It was ME!

One time at the preschool I caught a kid hitting another kid, but then a lot of things happened after that glimpse of a hand falling on someone, so I gave a stern talking to the correct kid and then mixed up their names or something and told an incorrect kid to apologize to the victim. Fortunately, the one who had actually hit the other kid immediately said, "He didn't hit him. I hit him!"

I love how these little guys just blurt out the truth constantly.

I MISS PRESCHOOLERS!!

Early Sympathy & Empathy

.:Preschool:.

Today was the last day of school and my final day working at the preschool. Here's one of the cute/sweet things that happened today:
[Child with autism throws a fit and cries loudly]
Samantha (to me as the other child leaves): "That's sad, huh?"
She also gave me dried mango (see below), which she knows I like because I brought it to school once after seeing her eat it for lunch. Hers is actually better than mine! I might post a picture later. Such a sweet little girl. She said it was also from her sister, who used to come up to talk to me whenever I went to the cafeteria for the kids' lunches. I'll miss them so much.

This is the dried mango she gave me:

This is the dried mango I had shown her from my lunch earlier (way different: mine wasn't as good as hers 'cause it was really sweet and hard vs. her smoother, softer, more chewy dried mango):

Superman's Only For BOYS?!

Little Kevin (in broken English), pointing at my watch: "That's...boy clock."

haha. Cute.

I've gotten that a lot with my Superman watches and lunch pail. I used to have a Disney princess shirt, but I gave it to a little girl because it was too small. Anyway, I'm teaching these kids that it's okay for girls to like boy superheroes. Heck yes.

So Random

I always have to stop myself from laughing whenever the kids say things that don't make sense or aren't appropriate within a certain context.

I've noticed that M says two completely different things (that should be two separate sentences but aren't) in one breath, apparently assuming that the other person will understand both of his trains of thought. For example, the other day he said something that came out like this: "I'm going to Texas next week Albert and Jimmy have bikes now."

What?

Haha. I changed the boys' names.

Another time, I was reading a book to the kids when D raised her hand and said, very slowly, "Um, myy brootherr likes to eat chips."

That's nice! But...can we finish the story? She does this a lot. It's cute that she wants to talk about her brother so much, but her comments are so random. :D

Huh?

Sometimes it's difficult to accurately describe the funny or cute things I encounter with kids. Sometimes you just have to have seen their facial expressions, heard their giggles (like Samantha's), etc.


For example, the other day, E, who often mumbles and has trouble enunciating due to his little boy accent/voice, said something to D about her watermelon. I looked at D, who looked at me at the same time, a puzzled expression on her face.

I quietly asked, "What did he say?"
She shrugged, frowning slightly, and I couldn't help but laugh at our shared puzzlement.
I think E noticed (you have to be so careful how you react to things in front of kids!), so I asked him what he had said, he repeated himself, and I made it clear that I understood and agreed with him. Luckily the confusion D and I shared didn't phase him. If it had, we might have had to deal with a very upset little boy (he's known for reacting unpredictably to certain things).

Anyway, D's facial expression was priceless.

Caught Red-Handed

One of the best parts of being with kids is when you catch them doing embarrassing or cute things that they probably wouldn't do if they knew people were watching.

The other day, E. (preschooler) was walking to his cubby, and, being the hyper kid that he is, he did a kind of dance/waddle, shaking his butt left and right without realizing that another teacher and I were watching. So adorable. I wish I had that on videotape.

Earlier, I caught a male sixth grader dancing and making weird bodily and facial movements outside of his classroom. He saw me and stopped dead in his tracks. I smiled and stifled a laugh. Poor guy. Sometimes there are few differences between preschoolers and older kids. And adults, to be honest.

I had another story but forgot it.

Can I Adopt You?

Seriously...I love this kid so much that--without thinking through all of the logistics--I would seriously consider adopting her. That won't happen. I just think she is so adorable. I absolutely love all of the other kids though, to be honest. I wish I could babysit them all! Have I said that before?

Anyway, today, when the preschool girls were lining up in the bathroom, as I was getting ready to sing a song with them, I leaned toward S to more clearly hear her, and she jumped up and hugged me, almost breaking my back and knocking me over...and kind of hanging from my neck due to her tininess (I didn't know "tininess" was a word until just now).

Being a Teacher

.:Preschool:.

Yesterday (5/10/10) I asked A. (girl) on our way to the cafeteria if her mom liked the Mothers Day gift she made for her at school, and she said something about her really liking it, and then she said, after sighing softly, "You teachers are so great."

This is the same girl whose mom told me that ever since A started school, her behavior has improved significantly at home. It's nice to know that the kids and their parents like the teachers. :)

Maybe someday I'll be some kind of teacher again. In addition to what I already want to do.

Me According to Preschoolers

By S.:


By E. (below). What's extra cute about this is that he wanted to include our ages above our heads (he drew me and himself in his journal). I cut off the bottom part because it says my name (The teachers write what the preschoolers say about their drawings, and E. said, "This is you" to me, and I wrote in brackets which teacher I was).

Creative Artwork at the Preschool

The same girl who painted germs the first week of school drew something else very mature for her age.

The kids were drawing castles as a morning exercise, and when she showed me her awesome castle, she pointed to a solid green circle and said something like this: "And that's a hose. You know...because sometimes they're curled up like that."

Sooo impressive. First, it's interesting that she thought to draw a hose for the castle's inhabitants. It's also interesting that she imagined a wound-up hose instead of an extended, snake-like one.

Prince(ss)/Manners Week

.:Preschool:.

Tuesday, 3/23/10

Last week we talked about good manners and princes and princesses at the preschool. We explained this to the kids on Monday, so when little S. walked in on Tuesday after having been absent on Monday, what she said made me want to laugh.

Instead of questioning the crown I was wearing, she said, "Miss [----], I like your crown."

'Cause, you know, it's perfectly normal for girls/women to wear pretty crowns on any given day. Typical little girl response. Adorable.

So Cute!

.:Preschool:.

Friday, 3/12/10

Maybe this isn't as cute to you as it was to me, but J. was sitting with Mrs. L. yesterday during recess, and he sat down next to her on the grass and said, "Mrs. L>>>, can I tell you something?" in the sweetest little innocent voice. I have a picture, but I don't have the kid's parents' permission or Mrs. L's. :P

Funny Responses

.:@ the Preschool:.

Me: "You think so?"
O. (5-yr-old): "I know so."

He actually said it in a respectful way.

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Me: "I had a marshmallow milkshake!"
A.: "Ohoho!"

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I love how easy it is to get a lot of kids excited about...anything. All you do is change the tone of your voice. For example:

Me: "Guess what I have in my lunch today?"
Kids: "What?"
Me: "A sandwich with peanut butter, jelly, and APPLES!"
Kids: "Whooaaa!!" (It was more like "whoa," "oh," and laughter put together. It's hard to explain).

They also got pretty excited when I told them about riding on a subway in New York (I told them that this train goes underground and above buildings...and they were amazed).

Two Preschool Quotes From Today

L. (trying to determine if his friend's sibling is a girl or a boy): "Is she a girl or a sister?"

S: "Yesterday we had a lot of Hmong people at our house."
The little girl who said this is Hmong. This made me laugh because she didn't sound happy about it. It was kind of a whispered, almost-offensive-to-offensive comment...if that makes any sense.

Funnies From Today's Compound Words Lesson

(1) Me: "What are these words called again?" *Compound words*
A doesn't answer
Me: "Coooom..."
A: "Down."

(2) After I explained how "doghouse" was "dog" + "house," J. said, "OOoohhh. It's because sometimes people who live in houses have dogs."

LOL So cute. And hilarious.

Santa in January?

.:@ the preschool talking about snow:.

Mrs. B.: "What falls from the sky in January?"
Preschooler: "Santa Claus!"

Kids Correcting Each Other

:@ the preschool:

A conversation between two of the boys went something like this (but this is shortened):

A. says "free" when trying to say "three."
L.: "You mean 'three.' You said, 'Free,' but it's 'THree.' TTHHHHHree."
A. pauses briefly but then continues talking unaffectedly.

Oh no. Good thing A doesn't let things bother him that much. He almost ignored L.

¿Cómo está tu tía?

This I thought was really cute and funny (from about a week ago in the preschool class):

[[A. says something about his tía]]
Me: "What about your tío?"
A.: "What's that?"
Me: "Your uncle. You were talking about your aunt, weren't you? What about your uncle?"
A.: "Ohhh. My aunt is Armenian."

OHHhhhh. That explains it. Haha! His aunt can't be a tía because she's Armenian. Adorable. Shows he recognizes the difference between Spanish and Armenian terms.

I Love English Learners

If you've seen Friends, the conversations below might remind you of The One Where Joey Speaks French, where he can break French down by parts but can't use it in a whole sentence.

Preschooler K. likes to say, "I done!" when he's finished something, so I decided to try teaching him to say, "I'm done." Here's my first (I think) attempt:

K: "I done!"
Me: "You're done? Can you say, 'I'm done'?"
K: "I done."
Me: "Can you say, 'I'mmm done'?"
K: "I'mmm done."
Me: "Can you say it faster now? I'm done."
K: "I done."

haha! One day he'll get it. I love that kid.

Reminds me of my earlier conversation with E (he's not an English learner; he just has a little kid accent):

Me: "What color is this?"
E: "Ellow."
Me: "That's right. Yellow. Can you say, 'yellow'?"
E: "Ellow."
Me: "Okay. Can you say, 'yes'?"
E: "Yes."
Me: "Good. Now can you say, 'yyyellow.'? Yellow."
E: "Ellow!"

Haha...Eventually he started saying it correctly. I'm so happy.

So Now I'm Crazy Too?

The other day at the preschool, V. walked up to me during recess and said something like, "I'm giving you a ticket because you're crazy."

I verified with him why I was being ticketed. I wonder what he meant. Am I that weird? Was he just being funny? Was he repeating something he had heard earlier? Was he confused? Haha! So cute.