The Cake!

The kids (especially the girls) like making "cakes" out of the woodchips on the playground. I love how when I play along, they smile knowingly and continue playing their cake-making roles. For example, when I point to the ground and say something like, "Wow! This cake is HUGE!" instead of saying, "What cake? We're just pretending!" (like they actually do say about some things) they smile and say, "I know!" or something.

Anyway, today I overheard J. saying, "Hurry! We have to decoration the cake!"

Cute.

Kids and Body Parts

Today I played a game with the preschoolers that involved putting colored Goldfish (those little cheesy crackers I don't like) on circles on a monster's body. When Alex received two Goldfish on the chest circles, he exclaimed, "Look! Boobies!"

::sigh:: Already such a guy. :P

That's Nice, D.

Today I read a book to the whole class (minus the three that were absent, leaving me with only 11) for the first time.

I started reading The Little Green Witch, which is pretty much a Halloween version of The Little Red Hen (you know...the one in which the animals don't want to help the hen do chores and bake the bread...but then when the pie is done, they all want to eat it?), and then D. interrupted and said the following (or something like this):

"Mrs. ____, my socks are shiny."

Umm... That's nice. haha!


*Note: I'm not married; they just find it easier to call me "Mrs."

I Heart Eduardo

Listening to Eduardo Verastegui's "Viva La Locura" at the moment. I like "Tequila" too.

He sings (songs here), acts (he's in Chasing Papi, Bella, etc.), produces movies, etc. He was in one of JLo's music videos ("Ain't it Funny") too.

Too bad he can't be my Spanish tutor. :P

KEVIN!!!

:Last week ... Monday or Tuesday:

*Note: Kevin's a little Asian-American four-year-old

Kevin: "What's my baby's name?"
Me: "Kevin ... or Jack." **He always says that he has a baby named Kevin or Jack**
Kevin: "No. My baby's name is Chinaman!"

Then he kept saying, "Chinaman Chinaman. My baby's name is Chinaman!" Michael, sitting next to him, misunderstood and laughed, saying, "His baby's name is Spiderman."

ROFL ... How did he learn that word? The first time he said that word, I laughed really hard and had to walk away to keep myself from laughing more. Then, I pulled myself together and told him that he shouldn't say that word...or at least I think I did. I hope I did!!

They Call Me "Mommy": Part II

The other day, little Luke ALMOST called me "Mom." He was working on some kind of project at my table, and he said, "Look, Mo--" and then looked REALLY embarrassed. I had never seen him get embarrassed before, so that was pretty cute. I wasn't sure if he actually was about to call me "Mom," but the kid next to him said something like, "Haha! He was gonna call you 'Mom.'" and then Luke didn't deny it. I think part of the reason he almost called me that was because his real mom comes in to help the class every week, and so he probably does tell his mom to look at what he does while they're both in class.

Copycats

I think it's funny how MANY little tricks, behaviors, sayings, beliefs, and attitudes kids these days have are the same ones my friends and I had when we were kids. For example, kids still say in that same mocking tone, "You can't catch me!"

They also like to copy their friends, siblings, classmates, etc. One day, I was doing something with little Samantha at the preschool last week, and I started humming. A few seconds later, she was doing something nearby and started humming too. I had never heard her hum before. lol Chameleon effect, anyone? Learned about that in my Social Psychology textbook. Cute.

Another time, I wiped my mouth with my napkin during luch time, and one of the girls said, "Look, Miss -----. I'm copying you!" and she wiped her mouth with her napkin. Or maybe she said, "I copy you!" I can't remember.

I think I've said this before, but I'd better be careful about what I do in front of the kids.

Pumpkin with a...scarecrow!

:Today:

Me: "Alex, do you remember what the scarecrow's name is?"
Alex: "Pumpkin!"
Me: "Good! And what does 'pumpkin' start with?"
Alex: "Scarecrow."

Haha! I started being more specific after that (e.g., "What letter does 'pumpkin' start with?")

Preschool Observations

* I'll update this as time passes.

Random stuff and things I've noticed about the kids that make me happy:
* They like talking about their siblings. Almost every day, Ruby says to me, "My brother is Sean. He's six."
* E has a brother named Hal (my grandpa's name)
* K likes to ask me, "What's my baby's name?" and it's either Jack or Kevin. lol
* If you want someone to give you an enthusiastic answer, ask Avery a question. Actually, you don't even need to ask a question; just talk to him.
* Alex speaks Armenian to V. and V.'s parents. So cute.
* One day, Alex ran outside the door into V.'s dad's arms, and then the dad picked him up high into the air. Adorable.
* The girls all like pink and purple...and sometimes green.
* S. tries to smile her way out of trouble. It almost works.
* R likes to run around the playground looking for interesting things, and when she does find something, she shouts, "It's a mystery!" or "I found a mystery!"
* L thought it was hilarious when I told Kevin last week to wipe his face and he refused. Today, L said, "Kevin, wipe your face." and laughed.
* They all LOVE the bear hunt song ("We're Going on a Bear Hunt" or something like that).
* K says, "Lue" for "blue."
* E says, "Ello" for "Yellow," although he can say "Yes" perfectly.
--> HE NOW SAYS "yellow" correctly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

"That's my favorite song!"

Two days ago, Avery sang (at the top of his lungs) several lines from Miley Cyrus's "The Climb." Of course, he missed and mixed up a few words, but it was adorable anyway. That pretty much made my week.

Ketchup to Your Friend!

I admit it: I made a lame joke today. I'm hoping the preschoolers will develop good senses of humor.

Luke (behind Avery in line): "Catch up [sounding like 'Ketchup'], Avery! Catch up! Catch up catch up catch up!"
Me: "Ketchup? What about mustard?"
Avery: "Mustard!?!?!"
*Some kids nearby laugh...or maybe that was just wishful thinking and it was just Luke and Avery.*

Who knows if they understood it. I'm just glad Avery thought it was funny.

They're Learning Their Five Senses

We've been going over our senses of smelling, tasting, feeling, hearing, and seeing lately. Avery made it pretty clear today that he understands what his sense of smelling is:

Avery (sitting inside a large blue play tube thing): "I'm using my sense of smell, and someone tooted in here!"

Very good, Avery.

What's even funnier is that he slapped his hand to his forehead again (like he did when this happened) after he said that.

Reminds Me of Princess Leia*

:Today @ the preschool:

Lina (walking in line ahead of Luke): "He's a princess."
Luke: "No. I'm a queen!"

Phew! I thought he'd get mad about her basically calling him a girl. He ended up changing his mind and saying that he was a prince. Haha


*Yeah...I'm lame. Princess Leia...Queen Luke....

I Love You!

Yesterday, little Kevin looked at A while they were all sitting in a line near the drinking fountain (waiting to go inside the classroom) and said, "I love you!"

A apparently didn't know how to react, so he smiled and slapped his hand to his forehead (the "Silly me"/"What was I thinking?" kinda slap--er, more like bonk). I wonder what he was actually thinking. All I know is that the other kids laughed. Good thing no one made fun of Kevin.

Distracted

Mrs. L.: "This is my friend, Molly."
Avery: "It's not real."*
Mrs. L.: "Well, can I pretend she's real?"
Avery (holding up a pair of scissors and not listening): "Um, this is a 'V'."

I think you might have had to be there today when this happened. It made me laugh a lot. Avery's easily distracted and doesn't like doing things he doesn't feel like doing (or saying)...and he'll talk about whatever is on his mind. Apparently he thought it was more pressing to point out the shape of the scissors than to answer his teacher. At least he knows what the letter "V" looks like, right?

*It's funny when they tell adults when things aren't real/when they're "just pretend."

Little People are Hairy

If you've interacted with kids even a little bit, you know they like to ask "Why?" about everything. Today, Jazzlyn asked me about something that apparently interests her:

"Why is my back hairy?"

LOL How are you supposed to respond? I can't even remember what I said.

Then she said, "I think it's because I'm little."