Like I've said before, my kids make me laugh out loud every day by the things they say and do. I love it. Most things don't sound very funny to those who don't know the kids, but this week I've had two conversations that I thought you might appreciate, even without knowing the kids.
My coteacher is on vacation this week, and so I've had her schedule: 7-4. (I usually have the 9 to 6 shift.) I have love love loved having the 7-4 shift!! It is oh so nice. This morning I had an average of 2 kids between 7 and 9. Compare that with the average of 10 kids I usually have between 4 and 6 in the evening!
Anyhow, at one point this morning the two kids in my class were I* (girl) and G* (boy). They were both playing pretend, when out of the blue I* has the idea to pretend that they are getting married. G* goes along with it for a minute or so until I* holds her hands out to him and says, "Come on, G*, let's dance." G* says, "No." I ask G* why he won't dance with her. He says, "Because I'm Iron Man!" I ask him why Iron Man can't dance. He says, "Because Iron Man is a superhero!" I say, "Well, sometimes superheroes dance." And he says emphatically, "And sometimes they don't." Hahaha!
And yesterday in the hallway I told the kids we were going to drop something off at the kitchen. A*, one of my Korean kids who is just learning English, says, "Ms. Abbi, I like cooking!" I ask him if he likes cooking with his mom and dad. He says yes and this makes another child remember and say, "My dad likes chocolate!" To which another child says, "My dad likes white chocolate!" And then A*, my Korean kid, says, "My mommy likes pink chocolate!" So cute!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
International Life
Last week at Creme we celebrated the "Week of the Young Child." (One of my coworkers totally made me laugh by saying, "What about the 'Week of the Old Lady?'") We had face painting, a visit from the fire truck, we released balloons into the sky, had a Trike-a-Thon to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and there was a book fair at school all week. That is one of my favorite parts of working at Creme--there is always something exciting going on, whether it's associated with a birthday, holiday, or something else we are celebrating. It definitely keeps us busy and on our toes! :)
One of these exciting things I've been wanting to write about is our annual "International Week." We had it in February and it was so so so much fun! Our area is very diverse and so we had lots of backgrounds to celebrate! Out of my 10 kids, the parents of 2 are from Korea, 2 from India, 2 from Puerto Rico, 1 from Lebanon, 1 from Denmark, and 2 from the US. 5 of my kids are bilingual. In our staff 1 is from Jamaica, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Panama, 2 from El Salvador, 1 from Mexico, and 1 from Uzbekistan. I love it! I love all the accents at work, and sometimes I notice myself saying certain words with the accents of the people around me (including the southern accents :) ).
During International Week each class represented a country with decorations, flags, and learning activities. We were Denmark (my coteacher is Danish). Each child had a "passport" that they used to visit the other "countries" and learn about them throughout the week. The school hired dancers, musicians, and a story-teller to visit our school to perform for the kids. We had multiple "Parade of Flags" where each class walked around waving their class's flag. And the best part was the International Night when the kids and parents dressed up in their cultural dress, brought international food, and everyone ate and walked around the school to see the different countries' displays. It was so fun!
And in a similar vein, our neighborhood is very diverse. Our neighbors are from India, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Korea. I think we may be the only white American people on our street! :) We look forward to getting to know our neighbors better, they all seem really nice. We've been seeing more of them since the weather has gotten nicer in the last couple months. We love going on walks together around our neighborhood in the evenings. Life is good.
P.S. I have the best class in the history of my teaching career. I love my kids so much and look forward to being with them every day. They are so sweet, cute, good, smart, and funny. My life is good!
One of these exciting things I've been wanting to write about is our annual "International Week." We had it in February and it was so so so much fun! Our area is very diverse and so we had lots of backgrounds to celebrate! Out of my 10 kids, the parents of 2 are from Korea, 2 from India, 2 from Puerto Rico, 1 from Lebanon, 1 from Denmark, and 2 from the US. 5 of my kids are bilingual. In our staff 1 is from Jamaica, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Panama, 2 from El Salvador, 1 from Mexico, and 1 from Uzbekistan. I love it! I love all the accents at work, and sometimes I notice myself saying certain words with the accents of the people around me (including the southern accents :) ).
During International Week each class represented a country with decorations, flags, and learning activities. We were Denmark (my coteacher is Danish). Each child had a "passport" that they used to visit the other "countries" and learn about them throughout the week. The school hired dancers, musicians, and a story-teller to visit our school to perform for the kids. We had multiple "Parade of Flags" where each class walked around waving their class's flag. And the best part was the International Night when the kids and parents dressed up in their cultural dress, brought international food, and everyone ate and walked around the school to see the different countries' displays. It was so fun!
And in a similar vein, our neighborhood is very diverse. Our neighbors are from India, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Korea. I think we may be the only white American people on our street! :) We look forward to getting to know our neighbors better, they all seem really nice. We've been seeing more of them since the weather has gotten nicer in the last couple months. We love going on walks together around our neighborhood in the evenings. Life is good.
P.S. I have the best class in the history of my teaching career. I love my kids so much and look forward to being with them every day. They are so sweet, cute, good, smart, and funny. My life is good!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Story Time
One of my favorite parts of teaching preschool is making up stories for the kids. Occasionally my stories disappoint, and the kids get disinterested. But other times I can get them to stare wide-eyed at me in anticipation of what's going to come next in the story, and that is sooo fun! It's also fun to try to come up with morals to my stories. The kids usually ask for scary stories, and so I include things like dragons, witches, princesses, jaguars, dungeons, etc in them.
On Monday night this week I had one of those days when I had all the kids' full attention with a story I was making up. Because of this, I tried to drag the story on a little in order to keep the peace in the classroom. It was at least a ten minute story. I didn't think much of it until Wednesday night, when a five-year-old girl that had been in my class on Monday night asked me to tell her a story. I was tired and not exactly in the story-telling mood, and so I said, "I know, how about you tell me a story tonight!" She protested, but eventually gave in and started telling a story.
Well, to my complete and utter amazement, she proceeded to retell the exact story I made up on Monday night!! She remembered the sequence of events, the characters, the wording, and even the gestures I had used when I had told the story! It was jaw-dropping. I don't know if I could have recalled it as well as she did. Here are some words she had remembered me using: kingdom, Greetings!, Bengal tiger, sleeping potion, China (actually, I had used the word "Asia," but still!). I was amazed!
It was so cute to see her tell this story with such excitement and enthusiasm, and it was one of those times when you feel rewarded for what you do.
On Monday night this week I had one of those days when I had all the kids' full attention with a story I was making up. Because of this, I tried to drag the story on a little in order to keep the peace in the classroom. It was at least a ten minute story. I didn't think much of it until Wednesday night, when a five-year-old girl that had been in my class on Monday night asked me to tell her a story. I was tired and not exactly in the story-telling mood, and so I said, "I know, how about you tell me a story tonight!" She protested, but eventually gave in and started telling a story.
Well, to my complete and utter amazement, she proceeded to retell the exact story I made up on Monday night!! She remembered the sequence of events, the characters, the wording, and even the gestures I had used when I had told the story! It was jaw-dropping. I don't know if I could have recalled it as well as she did. Here are some words she had remembered me using: kingdom, Greetings!, Bengal tiger, sleeping potion, China (actually, I had used the word "Asia," but still!). I was amazed!
It was so cute to see her tell this story with such excitement and enthusiasm, and it was one of those times when you feel rewarded for what you do.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Trials Make the Heart Grow Stronger
You all know the adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Well, I've tweaked that phrase a bit to say, "Trials make the heart grow stronger."
I have had three extremely challenging children in my class over the last eight months, all three of which are no longer in my class. I cannot tell you how grateful and happy I am about this fact! It feels so nice to know that tomorrow most likely none of my children will hit, scream, yell, kick, throw toys, or continually and intentionally try to annoy their classmates or me. I have not had that luxury over the last few months, but now I do, and I am so grateful for it.
This has been such a happy Easter weekend for me as I've looked back over the last 8 months and what I have learned from these three children. Because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ, I am able to learn, grow, and progress because of trials rather than be defeated by them. Here is a celebration of 5 ways trials have blessed my life:
1. I have learned how important it is to try really hard to not judge parents or teachers by the behavior of their children. At times I felt judged by my coworkers for the outbursts or behavioral problems of my children, and it was really hard to not feel guilty or down on myself during these times. I am so grateful for a boss that assured me that I was a good teacher despite my kids' problems. On one especially hard day she could tell that I was feeling really down and she said to me firmly, "Do not let this get to your head. You are a good teacher. His problems are not your fault. Don't go there." That meant so much to me. Don't judge. You really don't know what these parents/teachers are going through.
2. I have also learned how important it is so not compare yourself to others. At times I would compare myself to the the teachers I felt judged by and wonder if my kids would be having so many problems if I were more like them. In some cases these teachers were able to come into my class and get my child to listen or obey when I could not, and that made me doubt myself. In subsequent experiences when these teachers had extended supervision of my children, I found out that they couldn't handle them any better than I could. That gave me hope. I realized that giving a command in one instance (when you are an outsider) is a lot easier than being successful in continuously directing a child in the right direction, and so you can't compare the two. Furthermore, just because someone is different than you or has different strengths than you does not make them a better person than you.
3. Because of this time of testing and trial, I now feel so much more confident in my abilities to manage a classroom, discipline, and know where to draw the line with behavioral issues. Now if I feel judged by another teacher, I don't doubt myself, but rather think, "I am doing the best I can, and while I know it is not perfect, it is pretty dang good if I do say so myself!" Trials help you gain confidence and self-awareness.
4. Going through hard times makes normal times seem easier. I don't think I would be so happy about or grateful for my present class if I hadn't experienced a very challenging class beforehand. In addition, eight months ago, the prospect of having 10 kids in my class would have seemed very hard, but now it feels so nice!
5. I have learned how essential the attribute of temperance is in raising children. The ability to be slow to anger or irritation, remain calm amidst chaos, and exercise self-control is absolutely vital in working with children. I have prayed for this ability, and my day goes by so much better when I am temperate. To sum up this important trait, I will write one of my all-time favorite quotes by Goethe:
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated and a personal humanized or dehumanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be...we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
This is my motto in teaching preschool. I have learned that if I want to create a good climate in my class, if I want to be an instrument of inspiration, if I want to humor and heal, if I want to be able to deescalate crises, and if I want to treat my children as they ought to be, I have to have the quality of temperance. I believe that because of my experiences with these three children, I am a much more temperate person than I was eight months ago.
If you are still reading this, I am impressed. :) I'll stop now in my celebrations, but I may write more in the future. Until then, Happy Spring!!
I have had three extremely challenging children in my class over the last eight months, all three of which are no longer in my class. I cannot tell you how grateful and happy I am about this fact! It feels so nice to know that tomorrow most likely none of my children will hit, scream, yell, kick, throw toys, or continually and intentionally try to annoy their classmates or me. I have not had that luxury over the last few months, but now I do, and I am so grateful for it.
This has been such a happy Easter weekend for me as I've looked back over the last 8 months and what I have learned from these three children. Because of the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ, I am able to learn, grow, and progress because of trials rather than be defeated by them. Here is a celebration of 5 ways trials have blessed my life:
1. I have learned how important it is to try really hard to not judge parents or teachers by the behavior of their children. At times I felt judged by my coworkers for the outbursts or behavioral problems of my children, and it was really hard to not feel guilty or down on myself during these times. I am so grateful for a boss that assured me that I was a good teacher despite my kids' problems. On one especially hard day she could tell that I was feeling really down and she said to me firmly, "Do not let this get to your head. You are a good teacher. His problems are not your fault. Don't go there." That meant so much to me. Don't judge. You really don't know what these parents/teachers are going through.
2. I have also learned how important it is so not compare yourself to others. At times I would compare myself to the the teachers I felt judged by and wonder if my kids would be having so many problems if I were more like them. In some cases these teachers were able to come into my class and get my child to listen or obey when I could not, and that made me doubt myself. In subsequent experiences when these teachers had extended supervision of my children, I found out that they couldn't handle them any better than I could. That gave me hope. I realized that giving a command in one instance (when you are an outsider) is a lot easier than being successful in continuously directing a child in the right direction, and so you can't compare the two. Furthermore, just because someone is different than you or has different strengths than you does not make them a better person than you.
3. Because of this time of testing and trial, I now feel so much more confident in my abilities to manage a classroom, discipline, and know where to draw the line with behavioral issues. Now if I feel judged by another teacher, I don't doubt myself, but rather think, "I am doing the best I can, and while I know it is not perfect, it is pretty dang good if I do say so myself!" Trials help you gain confidence and self-awareness.
4. Going through hard times makes normal times seem easier. I don't think I would be so happy about or grateful for my present class if I hadn't experienced a very challenging class beforehand. In addition, eight months ago, the prospect of having 10 kids in my class would have seemed very hard, but now it feels so nice!
5. I have learned how essential the attribute of temperance is in raising children. The ability to be slow to anger or irritation, remain calm amidst chaos, and exercise self-control is absolutely vital in working with children. I have prayed for this ability, and my day goes by so much better when I am temperate. To sum up this important trait, I will write one of my all-time favorite quotes by Goethe:
"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated and a personal humanized or dehumanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be...we help them become what they are capable of becoming."
This is my motto in teaching preschool. I have learned that if I want to create a good climate in my class, if I want to be an instrument of inspiration, if I want to humor and heal, if I want to be able to deescalate crises, and if I want to treat my children as they ought to be, I have to have the quality of temperance. I believe that because of my experiences with these three children, I am a much more temperate person than I was eight months ago.
If you are still reading this, I am impressed. :) I'll stop now in my celebrations, but I may write more in the future. Until then, Happy Spring!!
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