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So, after school today, a little kid comes inside after running around, pants, and says, "Phew, I need a drink."  I'm not sure if I've ever identified so much with a child before (except in regards to my eating, obviously).  

 

 

If I were to write a post last Saturday, it would have been about how much momentum I had moving forward.  Well, I didn't write that post on Saturday, and instead I'm writing this on Thursday from a place of mixed confusion and frustration.  I could talk about all of the things going "wrong," but instead, I'm going to focus on the "little things" that keep me going.  

 

 

Each morning, my kids come in and do their morning routine.  They bring their breakfast into the clasroom.  They put their homework folders in the homework bin, their bookbags in their cubbies.  And they give me a hug.  Most of them are half hugs, some of them are real hugs.  Saniya doesn't do either of these.

 

Saniya is homesick, at least in the morning.  She comes in sad.  A few days ago she started each morning out with a pretty steady sob, but now she can be sad without tears.  That's a win.  But what's even more of a win is the Saniya hug.  She gives me a real hug, one where she holds on a little longer than she should, one that shows me that she trusts me, that maybe I can be a comfort to her if her dad can't at that moment. 

You would not believe how much of a struggle opening things at breakfast, lunch, and snack is for kindergarteners.  But it is - trust me.  Each time they ask me to open something, I tell them to try it first.  I make sure they have the right technique.  I try to teach them how to do it.  

 

It would take me awhile to tell you about David, so I'll just tell you the story without the context (sorry!).  We're in lunch one day and he asks me to open his mustard packet.  I have him try it first.  He looks like he's doing it the right way, so I tell him to keep pulling.  He does and he does and he does and HE GETS IT OPEN.  He also gets the mustard all over his sweater, all over the table, the floor, my hands.. but HE GOT IT OPEN.  It's funny and a little disgusting, but David got it open on his own and that's awesome.  

We had Saturday School this past week.  Families came in with their kids, they rotated around from classroom to classroom and did activities with each teacher.  

 

Joe and I were in charge of P.E.  We had kids and families outside split into two stations - a bean bag toss and a parachute.  After they went through both activities, there was a few minutes of free play.  During that time, I saw parents throwing footballs with their kids, people of all ages running around.  I saw smiles, laughs, joy.  The word heartwarming comes from moments like that.

For about two hours of the day, my kids are in centers.  These are small workstations spread throughout the room where they can go more in depth with things we're learning.  One of the stations was rhyming.  My kids are not super great at rhyming yet.

 

Nicholas was at the rhyming station yesterday.  Nicholas is a kid who is having a decent amount of trouble making good choices, so the ratio of the majority of my interactions with him are negative, which feels awful to me and I'm sure to him, too.  When I came over to the rhyming station, Nicholas was sitting in his chair, which is a win in and of itself.  He was not only TRYING to rhyme, but he actually rhymed two words.  I was able to celebrate with him, give him a hug, and he giggled in a way that wasn't derived from mischief, but from joy.  

The Little Things

Here's another one about David.  

 

A couple of days ago, David was making a whining sound because he couldn't open his Cheez-Its at snack time.  I reminded him (and everyone) that if you need help with something, you can just raise your hand and ask.  He waited until the very end of snack to ask, so he was only able to eat a couple of bites before he had to throw it away.  That made him pretty sad.

 

The next day, he starts to make a whining sound again because he can't open it.  I reminded him (and everyone) that if you need help with something, you can just raise your hand and ask.  He doesn't raise his hand.  He keeps making the sound.  I keep reminding the class that if you need help, all you need to do is raise your hand.  He keeps making the sound.  The time runs out.  I make him throw away his snack.  He starts sobbing.  This wasn't a "You're making an annoying sound, please stop" sob; this was a "I actually feel really bad for you right now; this is sad, and my heart is breaking" sob.  

 

The next day, he starts to make a whining sound because he can't open his snack.  I remind him (and everyone) that if you need help, you can just raise your hand and ask.  AND HE RAISES HIS HAND.  HE RAISES HIS HAND FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.  I rushed over there, opened his snack, and gave him a hug.  We're making progress..

While we're on the subject of Cheez-Its, I'll tell you one more quick interaction I had with Saniya.

 

During snack time, I had some Cheez-Its myself (how are you going to know what your kids are going through if you don't do it yourself..).  I found that snack time really isn't very long (or there are a lot of Cheez-Its in each bag), so I ended up stuffing them in my mouth quickly at the end.  I turn around and make eye contact with Saniya.  She's watching me shove piles of Cheez-Its in my mouth.  I know I've been caught so I just make my eyes real big at her.  She laughs, and I laugh, and it was a moment that brightened my day. 

There's Chineme - I never really know if he's paying attention.  He is normally either making noises, looking off into space, or wriggling his hands around in the air.  

 

Today, Chineme was so in the zone, paying attention so much that he was reminding other people to be silent so that I could keep teaching.  He did that twice throughout the day.  It made me proud. 

These are the types of little things that keep me going.  They keep me going even when one of my kids breaks the handle off of the sink.  Even when one of my kids tears up the headphones at the listening station.  Even when my alarm is set for 4:00AM tomorrow morning.  Even when..

RB

"Don't ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and then go do that.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." 

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