PART ONE:
I had the privilege of spending many days in the same kindergarten class recently, and what fun it was! OMG, I never stopped laughing. When the kids see you laugh, they laugh too, so there is great merriment all around, every day.
Let me share the more precious memories, some laughs that were bittersweet, that I experienced, all with special thanks to their “real” teacher, who entrusted me with their care and education for a four day week.
I always remind each class first thing, that while I appreciate their efforts to help me by telling me how THEIR teacher does everything, I need to be allowed to do my job, which I can’t do if they are constantly interrupting me. My speech is usually longer than that, if need be, but that wraps it up in a nutshell. The students end up getting the message, although it may take time.
Witness during calendar time: I had already been interrupted three times as to how Ms. B would do "the calendar" by three different students, and each time I repeated my little speech nicely. With the fourth occurrence, I merely raised my eyebrow in the direction of the offender. He immediately nodded and said, “Yeah, right!" and quickly bowed his head. He was letting me know he had forgotten my message. Too cute and of course, it made me smile.
One morning I was writing on chart paper, and running out of space, so I dropped a book on the floor, that had been propped up on the chart paper stand. I must NOT have done it quietly enough, because the same little fellow asks,"Why did you throw that book on the floor?" They are so observant, aren't they?
Ellis, when he proudly showed me his wobbly tooth, I asked, "So you have a loose tooth?", to which he replied, "No, I have a GROWN-UP one!"
"Madame, do you know I am a hunter?" one little darling girl asked me one morning. And she is!
When listing words that started with the "QU" sound one morning on chart paper, I was prompting my class to give me words with that had this sound at the beginning of the word. I was helping them by giving them clues and describing something that water comes out of, when you point it at someone when it's hot. I finally said the word "SQUIRT" as in gun" because we weren't getting anywhere. They all looked at me as if I were from outer space, and one retorted, "They are called water guns, Madame!" Must be a generational thing....? Never mind I was looking for words starting with QU!
Asking Summer where her name was on her worksheet, she informs me nicely, "Look, my name is ahind it."
Coming back into the classroom after my lunch break in the staff room, Issac comes running to me, and says,"Madame, you are NOT going to like what I have to tell you!" Of course I chuckled to myself right away. "I am not?" I asked. I was thinking some fight had broken out during this indoor lunch recess for the kids. Well, it wasn't quite that. "So do tell me Issac, what am I not going to like?" His response? "Someone took a BITE out of your sandwich!" I chuckled and chuckled at that one. I didn't HAVE a sandwich. I wasn't even IN the classroom at lunchtime. I think one of the lunchroom monitors had a chunk taken out of THEIR sandwich. Too funny!
A little one from Cameroon, whose first language is French, comes up to me with tears in his eyes, and exclaims, "Johnny got in my road!" I immediately thought, "Oui, c'est certain que dans une classe, quelqu'un sera dans ton chemin, à un moment donné, mon petit."
These kids are so mature when they speak, so adult-like sometimes. Sam comes up to me with a crestfallen face and asks me,"What do you want to hear first? The bad news or the REALLY bad news?" Well, I am almost afraid to choose, but I do, and ask for the bad news first. "I couldn't find Pickpocket out in the yard." Pickpocket is his dearly beloved little stuffed toy. "Oh dear!" I thought. Dreading the REALLY bad news, I still ask for it. With a forlorn expression on his little face, he informs me, "All I could find in the Lost and Found was a BIG garbage bag full of JUNK!" he exclaims. I felt so badly for him. We searched for Pickpocket again, after school, but no luck. :(
This last one is one of those bittersweet stories. On that note, and realizing that I have been rather long winded, I will leave the remaining, best little stories, for Part 2.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK! BONNE SEMAINE À TOUS!
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