desire comes from a notion that I already know everything there is to know about teaching. I think it comes from my observations thus far, and my own reflections as an educator. And then recognizing at an early stage that I don’t know everything about teaching, but I do recognize what might be lacking in some educators. And I want to help elevate the level of teaching.

I want to learn how to teach teachers to become better teachers by stressing the importance of self-reflection. But I need to research more to know what the really means.

I know that I’ll have to return to classroom teaching for a few more years. But is it so bad that I know already what I want to do?

Furthermore, I want to teach teachers to be more mindful and be attentive to the student as a whole being. I realize that this is harder to attain in a public institution where classes can be as large as 35 students per teacher, and differentiation finds itself lower on the priority list.

So how do we do that? What is the next step? What are good teaching practices? How do we get all teachers to buy into this? What is the history of education? What models already exist? What have other people been experiencing?

This is why I’m going to graduate school… huh…

TRUTH

As I write my personal statement for grad school, I’ve been actively reflecting on my experiences last year and this year. Granted, I’ve only been in kinder for about 2 months now (ALMOST TWO MONTHS?! Time flies!!!) but I’ve learned so much about the age group, elementary teaching, and myself as an educator.

So, it’s about time for a list, right?

Things I’ve learned and are better at since the school year started:

1.) Reading Kinder-writing (i.e. phonic spelling)
I never learned reading through hooked on phonics. I didn’t even know what “phonic spelling” was until this year.  But now I am slowly getting better at decoding kinder writing… It’s not too different from trying to decode 9th grade writing. But my students this year actually have an excuse for poor spelling, whereas my students from last year have no excuse.

I now know that “fafret” = favorite and that for some reason any word that starts with “w” is often thought to begin with the letter “y.” Okay, so I know why they come up with that conclusion. Say “y.” What letter does it start with if you try to spell it out?

2.) My handwriting
I was writing on one of those big notepad things while the MT brainstormed with the class. At the end of the day, we both looked at my handwriting and MT exclaimed, “you’re handwriting is getting better. It’s more kinder friendly!” HOORAY! That’s quite an accomplishment for someone like me who never ever had good handwriting.

3.) Go with the flow
I wish I could think of a specific example. And the thing is, this also applied to last year so it’s not a new discovery per say… But I think maybe it goes to show that when working with people, patience and humor is a virtue.

If it means my kids want me to be “Mission Control” during recess, it means being Mission Control.

4.) The different ways to support and serve
I had to hunt for a lost tooth with one of my kinders the other day. Unfortunately, he lost it in the middle of a grassy field… The chances of us finding that tooth was about .0009%. And normally I would be annoyed because that percentage would pop into my head immediately and I’d think, “there are so many other things I could be doing rather than looking for this tooth). But I quickly thought to myself, “this is the first tooth this child has ever lost, and I can’t crush his tooth fairy dreams that quickly. Plus, it’s not like I have any where I need to be and the best way I can serve this student right now is if I am on my hands and knees looking for this tooth. At least for a little while.” We looked for 10 minutes. We didn’t find it. But he was significantly less devastated because we had at least tried. And he concluded that he can write a note to the Tooth Fairy.

I remember last May, my mother asked me what my ideal school would look like. I concluded that my ideal school would be one where the teachers were “trained in social emotional stuff.” I think this is an example of when a teacher’s responsibility extends beyond academics. Yes, we don’t always have the time and luxury to look for a lost tooth for 10 minutes of the day; but I think it’s still important to take a second to ask, “how can I best support and serve this student?” (not to toot my own horn or anything). In this case, it was to cater to this child’s emotional needs of losing his first tooth ever.

5.) I work with an amazing team 
MT and Uncle Cracker are awesome people. We don’t always see eye to eye; but we work amazingly well together. I find that we rarely have to spell things out to each other. If one of us says something that needs support, another one of us is right there.

I also realized that it’s extremely important that your teaching team sees and understands children/students the same way. We have the same idea of “appropriate consequences,” observe similar patterns in students, and are not quick to jump to conclusions about students. This allows for discussion as well as an incredible amount of trust. If I say something or am mediating between students, I trust my team to know that I can handle it and know what I’m talking about, and if I can’t, I’ll ask for help. It works the other way as well. When I see MT or Uncle Cracker talking to a student or about to make an announcement, I trust them that they will say what needs to be said or what I was feeling at the time – whether it’s that the volume in the classroom was too high or a mediation.

I see other teams do not so well and I find myself continuously thankful that I work with who I work with.

Okay. That’s it for now because I’m sleepy. More later this week? I hope so!

This morning, she handed me a “book” with the title “this is the gummy bear song” along with lyrics printed out and a drawing of the gummy bear. I forgot to take a picture. That will come in the next blog post. The book was also epic and I was grinning from ear to ear.

Now, without further ado – The Gummy Bear Song (apparently there’s a Hungarian version, a Swedish version, and French version…).

Today at lunch, instead of reading a story, MT decided to do a “riddle/guessing game” as their lunch entertainment (did I get entertained at lunch as a Kindergartner? I don’t know…). I want to make it clear that these were not clues that MT came up with herself; she got them off of a pack of cards that has a bunch of these guessing games on them. For one of the games, the clues were as follows:

- Don’t wear clothes
- From Africa
- Don’t speak English
- Lives behind bars, but not in jail

I feel ya, homie

Now, hopefully most of you have realized that the answer is “Monkey’s living in a zoo.” Or, you may have answered like my kindergartners: “Africans, of course!” or “Are they slaves?”

Granted, there are so many things wrong with the clues in general – honestly, “from Africa” and “don’t wear clothes.” But still…

This comment was made during outdoor recess when it started misting a bit:

“If it’s really raining, it’s misting. If it’s not really raining, it’s hailing.”

Wait, what?!

And my personal favorite from today from a little boy who was completely serious:

“I got yoga cards for my birthday.”

What kind of kindergartner gets yoga cards for his birthday?! Doesn’t he want the latest transformer or a character from Cars? I would’ve been hella bummed if I got yoga cards as a kindergartner. Oh, but I forget… I live in hippietown.

Do I really want this for my birthday?!

Life is never boring in Kindergarten – never.

1.) It rained most of the week
2.) Picture day
3.) Potential emergency exercise

it's never this poetic when it rains in Kindergarten - I'm being ironic.

18 kindergartners with pent up energy because they don’t have outdoor recess means that every day of the week is very, very long. The beauty about outdoor recess is that even if we’re supervising, we really don’t have to do much. We don’t have to play with them. We just keep an eye out. So, in a sense, it’s a break. When you don’t have outdoor recess, you’re cooped up in a small room with super balls bouncing off of the walls.

And then picture day just throws off your whole week. We had 4 transitions in a span of 2 hours. That is 4 times more than the usual number of transitions that we have. And we were perpetually late to everything. But I must say, the school photos were adorable. I don’t think I knew how to cheese when I was in Kindergarten as well as they can in their pictures. Honestly, the moment the camera is pointed at this, they give this wide, toothy smile (well… not completely toothy because most of them are in the “my tooth is wiggly!” and “A tooth came out last night!” phase of their life). And it’s like they all used to be models at one point (well, with the amount of money the parentals make, I wouldn’t be surprised if the kids had their own coffee table photo book…)

Oh, and we were supposed to have an emergency drill (fake fire and earthquakes all that good stuff) but it got cancelled due to rain… which sounds great… but just the fact that we were technically planned to have it got the kids riled up, and then it was the constant questions of “are we going to have it?” “is my mom going to pick me up?” “what happened?”

Needless to say, it was a long, long week. In Kindergarten, routine is king. Mostly because “routine” is never “routine” but structured chaos. With no routine… well I don’t even want to think about that.

So I have a problem. Well it’s not much of a problem, but Anna and I are just not communicating.  She’s one of those girls who I never got along with historically. Manipulative, sneaky, socially smart – one of the girls in the A group that would cry during MS dances to get attention and get what she wants. Alas, as she is one of my own, I still love her. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have our issues. She ignores everything I say and will only be sweet when she needs something.

I am both annoyed and amused. I’m annoyed because usually when I ask her not to do something, it’s mostly because I don’t want her to get hurt – not to be mean to her. I am amused because she’s only been on this earth for 5 years and she already knows the intricacy of human relationships. Honestly, it makes me want to ask, “were you really born in 2006?”

Luckily, it’s only October (OMG is it OCTOBER already?!) so I have plenty of time to build a relationship with her. In the mean time, I’ll just have to keep reminding myself, “she’s only 5, she’s only 5, she’s only 5.”

I wish I had something more reflective to write, but this weekend has been a struggle, so hopefully I can offer something more insightful next week.

For now, peace out home slice.

… that there are some trains in this world that have an engine in each unit (no idea what the technical term is).

Why might you ask?

Umm....

According to Matt (see this post to figure out who Matt is), this particular train has to cross a bridge. This bridge cannot handle the weight of a multi-unit train. THUS, each unit of the train has to detach itself from the other units so that it can cross the bridge separately hence decreasing the amount of stress caused on the bridge by the train.

It sounds like a mighty waste of time.

But I suppose when you do the comparison of important cargo vs. time, I suppose important cargo wins on this one. In this case, TIME = MONEY – the more time spent, the more money you can transport across the bridge.

little penguin can't sing, but can step like no other. holla

I also learned that penguins keep their wings (fins? arms? flaps?) to their sides to keep the warmth in.

And they waddle.

But this (i.e. the waddling), I knew.

I watched Happy Feet.

But today in kindergarten I learned that there is a Happy Feet 2.

My brain worked really hard in kindergarten today.

P.S. I think this might be a new mini series within this blog.

It was great to be back in a communal space to have a shared experience and also share our experiences of what we’ve seen that defines for us the joy of teaching. I felt this very viscerally when one of the teachers communicated how there is so much joy in teaching elementary school every single day.

I took a moment to think about this.

Joy, every single day, at school?

I realized that in the past month in teaching kindergarten, I’ve smiled more than the first month of school last year. When I try to think of one moment that has warmed my heart from this past month, or one of my favorite children, I’t s virutually impossible because each child has his or her own moment every single day. And I am constanly smiling – partly because I have to when teaching kindergartenrs, but also just because there is so much to smile about. Now, this isn’t to say that I didn’t smile last year. I smiled last year as well. But the stressors were more pronounced and overwhelming in the first month last year than it was this year.

I don’t think this means that I’ve suddenly decided to become an elementary school teacher. I still feel that my calling is with older kids. That said, kindergarten is very joyous. And I didn’t think it wouldn’t be. I’ve always said that I was excited for Kindergarten. It was my friends who cringed and gawked at the idea.

I walked into class on Friday to find all of my student sitting around three tables covered in white foam. They saw me and yelled out “Shaving cream!” MT had given them shaving cream to play with at their table while they practiced writing their letters (so that the negative space would be the numbers). It was BRILLIANT. and such a FUN way to practice such an otherwise mundane academic task.

On a more serious note (maybe) – I’ve started my grad school applications. I’ve also even signed up to take the GRE… AGAIN. Shoot me now… I have never been a standardized test taker. Every report card comment from any teacher that has ever given multiple choice tests has, at one point, said something along the lines of “She’s a great writer, but really struggles with multiple choice questions.” I definitely did not get into college because of my scores.

So I was faced with a dilemma that I have been turning over and over in my head for the past week or so – whether to take the GRE again or not. Here’s how the conversations in my head generally went:

I suck at standardized tests and it doesn’t show my true abilities
But the GRE is new this year, so your scores might be different.
But it doesn’t represent who I am. And my whole point in becoming an educator is to adress such issues as standardized tests as a measure for ones ability. So taking it again will just reinforce that.
But what if your not-so-great scores end up reflecting negatively on your application.
But it goes against everything I believe in.
But I think you have to play the game.
But it costs $100+!
But you’re taking it to get you where you want to go to be where you want to be doing what you love.
GAH
GAH

So ultimately I decided to take it because that italicized voice wouldn’t stop nagging me, and I figure if I take it again and my scores don’t change, then that’s that. But at least I can say I’ve tried everything in my applications to make me a good candidate while still staying somewhat true to my beliefs about standardized tests (in the sense that, I’m taking it in November so I only have a month to “prepare”).

Mmmm… Right?

Hey, idealists make good teachers, okay?

Just an update on The OC:

Jeremy and Anna are still going strong. And it seems like Sabrina is still interested in Jeremy. There is, however, a new character (well a few new ones, but one more worth mentioning right now) – Adam. If Jeremy is the quarterback, Adam is the lovable Center. He is built the biggest out of all the kids and is the goofy, nice guy next to the super star. It seems that Sabrina may also have feelings for Adam. Unfortunately, since boys/men are like this regardless of their age, Adam and Jeremy are oblivious to Sabrina, and her innate social awkwardness causes more pain and conflict between involved parties rather than kinder harmony. But wait, was Anna spotted handing Matt, the running back, a bejeweled letter the other day? Until next time – xoxo, Gossip Girl.

Yes, I’m aware that I switched TV shows in the middle. But honestly, I could also include Dawson’s Creek (omg, none of my students from last year or this year know Dawson’s Creek. Is it on Nick at Nite yet?!) and I’ll still be communicating the main idea.

With that said, I’m still disappointed that I don’t feel like I’ve really had a good reflection posted yet. That said, I’m quite sleepy and must get prepared for the next week. Until then.

This past week, just from talking to people and with coworkers, I realized that I generally look forward to going to school. The 6 am alarm is a bit hard to hear, but once I get past that, school is quite fun. This is not to say that school last year wasn’t fun. It was definitely fun. But…

1.) I’m not having to lesson plan every single day. I have one 50 min lesson (essentially) that I have to plan for per week.

2.) Kinders are just fun. No attitude, just dragon eggs.

3.) Really, when the most immediate goal I have as a teacher is to work on my “voice” for reading aloud, then you know I have it good. Granted, that is a gross underestimate of what I have to work on. The last statement was more for entertainment value.

This past week has been ridiculously hot in the Bay. It was one of those, I could be wearing shorts and a tank top and it would still be frikin’ hot sort of days. And my school has no AC. Now, I know I shouldn’t be complaining, and I’m not, but can we please take a second to recognize the heat.

That said, the weather made way for a lot of water play, fun in the sun, and silliness. I would put up pictures, but I’m contractually not allowed to put up pictures of our children on any sort of medium. Fun, right?

Also, Uncle Cracker and I have recently realize that our class is much like an episode of The OC. OLD SCHOOL, I know. We also realized that we don’t think any of our kinders were alive during the OC. Why The OC? Well here are the developments from this last week.

Jeremy is a leader in the class. He is older, can read and calculate a bit faster, and can lead a very cool game of Pokemon. Jeremy recently made a promise to Anna that when they grow up, he will marry her. My conversation with Anna went something like this:

Anna: I have something to tell you!
Me: What’s up, Anna?
Anna: Jeremy said that when we grow up, he’s going to marry me.
Me: Really? He asked you?
Anna: Nods
Me: And you said yes?
Anna: Nods again.
Me: Did you get a ring?
Anna: mouths “I think I’m getting one soon.”

Now, this episode alone does not suggest anything OC-esque. Perhaps more like an episode of Say Yes to the Dress. BUT! It get’s better.

So while Anna and Jeremy are having their romance, Sabrina has also developed a crush on Jeremy. Who wouldn’t have a crush on the Kinder equivalent of the quarterback?! Unfortunately, Sabrina is the exact opposite of Anna in terms of size, cuteness, tact, and manipulation skills. She’s not very subtle either. She’ll go up to Jeremy, tap him on the shoulder and give a very “Flower” inspired smile to him. Just like the photo! And of course she follows him around like no other. Finally, Jeremy gets tired of Sabrina and exclaims that she is annoying and that she can’t play with him any more. Sabrina is shocked and left standing alone in the sand pit. *Cue Commercial Break*

Uncle Cracker and I have been singing The OC theme song to each other. Here it is to jog your memory.

In the mean time, some more observation and fun moments from kindergarten.

I have a child in the class who is very quiet, but I think he is quite intelligent with a whole bunch of interesting opinions. He just tends to observe first. I understand that. That was me. So when Uncle Cracker brought his guitar, and Jonny (the quiet boy) picked up two rulers to start banging on random items around the room, I knew something had to be done to encourage his street drumming. We took him outside with Uncle Cracker, who introduced Jonny to some simple quarter note beats, and 10 minutes later, we had a mini band outside. At the end of the day, I asked Jonny, “Are you going to ask your dad to get a drum set?” Sorry, Jonny’s Dad… I’m sure I could’ve encouraged another instrument. Of course, Jonny replies, “yup” in his deadpan tone that he tends to use. His voice is also quite low for a small kinder…

Teachers Differentiating 1

We were singing a song, this past weekend about nature and earth and what we love. As the song kept going, Uncle Cracker, MT, and I saw little Sarah start to sway with her eyes closed as she began to motion with the song. It was like watching a 70s hippie sway and feel the music at woodstock while she was high. Except she was a 5 year old, not wearing tie die, and only high on life and music. She is also probably the most compassionate child of the bunch. If you were able to feel the music like she does at the age of 5, what does that imply for the future?

And finally, before I end this post (it’s getting long, I need to write it in chunks), I have a goal for the next few weeks.

Now that the children are comfortable with each other, we are now having to deal with social and playground conflicts. This means a lot of conflict mediation by the teachers. Through some of my mediations, i realized that I could do the “are you thinking about committing suicide?” talk and “my boyfriend is abusive” talk with my eyes closed. But when I’m asked to mediate a conflict between two kinders where one boy lost another boy’s special rock – I am a fish out of water. I don’t know where to start, I don’t know where to end, and I ramble in between.

So this is my goal: learn how to mediate conflict better. I will reflect on this more in the days to come.

I also need to write about Back To School Night, but I have to get ready for the day ahead of me, so for now, this is it. I’m sure I’ll have more insightful and reflective things to say. I’ll also elaborate more on my goals and what I observe, but for now, I’m off.