Snake Babies, Pre-K Boyfriends, and a Good Ole Fashioned Ear Cleaning.

It's always fun to have parties in the classroom. This week was filled with funny things, since the kids spent most of the week hopped up on candy. I even have a few of my own little valentines :)

There is one little fella, who I call Kyle in these blogs, who just cracks me up. Every day, he insists that we sit next to each other at lunch. If I need anything, like a milk to drink or a pack of silverware, he will run up and get it for me. The first time he went to get something for me, he returned and sat down, looked at me and said "Do you need me to get you anything else? I will get you anything you need!". 

Sweet boy! I then told him that if he was a little bit older, he would be a good boyfriend. His face immediately turned beet red and he grinned from ear to ear. I couldn't tell if he was more excited or embarrassed that I said it. 

This week, I asked him to sit somewhere else, because I needed to sit near Ms. Blalock. I told him to go sit between two of the girls in our class, knowing his flirtatious nature. 

He quickly replied "I can't sit by them, Miss Bishop. I'm allergic to girls!". 

Another one of our little sport knockers really keeps us worn out. You might remember him from my last post, the one who speaks like a mini-adult. Well he didn't disappoint this week. He came into the classroom on Monday and said "Well Good Mornin'!". I swear he sounded just like my grandfather. 

This child also says "N'ahmembah" which is his pronunciation for "remember". He begins most of his sentences that way. He always acts like the little classroom helper. He tells the kids what to do and reminds them how they're supposed to act, but rarely acts right himself. We get a kick out of him. 

On a gross note about this little guy, his ears give me the heebie-jeebies. It's obvious that no one at home is cleaning out those little ears and I am a obsessive ear cleaner. So after getting nauseous all day when I saw his ears, I decided it was time to take him to the nurse to have them cleaned out. As he plops up on the nurse's table and she begins cleaning out his ears, I hear him say "Ahhh...that's better."

Another kid you might remember from my stories is little "Andrew", who became infamous with his statement about his infant brother's black poop. Well this week, as I asked him all about how his new baby brother was doing, he informed me that in order to grow up like him, his little brother will first have to shed his skin. I was VERY confused. And I think little Andrew is too. Either he has the recipe for growing up all wrong, or he thinks that his little brother is a snake! 

This week, my little ones reminded me that sometimes, we need our ears cleaned out, in both a literal and metaphorical way. And sometimes, in order to grow up, we end up shedding our skin. From the mouths of babes! 

The Dark Side of the very Full Moon

Sunday before last was a full moon. If you work with children or in a hospital, you know that this has nothing to do with superstition, but things actually DO get 10 times crazier around the full moon. There are not a bevy of sweet stories from this week, because most of our time was spent reigning the kids in and telling them to share or stop running or be quiet or sit down! But there are a few goodies I have to share! 

Friday, we were learning about groundhogs, since the following day was Groundhog day. You know you're in a classroom in South Georgia when your children say "Gro-wund-hawwwwwg". Bless their hearts! 

I also had a little incident earlier this past week that was a first for me and the teacher I teach with says it has never happened to her either in all of her years of teaching. 

A little one tried to choke me out. 

This particular little sweetheart has problems with impulse control. He and a classmate were fighting over a toy and I took the toy and told them simply that if they could not share the toy, then no one could play with it. Little Ben did not like that solution  He jumped into my lap, which was near to the ground thanks to the tiny little pre-k chair I was sitting in. He put his hands around my neck and squeezed as hard as he could, until his olive skin turned bright red and his teeth were gritting loudly. 

I sat and stared at the teacher. I was in shock! I really wanted to laugh but something told me that would not have gone over well.
Of course this kid was punished for his actions, but I just want you all to know that now I feel like if i can survive being choked by a five year old, I can survive anything. 

One child was particularly hilarious last week. First, he spilled his milk and said, just like a grown-up would "Well great..that's just great!". From time to time, we also let this child pass out homework folders at the end of the day. He says the children's names just like us, and even adds little things we say like "come on up here" and "let's go, hurry up". but by far the best copy cat he's done was of me, with his hands on his hips when a classmate wouldn't respond, saying "Don't you hear me talking to you?" just like I do when one of the children ignores me. 

Today, I took a child to the nurse, and we were reading a book about transportation. We turned to a page with aviation. There were pictures of people riding in planes, helicopters, blimps, hot air balloons, and even some people going sky diving. I shared with him that I liked flying in a plane but the rest of those things made me very scared! We sat in the waiting room for MUCH longer. Right before we left, this child was sitting next to an older kid who was looking at the book and when my student saw the older child flip to the aviation page, he quickly said "We better turn the page. This page makes Miss Bishop very frightened!"
What a sweetheart! And it's always adorable to hear little ones use such big words! 
This same child also has a bad habit of calling the ever popular game Angry Birds "Naughty Birds" by accident. Ms. Blalock and I quickly correct him and then giggle quietly to ourselves. 

There are lots of myths associated with the full moon. But I'll be the first to confirm that my class turns into a pack of hilarious little werewolves under a full moon. 

Center Time is what those of you not in Pre-K might call playtime, or mass hysteria. The kids are allowed to play with any of the toys we have in the room. During this hour or so, I just sit back, break up fights, and listen to what the hilarious little ones have to say. 

We have a kitchen set that the kids love to play with. This includes cookware, a little table, and lots of baby dolls. 

Little "Ben" was building with blocks, and before I knew it he had brought a baby doll to me, laid it in my lap, and said "Here. Take care of the baby. I need to go to work"

He just threw the baby at me and left me. But it gave me the giggles for sure. 

On the same day, I heard two little girls in the kitchen who were holding baby dolls and pretending to cook. One of them picked up the phone and talked for a short while and then said "Okay, love you hunny!" and hung up. 

She then turned to her friend and said "That was my husband. He said he's on the way home from work so I need to start making dinner" 

Oh dear. They really do hear everything their parents say, huh?

The cutest playtime game the kids play is "Dad & Son"...I didn't make up that name. That's what they call it. This game is made up of two little boys pretending to be, you guessed it, father and son. It's adorable! I think it's really great that they live in an environment where pretending to be a daddy is something they choose to do. 

Speaking of sons...Friday at lunch, I was talking to Kyle about his siblings. He has two older sisters. I told him that I was the oldest and I only had one younger sister. I then shared with him that I had always wished I had a little brother. 

He said "Well you can have sons!"

I said "Well I guess you're right but that not anytime soon"

Then he thought for a minute and said "hmm..how about Monday?"

A little TOO SOON for me, Kyle! Thanks anyway! 

Kids say the darnedest things, don't they!?

I also had the privilege of teaching a lesson this week. We watched a video about the way that penguins carry their eggs on their feet and pass them from the mommy's feet to the daddy's feet. The kids really liked doing it and loved talking about the little baby penguins. We also supplemented with a few penguin books.   

This week is big for us! Monday was the 100th Day of School, so look out for my pictures of that. Then, we have Groundhog Day and Valentine's Day in two weeks. The time is flying by! This week, you can expect a post about the 100th Day activities and then a Groundhog Day special in the post after that! 

And thank you all for reading! I love my job and the little adventures we have every day and I love being able to share it with whoever wants to hear it. 

Tackled with Love: focusing on the little hearts that matter most

Teachers are wonderful people. They spend their time with children each day, educating them on matters of the classroom and the real world. The lift spirits, are masters of crowd control, and often serve as world-class referees. 

But, despite what our students may think, teachers and paraprofessionals are not perfect. They do not always remember the little eyes and ears that surround them. They forget that they are role models, and that they have a tremendous effect on their students.  

That being said, there was an incident this week that has yet to escape my mind. 

There is a student in my class who is less fortunate than the rest of my kids, and that's putting it lightly. Her mother works day and night, and her high school age brothers are raising her. She comes in every morning with dirty hands and a dirty face. This is to be expected at the end of a long day, but this is how she gets off the bus every day and it leaves me wondering how often she is able to take a bath each week. 

One day this week, it started out warm, but as the day progressed, it got windy and quite cold. Needless to say, many of the kids were not prepared for the weather. This one little girl wore a short sleeve shirt. By the time we got to the playground, she could barely play she was so cold. I had a little sweater on but didn't really need it, so I called her over and told her to wear it. Since it was a three quarter length half sweater on me, it was practically a jacket on her. At the end of recess, she handed it back to me, but when I saw her little brown eyes and her curly hair that needed some TLC, and I thought of my closet that is literally overflowing with clothes, I knew she needed that sweater more than I did. I told her to keep it and take it home with her. 

Later, as she was waiting for her bus to come, one of the para-pros I have bus duty with was commenting on how many of the kids were not prepared for the chilly weather that seemed to sneak up on us and then asked me if I was cold. She also noted that this morning I had a sweater on but probably needed it more now. I told her that I ended up giving it to this little girl, who was sitting only two or three seats away from where we were standing. When the para looked at the little girl who I was referring to, she said

 "You know you'll probably never see that again". 

This disgusted me. First of all, did she not understand the meaning of the word "give"? I didn't want the sweater back, I just wanted this child to have a little something to keep her warm. This little girl had nothing and I am blessed beyond belief. I gave her a sweater, that I maybe paid ten dollars for but she was so happy to have something on her shoulders, to keep her warm, and it made her feel special to have something from her teacher, or so I'd like to think. Not only had this fellow paraprofessional said such a tart, hurtful thing right in front of this child, loud enough that I'm sure the child heard, but she seemed so accusatory and disdainful of this child's circumstance.

I wish I could forget about it but it really hurt me knowing that this sweet child heard what the para said about her. She trusted this para, and saw her every day, and now she had put her down, in front of her peers. 

Children are much more aware than we give them credit for. They pick up on everything everyone says and does. If they hear our put downs and our harsh words about their home lives, which believe me, they are not oblivious to, they will start to believe these things about themselves. And then they will accept these words as truth. Even I have been guilty of this, but this encounter made me hyper aware and I've been watching my words ever since. I am working in the school system as a vehicle to dole out love in exponential amounts, to figuratively and literally wrap my arms around my students and let them know how wonderful they are and how worthy they are. 

If you give love, you will receive love in return. 

This week during playtime, one of my kids came up to hug me. As she came up, all of my kids began to run at me with their arms open. My whole class had wrapped me up in a group bear hug. It was the happiest I have felt in while, and certainly the most happiness I had felt all at one time. We all smiled and giggled as we hugged each other. Then, their little hugs became stronger and I fell to the ground.

 I had literally been tackled with the love of my class. 

Teachers must be more careful about what they say and do around their children. They hear us. And they take it to heart. Love is a verb. It's not enough to tell our students (or anyone in our lives, for that matter) that we love them and care for them. We must treat them with respect, and give them the love they deserve every day. 

"Learn to love for the sheer joy of loving" -Rev. Bill Hurdle

Black Poop: A cautionary tale about Preschoolers' obsession with pregnancy and babies

Most of the women I teach with are married with children. 

And several of my kids in my class have babies in their homes.

 This leads to a very obvious obsession with infants and families.

One of my favorite boys in the class has just met his new baby brother. Before the baby was born, we asked him when his new brother would be born. He replied "My mommy told me that when it snows outside, the new baby will come".

In Southwest Georgia, I really hope the new baby doesn't wait that long! 

Well he didn't! The new baby was born shortly after that conversation. 

When we saw that little "Andrew" was absent one day, the teacher and I knew that must mean his new brother was here. 

The next day, when Andrew returned to school, I asked him "What do you think about your new baby brother? Is he so cool?"

Andrew replied, with wonder in his voice, "Yeah! He poops black poop!"

Apparently, this is what qualifies as super cool in Andrew's mind. 

I have also had two or three students ask if I had a baby in my tummy. I later found out that these kids had mommies who were pregnant or had just given birth. This was my way of telling myself that I wasn't looking pregnant, that the kids are just really focused on being pregnant since it's a common topic at home. 

One sassy little one, "Jayla", even asked "You have a baby in your tummy, don't you?!" 

I quickly had to tell her that no, I in fact DID NOT have any babies in my tummy. 

Another little one, "Nadia" is in the crew I take to breakfast each morning. 

As we ate our sausage biscuits across from one another, she said "Do you make breakfast for your daughter every morning?" I told her that I did not have any children. She asked again if I made breakfast for my daughter. 

I said "Nadia, I don't have a daughter."

"Oh, okay, then for your son?"

She was not getting the message.

I retorted "No, Nadia, I don't have any daughters or any sons, and I'm not married"

Obviously still confused, Nadia asked "Well who do you make breakfast for then? Your husband?!"

I'm quickly learning that persistence is the name of the game with pre-k students. 

Stylin' & Profilin': Fashion tips from 5 year olds

These kids are seriously stylish! 

One little girl, who we will call Hillary, comes in every day wearing an outfit that I wish I was wearing! My favorite so far was a brown cardigan, a gold owl locket, a pink flower patterned shirt, jeans with cutouts in the same flower pattern, and the most adorable paisley Toms you've ever seen. Tied for first is a grey sweater dress with winter white tights with a heart pattern and little tiny black mary janes. Perfection. I'm now getting fashion tips from a 5 year old. 

And one of my favorite little fellas, Kyle, wore these sweet DC skateboarding shoes. I am very familiar with DC shoes, since I went through a middle school phase where I had several crushes who spent their time skateboarding. Well I bent down to tie these sweet kicks of his and said "Oh Kyle I love these awesome shoes! Did you get them for Christmas?"

And with the most effortlessly cool tone in his voice he says "yeah...they're DC". 

Well alright then! 

We have another little fella, who we will call Luke, who dresses like a little college kid. He wears baggy (not saggy) jeans and these little kicks that look like he threw them on to make it to his 9 AM Philosophy class. I mean, just precious! And he's got these unbeatable dimples! 

They also notice what you are wearing. For instance, I wore a scarf two out if the three days of the first half week. On Monday, little Luke says "Miss Bishop, you forgot your scarf today!". I love that they really take note of what I look like each day. But it definitely adds pressure when I get dressed in the morning! 

Another thing they really pay attention to is my manicure. They love to see the color of my nails and feel them. They also love to tell me about the manicures their mommies give them. Little Hillary have perfectly painted finger nails. But she's also the only five year old I know that cares enough to sit still while her mom paints them. One little girl, Sarah, even had her mommy paint her nails to match mine. 

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. 

Nap Time

I wish I had fully grasped the awesomeness of nap time when I was young. Although, I definitely made up for my lack of childhood naps in my first year of college. 

My babies handle nap time one of two ways. There are those who do not nap. They lay on their mat and chat with nap time neighbors, or ask me what time nap time will be over. OUr new solution to this group is a smart board timer. We put the timer up and they watch it. Some of them even fall asleep while watching it, which is an added bonus! But this has really helped keep them from asking every five minutes when they can get up. However, a few of them have noted that I put too many numbers up on the counter and that's why nap time lasts so long. Smart kiddos! 

The other half fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the mat. And when it's time to wake them up, it takes a court order to do so. 

Sweet little "Luke" is the latter of those two nappers. He sleeps behind my desk and he's out like a light within minutes of laying down. He also snores, bless his heart! Once it's time to wake up, I usually have to drag his mat all around the room. I've also resorted to picking him up and standing him up, tickling him, and singing silly wake up songs to him. But he always wakes up in a good mood. We have the same post-nap chit chat every day.

Me: "It's hard to wake up, huh?"

Lukey Bear: "yeahhhhh" 

(this is usually followed by a heavy head nod or a big yawn)

Me: "I have the same problem getting up for school every day!"

Enjoy the naps while you can kids!

 I'm pretty sure there is no nap time in Kindergarten next year.