Life with the Littles: Schools Out!

School is out for the summer! I have waited for this day for weeks and suddenly, I feel like I'm missing my right arm and had a fleeting feeling of, "What am I going to do NOW?" While that feeling went away quickly, I still have that feeling one gets when you forget to wear a watch or something.  I have to admit, I became a little more attached to those kids than I thought I would! There is so much work put into those little guys all year and more often than not- you are with them more than their parents! A lot of their development, "light bulb" moments,  and lessons have been on my time and it's hard to think that I won't be a large part of that anymore and they have moved on from me! There are some very critical lessons learned at the age of 3 and 4 and they are working through many emotions and behaviors.  As teacher and student you work through those with patience you didn't know you had and love you didn't know you could show in certain situations.  Teaching has challenged me in different ways and as I only have 2 years in the profession under my belt, I'm still getting to know what education entails and defining my teaching style.  Lists detour me from rambling so below are a few favorite moments, lessons, and realizations as I put the 2013-2014 school year to rest. Warning-it's very long. I like to look back on these things myself.

-As a teacher in preprimary you are often an educator for the parent as much as the child.  I'm not yet a parent which makes this difficult to have the confidence in advising parents but in certain situations, you do know better as an educator.
-As much as you want to yell into a pillow some days because of the naughty child, they do end up making a sweet spot in your heart.  I think it's because of all the emotions, talks, lessons, and energy we have put into each other.  Every time I heard an "I love you" from that child after a "talking to", I melted a little.  She sent me on an emotional roller coaster, tested my patience, and drew out the teddy bear in me (not hard to do, but for her-yes).
-You have to be an advocate for the child- not just to parents but to fellow teachers.  No, I don't think she has autism.  No, I don't think he has autism.  If we labeled every bright and able child who has one little quirk with autism we would all be on the spectrum.  Sometimes people are quirky.  Sometimes in an 8 hour day filled with directions, socialization, sharing, talking, singing- a 4 year old wants to play alone.
-I'm reflecting on what I need to improve on and there are many** things.  But all in all, I'm proud of my work with these kids this year.  I think this is the smartest group of 3's and 4's I will see.  I'm certainly not saying this is because of me but by adapting to the kind of class I had, we were able to accomplish a lot! At times it was hard to believe in what I was doing because I felt it wasn't fostering a joy for learning and I questioned many things.  But the majority of the time and as the year went on, I began seeing a 4 year old be inquisitive, analytical, and curious.  I followed their lead and gave more opportunity to explore the many wanderings they had and we all were encouraged by this.
-I'm don't feel like the year was a success because the kids learned about nocturnal animals or can write their name. I see that it was a success because the kids showed the start of a moral compass, a love for Jesus, and knew when they were being disrespectful to someone.  They learned that it's more important to be kind than right, they welcomed new students with open arms and excitement, and when someone tripped or fell they all were right there with an "Are you okay? instead of a giggle.  They learned to greet others with confidence, share, obey the first time, and make new friends. They showed the first steps to responsibility, self-control, patience, and showing love appropriately.  This list has me in tears! They were amazing! It sounds like they were 6 year olds but they were (for the most part) the kindest group of 3/4's- and I had the "challenging" class! Ha!
-I have written about my anxiety of teaching Bible before and while I made it through and delivered the message of God's love- there were certainly times when I was at a complete loss for words.  It's amazing what spiritual questions can come from a 4 year old! At times I just had to say, "I don't know" and that's when they first learned about what faith is.
-Yesterday I caught myself asking Will to help me make the bed in song-form.  There is something about singing that makes a child immediately drop everything and listen.  I have sang a song to the boys about cleaning up the pee on the toilette, I have sang a song to the snot maker about going to get a tissue right away.  We sang songs about getting lunch boxes, cleaning up, and not licking your neighbor. They were always made up on the spot and usually went to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell." I could make a record.
-This list only touches on the classroom but there is a whole other world a part from just the kids.  With demands from admin, team leads, curriculum, and preparation- things could get stressful. However, I'm truly surrounded by people who value relationships, realize life priorities, and want to portray Christian values.  I'm not saying it's a fairytale- at all- but it's a good place to be right now.
-I'm learning that there is no strict line between life and your job.  I want my life to be separate from my job. I'm one of those people.  I want to leave work at work.  I'm not a workaholic.  But you just can't.  If I know Tommy's parents are on a 10 day European vacation, I'm going to be laying awake thinking about what his grandparents might be forgetting to bring the next day or if Sue is bringing in Birthday treats and Sally is allergic to EVERYTHING you're going to be searching for some backups. You get calls from families at 9 pm wondering if you'll help Bobby through drop off by himself the next day or 6 am texts asking if it's green T-shirt day.  You are going to get roped into a Saturday ballet recital... Will might put a stop to that one though. :)
-As a mush about the wonderfulness of this class I've got to point out there were numerous times I called my mom frustrated, arms in the air, and perplexed. There were new challenges and ones that I didn't exactly know how to handle.  You do the best you can and then pray about it.
-I will miss them all but here are the ones that pop into my head the most:
 The baby- The youngest in the class and obviously so.  She just needed a snuggle sometimes and was happy following the others.
The Comedian- The little boy who is already doing impressions of his classmate's Grandpa and is the first to catch the jokes-and make them.
The Leader- She wanted to do everything right and I pray that she is never influenced by the negative choices of others.
Bossy pants- Repeatedly confessed to wanting to be the teacher just so she can be the boss.
Ragamuffin- Always a mess.  With all the cubbies cleared out on the last day of school, hers was true to form with orange slices and spilled juice.
My Showcase- I could count on him to do the right thing, say the right answer, and make us look like we knew exactly what we were doing when visitors walked in! :)
-The Tenderhearted, the "Handsy", the Clueless, the Partier, the Troublemaker, the First Crushers- they are all precious!

They are young but they all seemed to understand that they are going to the next grade where I will not be their teacher.  It's cliche to say, but THEY taught ME this year.  I really didn't know what could possibly go on in a group of 3 and 4's when I entered into this position.  But you've got to do something with a group of 17 with high expectations and the kids exceeded any ideas I had and mixed play with school very well.

We ended our year with a big class hug (with them laughing, me gasping for air wondering why that was a good idea and rushing toward the vitamins) and my final reminders of "You all are SO smart and are going to do wonderful things! I love you and loved being your teacher. Remember the things you learned when you go to PK4- Be kind, listen to your teachers, and Jesus loves you no matter what!

*I kept adding things to this mushy-mess of a post! Apologies for the length.