I'm sorry this one's a little late.  It's been a busy week with parent conferences and interrogating a potential new assistant.  Here are two stories to make up for it:

Um...yeah

Oh, parent-teacher conferences. They reveal so much!  I asked one parent what she does with her child at home and we talked about using TV as a reward instead of a main activity.  Then I mentioned how great the child is doing with starting to pick up letters and writing his name.  I asked, "He loves books. Do you read with him much at home?"  Her response? "No, but I guess I probably should read more." Yes. Yes you should.

I can't be mad at you...

First, a setup: there's a child with autism in our class who's picked me as his favorite teacher. By this I mean that he always wants me to play with him, always wants me to be the one to take him potty, and will literally get into fights by shoving anyone else who gets on my lap.  This afternoon, he got mad that he couldn't have snack yet, because it wasn't ready.  He pushed against me, bit me, fought me, and didn't want me to sit between him and the boy he was trying to take his anger out on.  I reminded my assistant to leave him alone and sure enough, he calmed down. It took all of a minute before he said "Amy sit!"  He's going to kindergarten next year and I'm gonna miss the little guy.

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Twofer Tuesday

I missed updating yesterday, so you get two stories today!

It's Monday

Yesterday, a Monday, one of my assistants was out and another had put in her notice so already it was rocky.  Everything went all right until naptime, when one of  the children decided they would rather have fun with the substitute than stay quiet.  Of course, if you're a teacher, you know how quickly one can turn into many so it wasn't long before I was moving children and hopping back and forth between them.  I commented aloud to the sub, "What is it today?"
One child I was with piped up, "It's Monday!"

Another Great Insight

We have a child that's a picky eater.  She's also one of two girls in the classroom and very sensitive.  Today at lunch, one of the children at her table encouraged her to try her food and she went into her usual routine: head down, facing away, pouting.  One of the boys asked her, "What's wrong with you?"  Then he turned to us and asked, "What's her problem? We have crackers and she usually likes crackers!" I told the children I had just thought of something funny and that's why I had just burst out laughing.  
Somehow, I don't think any of them were fooled. 

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Mini Quotes

Here are a few quotes from the children:

"I'm a turtle! Here's my shell!" (Starts rolling on his back)
"Ah-mee! I poopied!" (from a child with autism, using the bathroom with another teacher for the first time)
"I'm writing a bad note home because his behavior is bad."  (We give out good notes home, not bad ones, so I thought this was especially funny. He then followed through and told the parent!)
"My shoe! My shoe!" (after throwing it over the fence in frustration)

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It Must be Spring

Here in NC, our Springs run the gamut from freezing to feeling like Summer, usually on the same day.  Today the forecast was 80 degrees; the morning was cool but warm enough to go outside, so we started the day on the playground.  It wasn't long before a parent drove up.  A boy got out of the car wrapped head to toe in his blanket, with his mother following behind him carrying the tail like a bride's train.  As they went inside, I waited for him to come out still wrapped in a blanket, but he didn't appear.  A minute later, he and his mom walked back towards the car and he re-emerged wearing a big, puffy, winter coat over top of a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. 
It truly is hard to dress for a NC spring. 

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It's That Time Again...

We've had several children out this week and last week due to being sick.  What's worse is when children come anyway.  Today, during naptime, we had a couple of children just coughing miserably for an hour straight.  Meanwhile, because nothing ever goes the way you want it to, another child decided to stay awake and try to play with everything around him.  Soon he asked to go to the bathroom and I took him, accompanied by the sounds of snoring punctuated by hacking.  While in the bathroom, the boy made crazy faces and was just being a kid.  I told him to go ahead and get done, but I had to hide my smile because it was actually pretty funny.  
Sometimes you just can't help but laugh.

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Salutations, salutations, salutations!

Welcome to a celebration of the little things!  A celebration, that is, of our little ones and the little things they do and say throughout the day that make every day worth it.  It's easy to get weighed down by the negative and focus on what still needs to be done and what didn't happen.  Treat this blog as a deep breath, a calm pause and pick-me-up during the day.  
A few times a week, this space will hold something that happened during the day that was cute or funny.  Feel free to share your own experiences by emailing them to me!  I'll post it on the site to share with others.  Enjoy!

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