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Just Peachy

I’ve come to the end of my first week as a pre-school teacher and some of you out there may be wondering how I did. So am I, especially since, when I come home exhausted, collapse on the couch and complain to OC about my day, he rolls on the floor laughing. I wonder why I never noticed that sadistic streak in him earlier?

Anyway:

I know my Zoo-Phonics. I can count to 20. I know how to sit criss-cross applesauce and I understand the playground rules. I have not hit, bitten, pinched, scratched or kicked anyone. The only concept I have a little trouble with is naptime. It seems that the children are supposed to sleep, not me. Alas.

I have discovered that our 3-4 year old students aren’t familiar with chiffon skirts. I often heard the word, “soft” before small hands would disappear beneath my clothing. Yulp! One young man mistook my full circle denim skirt for a tent and spent the day trying to climb under it. When I return to work on Monday I will have a new wardrobe — sans skirts.

Lunch at a table full of small children is an adventure in self-control. Mikey loves peaches. He saw them on his lunch plate and got so excited he couldn’t get the one on the end of his fork to his mouth — so he grabbed it with his hand; but peaches are slippery little things and it squished from his fingers and stuck to my butt [chiffon skirt]. Mikey snatched it off and ate it anyway. I stuck to everything I touched for the rest of the day.

I had five kids to supervise at hand-washing. Four kids lined up. Chez ran across the room and yelled, “You can’t catch me!” I ignored him and squirted soap on the first kid’s hands. Chez ran past me and yelled, “You can’t catch me!” I ignored him and squirted soap on the second kid’s hands. Chez passed by me again and yelled, “You can’t catch me!” I ignored him and squirted soap on the third kid’s hands. Chez ran up and stopped about five feet away. He yelled, “You. Can’t. Catch. Me!” I ignored him and squirted soap on the fourth kid’s hands. Chez ran to me and smacked me on the leg. I caught him and washed his hands.

Friday I read to the kids during story hour. Afterward K.K. approached. I turned the book toward him anticipating his interest. He ignored the book, wrapped his little arms around my neck and tucked his head under my chin. “Mine,” he said.

So, I guess I did all right, huh?

Quilly is the pseudonym of Charlene L. Amsden, who lives on The Big Island in Hawaii. When she is not hanging out with Amoeba, she is likely teaching or sewing. Or she could be cooking, taking photographs, or even writing. But if she's not doing any of that, she's probably on Facebook or tinkering with her blog.

15 Comments

  1. HAHA at your first week! Pre-school huh? Did you go insane when you moved?! lol

    I would have to take K.K. home with me. I think if that was his response to story-time – you did VERY well for your first week. They would probably run from me. 🙂

  3. Donna — everybody wants to take K.K. home. When he’s not biting, hitting, scratching or kicking, he is very cuddly and sweet. He loves hugs.

    Morgan — let’s hope that trend continues.

  7. Quilly: Ok, I guess that’s alright then; D

    Your entries for the Scavenger Hunt are great. Those tonsils are really yucky and the videos are great.

  8. LOL. Aw…this is soooooo sweet. I love it.

    Preschool is a sticky job. You did great. The only sticky kids I ever liked were my own and my grandtwins. All other sticky kids with dirty hands can go to ….. preschool where they will be nurtured by good women like you.

  9. Polona — the kids act as generators.

    Nessa — I could hardly stand to look at the tonsils to attach them!

    TLP — we nurture with soap and water!

  10. Awwww. I wanna go to pre-K! That sounds like the life! Mind you, I don’t want to teach. I want to have naptime and story time.

  12. If you’d given me a heads up about your wardrobe I could have warned you about the skirt issue. I tend to wear skirts to teach very rarely. As a drama teacher, you’re expected to run around with the students. I would expect that early childhood teachers would have a similar job description.

    K.K. sounds like a couple of my teenage drama students. Some kids just love cuddles and never grow out of it. I’m glad things haven’t gotten so litigious here that I can’t cuddle them back.

  13. Mumma — I knew it would be a problem, but it was what I had. I also had to purchase — okay, OC purchased — tennis shoes because my sandals and heels just weren’t going to do.

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