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