I'm reading a book to 12 three-year-olds about our bodies, and before the page about our brains, I ask the children, "What's inside your head?" After much probing, I realize none of them know. So I tell them that their brains are inside their heads and that they use their brains to think. One of my students, a beautiful girl with blonde hair and big gray eyes raises her hand and says very innocently and emphatically, "But Ms. Abbi, I don't have a brain!" Hahaha.
It was one of those moments when I couldn't keep myself from laughing out loud really hard. And so of course many other students join in happily, "Ms. Abbi, I don't have a brain!" Oh dear.
So I get myself together and say very seriously that everyone has a brain and without a brain we couldn't think or do all of the many things we do at school. But my blonde girl wouldn't have anything of it, she insisted that she did NOT have a brain. She said, "Ms. Abbi, I can think without a brain!" I finally had to drop it. I still don't know why she was so adamant that she did not have a brain. I'm glad about it though, because it made me laugh inside even after I had changed the subject.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
"My Brother"
I have twin boys in my class that I absolutely adore. They are so sweet to each other and to the other students in the class. I am so glad they are in my class because I love them soooo much!! They come from a great family--their parents and older brother are all so polite, respectful, and kind. I have been so impressed by the fact that these twins never fight with each other like you would expect brothers to fight. And to the contrary, they often help each other. Today I witnessed a very touching moment of them today that I wanted to share.
During circle time all the children sit on carpet squares. Sometimes it's a struggle for them to stay sitting on their carpet square for the whole 10-15 minutes, and so their favorite part is Weather, when one of them gets to walk over to the window to see what the weather is and then tell the class. It's a real treat to be able to get off your carpet square! :) The way I pick on a child to do this is by singing this song:
"Oh dear, what will the weather be?
Oh dear, what will the weather be?
Oh dear, what will the weather be?
[Enter name here], what will the weather be?"
When I start singing this song, all the children sit so nicely because they want me to pick on them. And after I say the name, there is always an immediate chorus of "Why didn't you pick ME?!"s and "Ms. Abbi, you didn't pick ME!!"s. And every day I have to tell the children that only one person gets to do the weather each day, and they will have their turn a different day.
Well today for weather I picked one of the twins, and right after I said the name, before any of the other children could even start complaining, the other twin brother punched his hand into the air in celebration and said with glee, "YES! MY BROTHER!" He was clearly extremely happy that his brother was picked for this special assignment.
That really touched me. It was a very powerful example to me of charity and selflessness. A* was able to forget himself for a moment and take joy in his brother's happiness, even when it meant that he was deprived of something he very much wanted. He wasn't thinking in terms of "me," he was thinking in terms of his brother. His brother's happiness was his happiness.
How difficult that can be for us, children and adults alike! We so often feel envious, resentful, or threatened by the success or good fortune of those around us. But we don't need to be. We can be like A* and think in terms of our brothers and sisters rather than ourselves. Their happiness can be our happiness. And because we are all part of God's family, we can exclaim like A*, "Yes! My brother!" (or sister) whenever someone around us is blessed or succeeds. I want to be more like A* and be able to say this easily and from the heart as he so evidently can.
During circle time all the children sit on carpet squares. Sometimes it's a struggle for them to stay sitting on their carpet square for the whole 10-15 minutes, and so their favorite part is Weather, when one of them gets to walk over to the window to see what the weather is and then tell the class. It's a real treat to be able to get off your carpet square! :) The way I pick on a child to do this is by singing this song:
"Oh dear, what will the weather be?
Oh dear, what will the weather be?
Oh dear, what will the weather be?
[Enter name here], what will the weather be?"
When I start singing this song, all the children sit so nicely because they want me to pick on them. And after I say the name, there is always an immediate chorus of "Why didn't you pick ME?!"s and "Ms. Abbi, you didn't pick ME!!"s. And every day I have to tell the children that only one person gets to do the weather each day, and they will have their turn a different day.
Well today for weather I picked one of the twins, and right after I said the name, before any of the other children could even start complaining, the other twin brother punched his hand into the air in celebration and said with glee, "YES! MY BROTHER!" He was clearly extremely happy that his brother was picked for this special assignment.
That really touched me. It was a very powerful example to me of charity and selflessness. A* was able to forget himself for a moment and take joy in his brother's happiness, even when it meant that he was deprived of something he very much wanted. He wasn't thinking in terms of "me," he was thinking in terms of his brother. His brother's happiness was his happiness.
How difficult that can be for us, children and adults alike! We so often feel envious, resentful, or threatened by the success or good fortune of those around us. But we don't need to be. We can be like A* and think in terms of our brothers and sisters rather than ourselves. Their happiness can be our happiness. And because we are all part of God's family, we can exclaim like A*, "Yes! My brother!" (or sister) whenever someone around us is blessed or succeeds. I want to be more like A* and be able to say this easily and from the heart as he so evidently can.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Expressing Love
I have been counting my blessings this week, because I have so many. My heart is overwhelmed by the love I feel for my kids and the love I feel from them. It is one of the most amazing blessings in my life. In my previous jobs there was a policy against saying, "I love you," but there is no policy against that phrase at my current job. And what a difference it makes in my day!! Some of my kids are so good at saying, "I love you, Ms. Abbi" and they will say that to me at the most random times of the day. I love it and try to show them how much I appreciate it when they tell me that. And I try to tell my kids often how much I love them as well. My life is beautiful because of this, that we frequently and openly express love for one another. These three words have a powerful affect on an environment when they are used often. I am so grateful for my kids and the love I feel when I'm with them. I am blessed beyond measure.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Laugh Out Loud
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!
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!
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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