They're coming to take me away.......

They're coming to take me away Ha Ha....They're coming to take me away....

I can not even come up with a duct tape rating for today because we would have to buy in bulk and bring in a wheelbarrow to hold all of the rolls of tape. Officially this may qualify as the worst day of teaching ever - counting my days over the summer one year and at the daycare in town here as well as practicums. It was truly solo teaching as the lead teacher was out all morning doing her weekly routine and the co teacher was out sick - there were two others in the room with me (one the tuesday person who fills in but tends to not be real sure of what to do, the other a teacher from the toddler rooms) but neither was able to take charge or do much more than assist most of today. And of course the lovely educational assistant was polite but did not lift a finger to do anything to help me except when her boss showed up and then suddenly she could not do enough - go figure!

It was one of those days where chaos is too kind of a word as children are deterined to remember every rule ever articulated to them and set out to break it. Giggle Girl was not as clingy today but instead decided to revolt and develop an attitude - this attitude came complete with throwing objects (sand, leaves, toys), refusing to follow directions, and talking back to teachers. Lovely, just what I needed today was another child with an attitude! At times she was her sweet usual self but then she would get this attitude/defiance thing going and just refuse to listen to my words, to follow the rules and even would become aggressive (mild compared to some of her peers but still aggressive). Bug was just my little bug - all attitude, all the time! She climbed on everything, ran like crazy around the room, grabbed other peers' objects, threw toys, tried to grab food at meals and dump it, dumped out her drinks at meals, refused to sit for any activity - you see the pattern here. Yet she did give great hugs, lots of smiles, good requesting, and took a nice long nap without being rocked to sleep (the assistant has insisted on rocking her to sleep the past 6 weeks so now Bug thinks this is how it is going to be - she is 4, no one else gets rocked to sleep so we need to stop this). 1/2 M was very vocal about her desires, she had her own little tantrums, a few items went flying, some tears shed, some hitting peers - basically an M day. Dinosaur boy about drove me out of my mind - outside a peer (my firecracker) rubbed his cheeks which apparently he did not like so he started crying. I talked to the peer and reassured Dinosaur boy that it was alright, that I was sorry it happened and gave him a hug. He continued crying as we walked inside, as we took of coats, as we sat down for circle, as we struggled to get everyone to circle/a safe location, as we took deep breaths to relax, as we sang songs, as we washed hands for lunch, as we sat down for lunch. He cried for a minimum of 25 minutes!!! NOTHING I said or did worked with this child so I ignored it. Finally the regular teacher came in and pulled him aside for a few words because she was tired of listening to it from down the hall!!! Ugh!! That can't look good for my evaluation but I tried everything I know and then some!! My purple princess was back today and emotional is a good word for her - I think if you looked at her the wrong way it would have set her off into one of her screaming/crying/running/hand-flapping fits (don't ask about the hand flapping but I noticed as she runs screaming and crying she flaps her hands - no idea why). So literally every 10 minutes or so she would have an outburst (sometimes like every 5 minutes) that would last from 1-5 minutes depending on if she would let you cofort her right away. Naptime with her was interesting - I swear i am going to have a psychoherapy degree before i am done here because again before she would lay down we had to discuss many things including whom I loved (her, all her peers), who loved her, that she was safe, and what was bothering her/her emotions. So after diving into the emotions of a very upset 3 year old and finding things that should never be there we surfaced and she laid down. I then rubbed her back for like 40 minutes and she was still awake so in desperation I wrapped her up in her blanket, held her in my lap tightly, and rubbed her face - she was asleep in 5 minutes. No she did not fall asleep on her cot this time but she had a 3 day weekend, she was wound up tighter than anything, and she NEEDED that nap.

So that brings me to my firecracker, my child who has crossed the line from aggression to violence in my definitions. I am still freaked out about yesterday's simulation of slitting a peer's throat done with perfect accuracy - that is creepy. Today in the bathroom when I was changing him he mentioned scary movies so I asked him where he watched scary movies, then if there were bad guys on the scary movies but hs answers did not really tell me much about where this bad guys/violent acts thing comes from except he said he watches bad guys on TV and a scary movie with a robot with on eye at his grandfather's house. So during circle time he has a little trouble with aggression but it is normal aggression - one each of hitting, laying on/pressing down on a peer, kicking an object - and it is immediately handled. So at the end of circle I am collecting beanbag crayons that we used during the story having the children name their color as they put it away and he is out of my direct sight - afterall there are 11 children and I can not be a 1:1 teacher for him. All of a sudden I hear my pink (perfectionistic) princess let out that scream you never want to hear - that scream that tells you they are hurt, that they are hurt more than a bump and that it is bad. So I turn around in time to see firecracker standing in front of her arms crossed and blood running down her face from her covered mouth and onto her shirt. One of the other teachers grabs her and runs with her to the sink while I grab my still aggressive looking-for-a-fight firecracker. The pink princess ends up with a bloddy mouth from her teeth being forced into her lips and swollen upper lip so the teacher rinses her mouth until the blood stops, changes her shirt, and gets an ice pack. Meanwhile I have one seriously angry boy on my lap and 9 other children staring at me. Trying to sound calm I direct them to go get their coats to go outside and stay over by their cubbies please. So then it is firecracker and I alone in the circle area and I am holding kicking legs and flailing arms trying not to get beaten. After a minute of talking calmly he relaxes enough that I can let go of his limbs (but not him) and we begin to talk about what happened. I ask him what he did and he very directly tells me what he did "I kicked her". When asked why his answer was "I angry and I kicked her in the mouth". So I firmly told him that we can not kick our friends even if we are angry, that he hurt her badly and that her mouth was really hurt, that it hurts our friends to kick and hit them and I will not let him hurt my friends (etc. the speech goes on and repeats). I asked him if he could play nicely when we went outside or was he going to hurt his friends again and he responded "I gonna hurt them again, I angry and I gonna hurt them". Wonderful because there is a no time out policy so I can not keep him separate from his peers for any length of time. We did however wait until all of his peers had gotten their coats on and gone out the door before we got ours because he "could not be nice to his friends" and so we had to wait until they were outside to go over. Yet we were outside within 30 seonds of his peers leaving and he missed no play time so it was not a time out - he got the message though and it seemed like a time out sitting watching friends put on coats thinking he would have to wait. Also he was told if he hurt anyone outside he was going to have to stay with me on the playground. The rest of the day he alternated from "kind" to aggressive as he had that morning but circle time was his peak - thankfully!! I don't know how I feel about sending a child who flat out tells you he is going to hurt a peer into a group of children to play - it seems like asking for a child to get injured because he is honest and will almost always tell you exactly what he did and to whom so if he says he will hurt someone I trust him.

Positives: Little man was in the best mood I have seen him in a long time just talking so much, laughing, and being silly! He was a little sunshine in the chaos! Redman is always sweet and loving, gentle and precious so I can count on him to be there for a hug and a smile! Pink Princess was a help today in little ways and got over being hurt really fast especially since blood got onto her shirt (something that would normally have sent her over the edge for ever). Ya was really good today, just happy and followed directions. And I managed to get all of my children home alive with all body parts intact and no duct tape on them!! :)

Insanity Runs Rampant

Duct Tape Rating for today: 100

Yes, the duct tape rating (DTR) for today was 100. A bit dramatic? Perhaps, but I considered using more tape than would be necessary to hold together an entire sky scraper. And not just on the children. :)

Today was my first day solo teaching, where I am THE lead teacher in charge of everything and being evaluated as if this were my class and I were the one running it independently. First thing to note is that I was up until 2am last night working on lesson plans, lesson materials, and such so I am rather sleep deprived as it is (at one point my room looked like I had plucked about 25 phychodelic chickens as there were feathers everywhere including all over me) today. Then my giggle girl decides to develop a serious attachment issue with me today where if I was more than 2" away from her she would melt down and if I paid attention to anyone other than her she would lose it or become aggressive pushing the child away. So that did not go over well - we had a few conversations on how all of the children are special to me (she swears she is the "specialist") and how I love them all ("but I love you the most" was her sweet but slightly frustrating reply)- and I created situations in which she had to be separated so other children would have attention. Frustrating and annoying as I am constantly tripping over her, having to try to console children she has pushed or hit, trying to relocate her, and trying to teach over her whining and crying. DTR there of at least 15-20.

So then the lovely (note sarcasm) teaching assistant decided to add to the experience of my first solo day. Before snack I gave my firecracker a directive that he failed to follow, a set of prompts, offered help, and then gave him a directive with a choice and a consequence for each option. Then I proceeded to set out snack and allow him to make his choice - missing snack was the consequence for not following the direction and it would not have killed him. She undermines me by going over to him and physically/verbally forcing him to do the act which makes it no longer a choice, does not allow him to experience the consequence, and undermines my authority. So I grit my teeth and ignore it. At circle he is directed to sit down on an animal (there are animals on the circle time rug for the children to sit on) and he does not follow the direction. Again I repeat the directive, give a prompt, and provide options with consequences. Before I can follow through and allow him to experience the consequences she makes a comment half under her breath about my teaching being inadequate (which I ignore but just barely) and moves to physically manipulate him to sit where she wants him. Having to again stop reading I simply tell her "He can do it by himself" to which she replies "fine, I won't do anything ever again". I am about ready to act out the aggression so often demonstrated by my children but I take a deep breath and wait for a moment. My firecracker, amazingly without her physical handling, sits on an animal and receives praise for doing it all by himself and making a good choice along with a stamp. Then we proceed to read the book with her glaring at me the entire time. Later in the day I watch her run to the lead teacher to complain about my comment and feel torn wondering if I overstepped any boundaries by "correcting" her but also feeling relieved that for once I said something. She has been undermining me, humiliating me, and totally disrespecting me since I entered that classroom. So in the afternoon I desperately needed someone to remove a toy from firecracker's hand because it was an issue of safety and extreme aggression - it could not be done any other less physical way - and I asked for someone to please get it from him. As he ran right past her she just looked at me with her hands in her lap and a smug look. AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! She alone rates a DTR of like 25-30!!

My firecracker has crossed over from being an aggressive child to a new level that I have never witnessed before in a child his age. Today he took a color lens/filter from the science center - it is a wooden object that is square at the top with a piece of colored plastic inside and has a wooden handle- and acted out the murder of a classmate. He stood behind my Dinosaur boy, placed the square part like the blade of a knife against his throat, pressed, and pulled it across his throat and said "I killed you, you're dead". I think my heart rate must have hit numbers never seen before as I tried to figure out how to respond to such a severe act of aggression, although not complete but extreme and dramatically accurate, in a three year old child!!!!! My first objective was to get the object away from him - the last thing we need is for this to become a new action repeated in the classroom either by him or other children. Without assistance from the aide I got the filter away, causing firecracker to whip a set of binoculars at a volunteer in the book corner just missing her head and hitting the wall so hard it sounded like a rock hitting cement followed rapidly by anything else he could find to throw. There is always the issue of drawing too much attention to an act like that, thereby making it desirable because it produces a huge response, juxtaposed with the issue of ignoring it and allowing such violence and aggression to be acted out in what must be a safe learning environment for the other children. Parents are already complaining about their children being injured, being afraid of him, talking about how he hurts them or is mean to them at school and we are doing everything possible to intervene. With 11 children in a classroom there is no way to constantly be with him and any object in the room can become a weapon with him. His behavior the rest of the day was uneven, alternating from aggressive to "normal"/"kind". DTR for him was at least 30.

The rest of the stress came from other issues like 1/2 M being defiant, Little Man not feeling well, and everyday little things that come from small children.

Positives today were that Little Man strung 9 smaller beads on a pipe cleaner with little help, Firecracker and 1/2 M played almost all of free play together in the new raincoats and boots acting out playing in the rain and different imaginative play without aggression at all (apparently he was saving it up :) lucky me), the mud pies that we made and then ate were a huge hit and lots of fun (I accidentally made enough to share with two other classes - note 4 cups of everything makes like 1/2 gallon which is enough for 2 classes to play in well and 3 to enjoy as a treat), the children must really like me if they hang on me all the time - Giggle Girl loves me the most ;), and I can joke about using duct tape without ever even considering it for real.

Can I be of Assistance?!?!

In the classroom where I teach there is an educational assistant provided by the city metro school district as an aide for a specific child but also as an educational assistant. She is not my favorite person to work with for many reasons but I have tried extremely hard to work with her, to go out of my way to be friendly, to be helpful, to not let on that I am frustrated, and all that stuff. Last week she crossed one line that ended up in the other teachers reaching a breaking point of their own as they have been having problems with her. She does not DO ANYTHING all day - she does not interact with the child she is to be assisting, she does not play with him, she rarely changes him, she does not pick him up, she will not wash him up, she will not use his communication devices (which I am not allowed to use) unless a therapist is there watching, she will not do hand over hand with him in an activity so she either gives up or does it for him, she randomly leaves the room any time she wants, if it is too cold for her outside she decides to go in, she violates school policy blatently, etc. So last week I am leading singing circle in which I use song cards - cards with a picture cue of the song on the front and the lyrics on the back. My firecracker takes the card and sits on it, refusing to give it back to me. Following proper behavior management I prompt him to give it back and give him a choice - something like give me the song back so we can all sing or I will help you and you will lose your sticker. Anyway she loudly says "I don't know what is wrong with yall (meaning the teachers) putting up with this but the rest of us want to sing." At that she picks him up with one arm, grabs the song from under him, thrusts the song at me, and plops/drops him back onto the ground. Hello??? That was so inappropriate on so many levels: 1) undermining my authority as leader of the activity 2) going against established behavior policy with a child/in a classroom 3) going against school policy 4) really bad modeling of behavior for a classroom of aggressive children. That same day I was discussing it with the co-teacher during naptime when the assistant was on lunch break (her 30 minute lunch break mysteriously has grown to 45-60 minutes) and I voiced some concerns and the co-teacher asked my opinion on some things. Well apparently the assistant eavesdropped in the observation booth and heard a lot of things she did not appreciate - nothing that was not true, nothing she didn't need to know, but apparently the truth was not appreciated. The teachers had planned to talk to her that week but they wanted my opinion and no one expected her to stoop so low as to listen to other people's conversations. So a confrontation occurred twice between her and the co-teacher in which the co-teacher did explain that yes she had overstepped her boundaries in circle and then on the playground the assistant flat out told the co-teacher she "don't take orders from anyone". We have NEVER ordered her to do anything - this is not the military here and my teachers are awesome! They rarely even ask her to do anything so she spends all day on her bottom doing nothing - her most strenuous activity is sweeping once a day. She actually refused to play with Ml. one day because the center he was in was "too active" for her. These are preschoolers, what did you expect???? If you are unable to sit on the floor with him, to pick him up, to play with him, to tolerate children playing, to interact with them, to do the activities then you should not be there because that is the JOY of preschool, the ESSENCE of working with young children.

So today I accidentally bumped "her baby" on the head with a chair as I was trying to move it (* note, had she not had him sitting in the middle of the aisle/walkway I would not have had to try to step over him with a chair). I immediately rubbed his head, appologized to him, gave him a hug, that whole bit and he was fine - no tears, hardly even a response. She grabbed my wrist and then procedded to slap my arm (not really hard but enough to ache since my muscles are sooooo sensitive) and say in a half-kidding but also half-serious voice "dont you ever hit my baby in the head again" hitting me with each word. Talk about being degraded in front of a therapist and anyone else observing the classroom!! And she was using that voice you use with a 2 year old, a naughty 2 year old you are spanking. Also she had no right to touch me at all - to grab my wrist and modeling grabbing someone and hitting them in a classroom of highly aggressive children was absolutely the WORST idea. I was so shocked I had no idea what to do other than blush eighteen shades of red and try not to cry from embarrassment.

Also today she became extremely defensive and offensive when "her baby" did not receive an animal to hold during morning circle. I am reading Chameleon's Colors during morning circle and have incorporated about 7 plastic animals into the telling of the story that different children get to hold each day. Well 7 animals with 11 children (9 today) means each day there will be children who do not get animals but that is part of the lesson - the children are working on learning to share, to be patient, to take turns, and to cope with not always getting what they want. Each day different kids get different animals but no child goes more than one day without having an animal (if I can keep my memory straight). So today he did not get an animal and she went off on me a bit as if it were a personal thing directed towards him only. I patiently explained I only had 7 animals and that my Bug also did not get an animal today, that every day we take turns getting animals and that he would have a turn tomorrow. I pointed out that she was absent Monday and Tuesday but on those days other children went without animals - yesterday my Dinosaur boy did not have an animal and my Purple Princess did not have an animal, and Ya did not have an animal. After reassuring her of this and promising her an animal for Ml tomorrow, even offering to let her choose which animal, she seemed satisfied. UUUUUHHHHHH!!! As if I would single out one or two children and leave them out of a lesson, especially the children with special needs!!! All she needed to do was ask me if ML would get an animal tomorrow and it would have been resolved instead of getting angry about it. As if she spends any time playing with him or doing anything with him anyway.

So this is not one of my more positive entries. Positives- today was a GOOD day!! The children were pretty good for their personalities, my firecracker was pretty well behaved, we got to play outside for a long time, my lessons went well, my princesses are adorable, my Redman has warmed up to me completely, my firecracker has given me hugs two days in a row (!!!!), I fixed the kids computer today (when all else fails unplug things then plug them back in repeatedly LOL), and I just LOVE teaching! I am sad I only have two more full weeks :( It has gone by soooooo fast, I remember being terrified of starting and now 7 weeks is almost over. I have loved every minute of it, I want to do it more! This is SO what I want to do every day, it is the one thing I know I am willing to get out of bed and spend my days doing, it is the one thing that I will give my all to do. At the end of the day I am exhausted, sore, sometimes frustrated, but happy and have a feeling that can not be described - its some combination of joy, pride, love, accomplishment, excitement, delight, determination, and something I can't quite explain. :)

Duct tape Score of the Day: IN terms of children it was a 4 duct tape day (that's good!) In terms of Adults it was a 5-6 duct tape day (not so good) I continue to be polite, helpful, friendly, and all that but she is really dancing on those nerves. :P Oh well, I can tolerate just about anything and besides - its not my problem!

Ballerinas, Dinosaurs, Obsessive-Compulsive Preschoolers and Duct Tape

Why didn't anyone warn me that student teaching is nothing, NOTHING like teaching? That you have to do an insane amount of paperwork that no teacher in their right mind would ever consider doing on a weekly basis, that you have no one to assist you in preparing materials, that you must be "wonder-teacher" even if only in your own mind, and that you can't say no to anything without fear of that performance evaluation? Ugh! This weekend I wrote 20 lesson plans (detailed, scripted lesson plans), one weekly lesson plan, weekly goals and objectives for each child in each lesson, prepared all of the materials for each lesson (all of the animals to be used in art activities - traced, cut out, their stripes and spots cut, photocopied- THEN all of the academic curriculum materials - the color pattern sheets designed and colored, the bank decorated, the script written- THEN the script written for the story circle THEN the song materials prepared for song circle - luckily only making a few colored donuts this week - THEN gathering the materials for the sensory play today), and did research for a student teaching project for seminar. HELLO??? ANYONE notice anything here - like that I must be losing my mind?? A regular teacher would not have to write out 20 lesson plans to that extent, would have assistants to, well, assist with preparation for lessons if that was the best way to utilize time during nap, would not have projects due for seminar (unless in grad school which I don't plan on doing right away - let me teach for a while first!), and would hopefully have accumulated some of these things already instead of having to make them new each time.

OK, enough complaining about that. :) I am actually loving every minute of student teaching even though I am exhausted, stressed, and running like crazy most of the time. That was just my frantic explanation as to why there have been few entries here- as I take over more lessons I have less time to do things for me like write, or read a book, or sleep....

Ballerinas:
My Purple Princess (with an attitude- who can whine and cry like no one else, the one I am concerned is being mistreated in some way) is obsessed with ballet. Apparently she saw something related to ballet - I am unsure if it was a real ballet, ballerinas in a child's live show, or something else but it is a daily topic of conversation. She is officially going to be a purple ballerina when she grows up (sometimes with a side job as a purple cowgirl - can never hurt to have a back-up career choice) with a second dress in pink with purple ribbons. Purple is her favorite color - it is HER color. So I have been trying to find small ways to make my purple princess feel special, to feel loved because she obviously needs that desperately right now. At the dollar store I found a pile of cloth "ragdoll" ballerina dolls and immediately thought of her. There were a ton of blonde dolls with pink tutus - but my princess is a purple princess with darker hair so that was no good. After a short prayer and a lot of digging I uncovered one, ONE purple ballerina with dark hair. So my purple princess was discretely given a purple ballerina through her less than lovely mother (I am being polite here) and for two days carried that doll around with her everywhere she went - that doll was not a ballerina like she was going to be, it was HER. My Purple princess had a purple ballerina doll that told her she was special, she was loved, and she had someone who cared enough to find her something that she really wanted. There was some confusion over who she thought gave it to her but I really don't care if her mother gets the credit (it may be better that way as her mother needs all the bonus points she can get) as long as it makes my princess feel loved just for a moment.

Dinosaurs:
My Dinosaur boy is, given his nickname, obsessed with dinosaurs and will give you a dissertation on them with the slightest sign of interest. Side note: He is bilingual so this is quite challenging to follow but really precious to hear these huge words clearly roll out of a mouth that stumbles over small English words. So he spends all of his free art time drawing what? Dinosaurs! I made the mistake of teasing one of the teachers on the dinosaur she was drawing for him as the T-Rex had four legs it was standing up on and none up above (they tended to rise up and have two bottom legs and two upper). Dinosaur boy heard her call it a silly dinosaur and refused to accept the drawing. Uh-oh!! So suddenly there is a piece of paper and marker thrust in front of my big mouth with an order to draw a t-Rex "no silly". Anyone remember the reason I am not an art major??? So I carefully approximate a T-Rex that looks more like a Barney balloon with too much helium only with claw feet and hands. Dinosaur boy then asks "it silly" and keeping the straightest face possible I reply "Oh no, it's not silly at all! It is a big, scary T-Rex!" Yeah, about as scary as Barney with a birthday present. But the kid was convinced, the teacher and I had a good laugh, and I learned not to critique things I do not want to have to draw myself!

Obsessive-Compulsive Preschooler
Is it possible for a 4 year old to be obsessive compulsive? If so I have a perfect candidate. My perfectionistic princess is creeping over the edge from adorably perfectionistic to losing-her-mind obsessive. We were doing an art project last week and the choices of colors of paper were purple, pink, and red. Well she was not wearing any of those colors so she wiggled around in her seat and pulled down a corner of her jeans before looking back at me and firmly saying "I want pink paper please." I then offered her a choice of colors of ink and again she wiggled around in her seat and pulled down a corner of her jeans before looking back at me and firmly saying "I want purple ink please." The child was checking to see what color her UNDERWEAR was so she could match her art project to her underwear!! She coordinates her art projects to her clothing!!! Is anyone else concerned?? Its cute when it is to match her shirt or a special pair of shoes but when she has to consult her UNDERWEAR to choose the colors of her art project I think we are edging into the danger-will-robinson territory here. Also one day she was trying to put on her socks and shoes but the toe line of her socks would not stay neatly over the top of her toes - it was ending up across the front of her toes. This had her in tears ready to throw her shoe across the room before I arrived to help her. It took me a good 5 minutes before I was able to get it "right" with the sock and shoe on well enough for her to be pleased. I dared not mention that her two socks were of different kinds - they must have gotten switched with another child's - because the hysterics would have been more than I could cope with amidst the chaos of waking children from nap. She checks herself in the mirror more times a day than any preschooler I have ever seen, she will ask you "dont I look cute today?" or adorable or isn't my outfit fabulous?, and she must, must, must always match. She is very intelligent, very verbal, great memory (too good at times), obsessed with things being "perfect" and "pretty" - she will cry if her art project isn't "pretty" or "the prettiest". She loves to do patterns at art, to literally glue things on in lines in strict patterns that take forever and then getting upset when art is over before she is finished, thus leading to tears over it not being "perfect" or "pretty". I adore her, she is so cute and funny and smart and eager to help and creative, but she is dangerously obsessive about perfection in everything. I worry what that will lead to as she gets older - true OCD, anerexia, etc. all starting at age 4.

Duct Tape
Today we used duct tape in our sensory experiment and I have used it to "T proof" my photo album I am creating for the classroom (T being my firecracker lit at both ends and exploding in the middle). We joke about needing a velcro wall for the kids, or a valium dispenser, or such but I think duct tape is the answer to everything. Thus I plan on giving days a rating in terms of Duct Tape. Today was a 4 duct tape day because I only seriously considered using duct tape on a child 4 times. A 4 DT day is a pretty good day in our classroom, as had I used this scale before there would probably have been 10+ DT days. ;) So now days receive a DT rating in my mind. For example last friday was a whole roll of DT day because it was our Valentine's party and children, parents, too much sugar, special events, music, and all that add up to chaos.

This is one L_______O___________N____________G entry and I am exhausted as usual. Tomorrow is another day, another set of lessons, another set of laughter and duct tape moments.


* There is nothing that can't be fixed with duct tape. This apparently includes children.* Just Joking!!

Finger Paints, Stickers, and Bruises

Between writing lesson plans (in a format that no real teacher would ever consider using in the classroom because they are useless and time consuming), completing assignments, and preparing materials for class activities (song cards for new songs, song materials, art materials) I am finding little time for much else. Sleep is also a priority right now - as working up to 8 1/2 hours (8:30 - 5:00 some days, at least 8:30 - 3:30 every day) with preschoolers is exhausting and there is always something else to do (art work, papers, assignments, weekly lesson plans, individual SPED lesson plans, objectives data, projects, portfolio...). I love every minute of it - don't take it any other way - but it is exhausting!!

My children are a handful!! The vocabulary of one little girl is quite advanced in terms of curse words as she knows words I only learned in high school and uses them "appropriately". Today she called another child an f***ing b**** as she threw a foam cushion at her just as naptime started. Luckily the other child did not understand what she said because that child is brilliant and would have never forgotten those words causing a huge problem. Language is becoming a problem in the classroom with M. swearing and my firecracker lit at both ends having colorful language and now my sweet little bug. Note- my sweet bug is also the one who can not pass anyone without poking them, taking an item from them, or messing something up. She can not sit still without help, she dumps her plate at lunch if not watched, pours out her drink, throws items, etc. Yet she is also very loving, she loves for me to hold her, to cuddle her especially after naptime, and is adorable and friendly. Last week she was sitting on my lap and out of nowhere during circle started to recite sh**, sh**, sh** very happily. Bug does not have substantial verbal skills so she dos not know what this means but i needed to redirect this fast so I replaced it with shirt since she was playing with a classmates shirt repeating "no shirt..say shirt, shiRt!" until she said shirt and stopped with the other. It took everything i had not to laugh at this tiny little child in my lap (she is the smallest child in the class) who clearly has no idea what she is saying very hapily repeating to herself sh**, sh**, sh**, sh** in the middle of circle time. My comic relief - my Bug can make me laugh, my Mr. Handsome, my Giggle girl, my Perfectionist Princess, and my Redman.

Art Projects have gone really well so far. Last week ice skating was an incredible hit with the kids begging to do it again that day and every day since - such a simple activity was a favorite!! Also the painting with ice cubes was great as well with the kids wanting to do it again that day and I had to explain my ice would be melted and I could not make any more that day. I "stole" some of their ice paintings because children made many multiples so I could have them since they turned out so well and show how the whole range of children in the room could participate and make meaningful art. Yesterday we fingerpainted large hearts...fingerpainting with my children, am I nuts??? The tears over who got what color, who touched each others paint, and who ran out of room were predictable for two or three children and pretty easily handled. My firecracker actually behaved pretty well and Mr. Handsome finger painted- a texture on his hands!!! The two hearts are beautiful with swirls of pink, purple, red, and every combination therein with gold sparkles. So much fun even though the mess was incredible. Bug wore a new white shirt that went home shades of the afore mentioned colors .....oops!

Over the past two weeks I have purchased my newest reward for listening - stickers. Children get stickers for helping clean up, for coming to circle time when they should and sitting appropriately, and for behaving right during circle time. Stickers, Stickers, Stickers. However, the other teachers have confiscated my favorite stickers (my glitter frogs) and I want them back!! :P Those were fancy stickers I bought special and darn it those are my incentives for behavior...I need something here people as I am still working on the respect thing with some children. Bug, Giggle Girl, Redman (his favorite color is red, everything must be red), Mr Handsome, and Perfectionist Princess are pretty warmed up to me. Mr Dinosaur does pretty well. Ml. is just a sweet child and listens as well as he can/will on any given day. M. and firecracker do not want to respond to me at all unless I have something to tempt them with - a fun activity, food, or a reward like stickers. Sigh.

Why do parents buy children shoes with hard soles???? Why do teachers keep objects like rhythm sticks out when they know we have aggressive, violent children in the classroom???? Why is the wooden play furniture in the classroom not bolted to the floor???? Why do children throw their bodies back when swinging so their heads come back further than when you first let go of the swing???? Why do children choose to throw the wooden chairs and not the soft foam chairs???? Why am i asking these questions?? To account for the bruises, scratches, and bumps I now have after 3 weeks in the classroom. :)

The room is alive with the sound of papers.......