Author: margaretv365

Kid: “Why can’t you take off the brace?”

Me: “I’m at risk for getting hurt again. If I fell over or someone gave me a really, really hard high five, my hand could break again.”

K: “If you bleed?”

M: “Bleeding won’t make my bone again.”

K: “Sneezing?”

M: “Sneezing won’t break my hand again.”

K: “What about talking to the door?”

M: “… sure.”

Today was both happy and sad. I was happy to be done because the kids are absolutely nuts, and I’m exhausted after these last eight days; however, I was saddened because these kids are actually some of the sweetest, most lovable people on this planet. Case in point – one of the kids brought gifts for Ms. Reichlen and Mrs. Cohen and, surprisingly, also gave me a thank you card, something I totally did not expect to happen.

It’ll be weird not going to Reedy Creek tomorrow to see all of their smiling faces. I’ll miss standing in the hallway, saying “good morning” to all the students that walk by. I’ll miss the cheers of “yay, you’re with us today!” I’ll miss the hilarious conversations. I’ll miss the special education students who loved my colorful hair and would come up to me saying, “Teacher, did you know I missed you?” I’ll even miss having to tell the students to sit down and be quiet fifty billion times each day.

As the students left today, each and every one of them gave me a huge hug goodbye. I hope they all continue to thrive in life and continue to strive for their goals, and I hope that I’ll be able to see them all again one day.

 

Teacher: “Friday was Super Kids Day. Well, today is Super Cleaning Day.”

Kid: “Super Cleaning Day? We’re gonna be naked!”

Me: “NO! Keep your clothes on!”

 

Guess who has 1.75 working hands and managed to get out of directing the 100+ ridiculously adorable kindergarteners in today’s performance? This gal! The long-term substitute music teacher swooped in last minute at yesterday’s rehearsal and agreed to conduct today. No potential to embarrass myself in front of a room full of parents – not that they would’ve paid any attention to me as the kids were a riot.

Post-concert, the kids filed back to their respective classrooms, and I was met with my foe from last week: those darn cupcakes. Thankfully, the cupcakes were passed out without any messes or crying. Most of the afternoon was spent running around, helping Mrs. Cohen and the kids clean the classroom, and playing with the kids in their miscellaneous activities including marbles and Magnetix.

I’m super excited and a bit sad that tomorrow will be my last day with these wonderful people, but I’m also glad the year is nearly done.

ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention this in my original draft. During my internship, I have decidedly kept my hair pinned back to 1) keep it out of the way and 2) keep it from becoming a distraction, but today, I decided to leave it down for once. As I was greeting students in the hallway, one of the special education teachers popped out of her door across the hall and said, “I have a student who is obsessed with colored hair, and he keeps trying to come out here to see it.” So, I went to the room and met my little friend who loves colorful hair as much as I do. I squated down so that he could even touch my hair and see the color up close. It was amazing to see his face light up when I let him play with it, and he even tried to follow me out of the classroom when I went back to where I was.

 

I wasn’t allowed to take a video of the concert, but enjoy the singing!

Kid: “Hey, I know you! What’s your name again?”

Me: “My name’s Margaret.”

K: “Oh yeah! Miss Margaret, if I forget your name again, can I ask you?”

M: “Of course!”

*5 minutes later*

K: “What’s your name again?”

One of my goals for this experience was to connect with the kids and learn about them. While I haven’t sat down with the students and talk about their lives, I have heard bits and pieces in passing. What I never really expected was to find myself heartbroken by the stories.

Today, as the students in one class were working on a Father’s Day craft, one student was being particularly uncooperative. This student has been regularly uncooperative in the past, but no one really knew why they were refusing to do this project until they said their father passed away, and there was no one to give the project to.

I also met a sweet first grade girl named Abby whose hair intrigued me from day one because she has a massive bald spot at the center of her head. I discovered that, last year, she battled an aggressive brain tumor and underwent rounds upon rounds of chemotherapy. The teachers and students banded together to create a fundraiser and movement called Abby’s Army that has even reached the attention of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lastly, I met a little girl who moved with her mother and two older brothers from Syria back in the fall. While she is all giggles and cheer now, she was zombie-like at the beginning of the school year and would rarely talk to anybody. One of her brothers developed apparently developed a stutter that can be heard when he speaks both Arabic and English after a bomb exploded next to their house back in Syria.

These children never cease to amaze me. Some never had the chance to truly be a kid. They laugh and play and joke like any regular child, yet they hold so much pain and despair inside. You never know what they hide behind a smile.

 

 T.A.: “Four more days of lunch duty, and then I’m done forever.”

Kid 1: “Forever?”

T.A.: “Yep, I’m retiring.”

Kid 2: “You’re DYING?!”

You could tell it was a Monday. Everyone – teachers and students alike – was dragging when they came in.

I wish I could tell you how much fun I had today, but, if I’m honest, the most exciting thing that happened all day was a thunderstorm. I was slated to start working with Ms. Miller and the ESL kids today; however, just as the school day started, Ms. Miller found out that she had to be in meetings all day today and most of tomorrow.

For a kid who doesn’t own a smart phone (oh the horror) and cannot access the internet at the school, there’s not much to do when you’re not prepared to just sit around. There are only so many times I can play solitaire in one sitting, and I hit that breaking point today. I spent some of my time doing busy work for other teachers, like organizing papers and making sight-word rings for next year’s students, but most of my time was spent sitting alone without anything to do. How many people do you know have been so bored that they offered to do lunch duty? At one point in the day, I texted my mom to tell her how bored I was, and she responded with, “some days are better than others.” She’s right – today was just a weird day.

Tomorrow will be better. At least I’ll remember to bring a book…

 

Me: “Stop messing with the globe.”

Kid: “But I’m trying to find my house.”

M: “Fine. Where do you live?”

K: *points*

M: “You don’t live in Canada.”

K: *points again*

M: “You don’t live in Venezuela.”

K: *points again*

M: “You do not live in the Indian Ocean. You live in North Carolina.”

K: *points again*

M: “That’s Antarctica…”

I successfully made it through the first week, and with only about twelve meltdowns, none of which were mine! Today was a chaotic and wonderful way to end the week because the kindergarten class had a rehearsal for their concert next week, and the entire school had “Super Kids Day” today.

I think I need to learn how to say “no” more often… As the kids were rehearsing their ridiculously adorable songs about moving from kindergarten to first grade, using the tunes of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”, Vic Mizzy’s “The Addams Family”, and Grease’s “Summer Nights”, the teachers and I noticed the kids were either too fast or too slow. At the moment, RCES doesn’t have a full-time music teacher due to events earlier this year, and none of the kindergarten teachers are musically trained. I mentioned that I had been in choirs for years and that my mom was a music teacher, and whaddaya know, guess who has 1.5 working hands and is directing over 100 five-, six-, and seven-year-olds in a concert on Wednesday? This gal right here. Mama, I hope I make you proud. Stay tuned next week for more concert fun.

In the afternoon, the children participated in “Super Kids Day”, which basically consists of a bunch of small humans running around screaming, dripping wet, throwing things through holes or at other small humans, becoming even crazier from the fifty billion popsicles they eat. Some schools refer to it as Field Day. At Cary Academy, it can be compared to the Middle School’s Charger Cup or Fun Fest. Pro tip regarding Super Kids Day: don’t let the kids hug you until you know they’ve changed their clothes (soaking children = soggy hugs). Watching the kids run wild and free after a week of no outside recess because of EOG testing was probably the highlight of my week. It was just the right time for some much needed fun in the sun.

 

Kid 1: “When I’m 80-years-old —”

Kid 2: “You’ll be a great grandma!”

Kid 3: “No, you’ll be like Margaret!”

I don’t know if it’s just because it’s day three, but today was brutal. Maybe it’s because I’m so incredibly old – although, if I look like this at age 80, I won’t be disappointed, but I digress – or maybe my body is already run down by the rampant onslaught of boisterous children. Perhaps it’s because the school year is almost over, or maybe it’s because lunch starts at 10:45, and that post-lunch sleepiness hits when there are still 4.5 hours left of the day. One student looked at me today (at only 10:00) and said, “I need a nap.” Me too, kiddo, me too.

Even with my sleepy daze, I walked into the classroom thrilled to share a funny coincidence (that’s a fancy pants word as the kids would say) that occurred this week. On Monday, while instructing them to write about a fun time with a friend, Mrs. Cohen gave the students an example regarding a time she went to a Durham Bulls game and caught a foul ball, only to have it taken from her bag by her brother-in-law. By sheer luck, at Wednesday night’s Bulls game, I ended up with a foul ball. Their faces lit up like a Christmas tree when I passed the ball around to them and faced constant questions like “why is it so hard?” and “how’d you catch it with your cast?”

Lunchtime brought me more questions and another lesson for this week. To a kindergartener, age is really just a number. I could be 17, 26, 80, or 152, and it wouldn’t matter. To them, I’m just old. Lunch is where all of this age discussion started. They had me guessing their ages and took turns guessing mine, resulting in some… interesting answers. One student started talking about their Chinese zodiac animal, and suddenly (another fancy pants word), I was the expert because they discovered I study the language.

It was today, specifically, that I wished that these curious creatures we call children would never lose that spark of wonder or urge to be inquisitive as they become old like me. These bright-eyed and brilliant kids keep me on my toes, and I feel so honored to be that old wise one they look up to.

 

Teacher: *picks up clump of hair from the floor* “do you have scissors in your pocket?”

Kid 1: “No!”

T: “Are you cutting your hair at home?”

1: “I’m not cutting it!”

T: “Then why does it keep falling out?”

Kid 2: “Maybe it’s tired!”

This morning’s craziness began in Mrs. Bacchus’ classroom as Mrs. Cohen had another regular volunteer come in. Students hadn’t even arrived yet, and I already felt overwhelmed by the immensity of the tasks of the day. The tasks included the usual aiding of tasks, soothing their scared souls when they see a beetle (although, to be fair, I was and still am terrified of bugs too), and making copies of papers on the machine (which I fixed yesterday when it jammed), but I faced two new challenges today: birthdays and story-time.

Many teachers, particularly those who work with young students, will agree that birthdays, while fun, are stressful because when there’s a birthday, you’re sure to find kids hyped up on sugar-filled, brightly-colored, annoyingly massive cupcakes. One student was one bite into his chocolate cupcake when he suddenly remembered that he hates chocolate. Another knocked his cupcake to the floor and cried when it came back lacking in icing while the hot pink glob sat staining the tile floor. Another was prepared to wipe her sticky, blue fingers all down her white shirt had I not stepped in. Many of them got more cupcake on their faces and fingers than in their mouths. To every teacher that had to deal with me bringing in cupcakes, I am so sorry.

Story-time taught me one of the most valuable teaching lessons: don’t ask kids rhetorical questions. I learned this while reading Officer Buckle and Gloria to them. As it was the end of the day, many of the kids sat fidgeting and began making a scene. Silly me mistakenly asked them, “do you want me to keep reading or no?” While many of the kids responded with an enthusiastic “YES!”, one of the students bluntly said “no.” Mrs. Cohen was less impressed, but I sat there laughing my butt off before continuing the story.

Overall, today was just as exhausting and exciting as yesterday, and I am still thrilled to be returning tomorrow. They haven’t scared me off… yet.

 

Note about photos: since I am working with children, there is an issue regarding parental consent; therefore, the photos I am able to publish will most likely not include any of the students to avoid any liability issues. This also means some of my posts may not include photos if it’s not possible to get any without the kids.

Kindergartener: “Do you have a daughter?”

Me: “No, I don’t.”

K: “Well, you look like you do.”

M: “Why do you think that?”

K: “‘Cause you’re OLD!”

Day 1: done. I survived! Woo hoo! As I am working with small children, particularly kindergarteners, I plan on beginning each post from here on out with my favorite quote of the day because kids say the funniest things.

Due to testing for the older grades, I’ll be spending the entirety of this week in Mrs. Cohen’s kindergarten class. If anyone needs any indication of how my day went, well, let’s just say that it’s going to be an early night for me. Don’t get me wrong, I adore small children, especially when they’re potty trained and know how to spell their own name. However, even as an ESL tutor and a camp counselor, I don’t know if anything could’ve quite prepared me for the chaos that is twenty-eight children aged five- or six-years-old at the end of May. People who think teachers are paid enough have never stepped foot in a kindergarten classroom with less than two weeks left of the school year and discovered things to be serene. At one point in the day, I looked up at the clock and realized, with utter horror, that it was only 1:00.

Now, it might sound like today was dreadful, but it wasn’t. I had loads of fun with all of the kids, even the ones I initially struggled with. Sure, there were some tantrums, some troublemakers, and some who just flat out ignored every authoritative figure, but with every conniption, there is something pleasant. There’s the pride in working one-on-one with a student and watching them get through a particularly tough word in a book or when helping them through a math assignment. There’s the joy in seeing them dance around to Uptown Funk during a break. There’s the elation in all of them wanting to sit next to you during lunch. There’s the feeling of warmth as all the kids cheer when you tell them you’ll be back the next day.

Yeah, kindergarteners can suck the energy out of you, but seeing the smiles on their faces is completely and utterly worth it. I’m proud and excited to be spending these next two weeks with the kids I met today, and I simply cannot wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

I’m super excited to spend the next two weeks at Reedy Creek Elementary School. I will be working with the ESL program, the reading specialist, and a kindergarten class. I hope to gain some insight from the teacher perspective in a public school after spending my elementary school years in a public school. I have worked with the ESL program before as a tutor after school, but it will be interesting to see what goes on during the day.