Kindergarten

I have been in education for 5 years now, but this is the first year that I have my own child. It is amazing to me how different my perspective is just because I have a child of my own now.

I would never have said I was a cruel person before, I just don’t think I understood what it must feel like for a parent to leave their child with me all day and not know what they were doing and how they were acting. Not only must the parent feel apprehensive, but the child is left with a stranger for 8 hours a day for a whole year! Talk about overwhelming.

The past two days I have subbed in a kindergarten class. It was unexpected, but the school needed a sub and I was it. I have to say I HATE subbing; I hate not knowing kid’s names, not knowing where supplies are, not knowing procedures, and of course there was a fire drill…AHHHH!!!

While I do not enjoy subbing, I was able to learn and re-learn SO many important lessons.

1)Kindergarten teachers are worth their weight in GOLD
2)I should not be a kindergarten teacher…EVER!
3)Kids just want to be loved and physically held
4)Kids are sponges, they learn VERY quickly what is appropriate and what isn’t
5)Every kid has at least one redeemable quality, even if it is only one
6)You can get a kid to do anything if you make it a game
7)You can never completely replicate any other teacher, so do it YOUR way, not theirs
8)Teaching is exhausting and Friday afternoons at 3:30 are still the best time of the week!!! You need a weekend to recover and regroup!
9)Oh to have the energy of a 5 year old again
10)I have never been so thankful for my own child as I am after spending the whole day with other people’s children