More Exhausted, More Cold, More Experienced

Sorry for the lack of communication, I've been busy raising 20 children.  That's right, my class is now complete (Headstart enforces a maximum of 20 students per classroom rule). Though I need to make this brief because I have a busy day of Parent-Teacher Conferences, I wanted to let everyone know that I'm alive and well. A little more exhausted, a little more cold, but a little more experienced.  Over the past 16 days a lot has happened.  Let's debrief.

- 4 of my friends have mastered their uppercase letters! All of my big kids got a binder ring with the 26 uppercase letters letters on it like flash cards.  Once they learn all of the uppercase letters, they get the 26 lowercase letters.  Once they learn the lowercase letters, they get the 10 most frequently used words in the English language (sight words).  Once they learn the first 10 words, they get the second 10.  Then the third 10.  Then the fourth 10.  Then the fifth 10!  You get the picture.  My big goal for my classroom this year, is for all of my friends to be able to identify all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters, and be able to read 50 sight words.  Ambitious, I know.  But 4 of my friends have already learned their uppercase and I just gave them their letters October 18 (aka less than a week ago)!

- One of my new friends, C turned 3 July 17th.  He comes into school the first day at 8:30. After breakfast, at approximately 9:20, he says "Okay thank you, you can take me home now."  Kid's got a lot to learn.

- My most recent new friend, M, turned 3 July 23rd.  She doesn't speak any English, and yesterday she stands up during circle time and starts dancing around.  Foolishly, I ask "M, do you have to go to the bathroom?" She looks at me, nods her head, and in front of the whole class pulls down her pants and underwear.  Like I always do when I'm shocked, I started rambling. "No, M, we need to go to the bathroom. You cannot go to the bathroom here, this is where we learn during circle time. The bathroom is this way.  You need to wait and pull down your pants when you get into the bathroom. Blah, blah, blah." Girl's lost. So, while she's standing there in the nude, I grab her hand and pull her into the bathroom in my classroom.  I hear Y from the carpet, "Ewww gross. Wait, Miss Glass, that's gross, right?

- R's mom was an hour and a half late picking him up.  She called after 10 minutes and said she had a flat tire. It was the best 90 minutes I've ever had with him.  His behavior was incredible (I mean, 1 on 1 with the teacher, whose wouldn't be?), we practiced his letters (which he's actually learning- Z is zee, not zipper), read stories (where he predicted the ending based on a picture-walk), and just talked.  When his mom came to pick him up, he said "No, I'm not ready to go, I want to stay with Miss Glass". He eventually left when I told him they were going to lock the doors soon, and when I got home I spent a good 2 hours debating adoption.

- Today, as she often does, M stood up in the center of circle time and shouted, "Friends, do you like my poncho?" Though impressed with her knowledge of the word poncho, I gave her a warning and told her to sit on her letter.  Y, responded with "Hey, Miss Glass! Poncho sounds like pumpkin! It starts with a P?" My kids are the smartest preschoolers in the world.

Alright, it's time for this big kid to go to bed.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Happy Mother's Day

Mondays are the hardest day of the week. Like clockwork, every Monday my students have suddenly forgotten how to hold a pencil, stand in a line, and walk in the hall.  Most of them are exhausted from not getting enough sleep over the weekend.  Some haven't listened or spoken to English all weekend and need to readjust to the culture shock.  Despite all of that, I couldn't have asked for a better Monday.


For: Ms. Glass and Ms. Brooks
From: T, L
Dear Ms. Glass,
You are a nice teacher because you teach me things and we get to have fun.  It is so great to have you and Ms. Brooks as a teacher.  Love, T and L. There is some more words in the back.

Are you really coming to our house?

Please Circle

Yes     No

L been saying she love you because you are nice. My moms phone number is (***) ***-*****. If she have any trouble you could call my mom.
Written by my student's sister, the above note was given to me on loose-leaf notebook paper (upside down), and decorated with flowers and pictures that say "Happy Mother's Day."

We got a new friend today in school.  W is the 18th big kid in our garden! When W's mom and dad came to pick him up, he shouted "Mom I have so much homework and if I finish it all tonight I can get extra homework tomorrow! Can I come back here tomorrow?"

At the end of the day, Y approached me. "Miss Glass I changed my mind, I do like school."

And R didn't wet himself during nap time!

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Half-Bones-Man

There's nothing like comforting a child who can't sleep. I had a huge mommy moment today.

Scene: All of my big kids are asleep on their mats, and it's just 20 minutes into nap time.  (Purposeful Planning at it's finest- we did an extra dance this morning)  I'm sneaking over to the water fountain in my classroom to get a drink of water when M sits straight up and stares me in the eyes.  I felt like I'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

M: "Miss Glass I can't sleep".
Me: "It's okay M, you can close your eyes and listen to the music".
M: "Well I will have a bad dream if I fall asleep".
Me: "Why would you have a bad dream? Are you scared of something?"
M: "I have bad dreams all the time when I sleep."
Me: "Oh I'm sorry M what do you have bad dreams about?"
M: "Ghosts."
Me: "Well M, you know ghosts aren't real so there are no ghosts in our classroom.  And I'll be here when you wake up."
M: "Well I'm also scared of half-bones-man."
Me: "Who is half-bones-man?"
M: "Well he's a man with a skull and he's got half-bones."
Me: "Is it like a skeleton?"
M: "Yeah and he's scary."
Me: "Well, M, we all have bones inside of us. Feel my arm.  Do you feel that it's hard? There are bones in my body. Bones aren't scary because we all have bones."
M: "Well can I feel your belly?"
Me: "Yes, you can feel my belly."
M: "Well your belly is squishy."
Me: "Yeah you're right M, my belly is squishy."
M: "Why is it squishy?"
Me: "Well we don't have bones in our belly. That's where our food goes after we eat it."
M: "Well can you sleep next to me so I can rub your squishy belly?"

You'd think I'd be offended, but the honesty my kids provide regularly is actually refreshing. Realistically, bellies are squishy, and today I helped a 4-year-old fall asleep.  It was a good day.

Best Moment of the Day:
L: "Miss Glass, can we get our own notebooks where we write in our math?"
Me: "L I think that's a great idea. You will get math notebooks tomorrow."
L: "I love you Miss Glass!"


Funniest Moment of the Day:
Y: "Miss Glass will you read Chrysanthemum to me?"
Me: "Y, you start reading the pictures in the library and when I'm done with B I will meet you in the library and finish re-
E: (cutting me off of my sentence) "Miss Glass I love cookies."


Grossest Moment of the Day:
My friend R woke up completely wet again. I need to invest in some pull-ups for this poor kid. And some latex gloves for me.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

Easter Came Early

We're in the middle of lunch.  It was lasagna day, so the typical 'take one and pass it' approach would have been a hot mess.  I spoon out a piece of the meaty, cheesy lasagna to put on E's tray as he looks up at me, wide eyed and bushy haired. "You know, Miss Glass Jesus died. Then he was born again. Can you open my milk?"

Best Moment of the Day:

A's mom: "A loves your homework packets Miss Glass.  He comes home and before I can even ask him if he wants a snack he's begging me to help him with his homework."

Funniest Moment of the Day:
Me: "L, this is your last chance. If you do not leave these papers at home, then I will keep them forever."
M: "Miss Glass what will you do with them?"
Me: "I will put them on my refrigerator. That's what happens when you don't bring your work home to your families.  Miss Glass keeps all your work and put's it on her refrigerator."
M: "Oh no! Don't do that! Then it will be frozen forever!"

Grossest Moment of the Day:
R: "This tastes better when I eat it with my hands."

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass

PS. Everyone check out my sister's tales of a manhattan-ite blog ithrewstones.tumblr.com

Or maybe they do just have attitude...

Walking into my classroom you'd think my kids have attitude problems. Their perceived sarcasm however, is really just attributed to the creativity and imagination of 3 and 4 year olds. Maybe because it was the last day of the school week, or maybe because I was feeling a little silly myself, but regardless, on Friday my kids were extra imaginative.

Me:  "Friends, put a bubble in your mouth." (To those out of the teaching world, this is a cue for students to not speak. If you have a bubble in your mouth, how can you talk?)
M:  "Well Miss Glass, I'm sorry but I just can't find my bubble."
Me:  "M, that's too bad, you really need to find your bubble quickly, we're about to read a story."
M:  "Well Miss Glass, by accident I threw my bubble away in the trash."
Me:  "Well M, maybe you can borrow a bubble from one of your friends while we're reading?"
M:  "But Miss Glass, how can I borrow a bubble from a friend if they all have their bubbles in their mouths?"
Me:  "Okay M, I keep an extra bubble in my pocket for times like these, you can borrow this one. (As I give her an empty hand.)
M:  "Oh thanks Miss Glass!" (Puts an imaginary bubble in her mouth and remains silent for a significant amount of time.)

Thus, problem solved.

Me:  "Friends, I love your quiet feet walking in the hall right now!"
E:  "Thanks Miss Glass! I had my mom put on my quiet shoes this morning!"

He was dead serious.

Best moment of the week:
L: "Miss Glass, we forgot to do our learning cheer! Can we do it when we get back to the classroom! I need to grow up and up and up!"

Funniest moment of the week:
A: "Miss Glass, this is my robot. Her name is Big Sister Robot.  She has a baby sister who cries all the time, and Big Sister Robot doesn't listen because she's too busy singing her robot songs."

Grossest moment of the week:
There were three accidents during nap time this week. 'Nuff said.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass