09/06/2022
Week 1-
EXPLORING THE HOLLOW
What a fantastic first week! Yes, a few kinks and rule reminders doled out, but this is a great group of kids! We b***d up on SHAPES, discussed 5 major class rules (along with circle time etiquette), and worked toward finding out what each of them liked to do for hobbies. Hopefully they shared some of those with you on the art work sheet they worked on. Two firsts for me embarking on my 10th year: on the first day one child threw up during cooking time. Four of the nine children were eating and five were waiting for their tortilla to cook. Poor Gracie had food in her mouth and was right across from the pile (sorry...tmi?), gagging but successfully keeping it down (what a trooper!). I called out, "Nobody look at it!" and they all immedietely lowered their eyes while I grabbed a towel. Jane was sitting right next to it and didn't freak out at all. The throw-upper went on to eat two tortillas : 0
The other new experience that haunts me to this day : ) , occurred on the second day. The details are still vague, but one child opened their mouth wide, showed their teeth and gave a shrill scream, all whilst staring me in the eyes. I have no idea what set he/she off and still don't after discussing it with them. Too funny. So, I feel like we're off to a GREAT start! Everyone has settled in and is expressing themselves in their own way.
As each year rolls around and I see different levels of backpack attention, I still don't know what to conclude: I've had children who use their backpack as a time capsule, never wanting any work done during the year to escape it (heartwarming, but also a pain to add more items as the year progresses). We also have those who lose their backpack early-on, possibly to never be found again, but usually making an appearance every blue moon. And then we have the usual case... a few seemingly unseen projects and a homework folder. And then the most rare backpack of all...the completely empty one...homework folder hopefully in a safe place at home, getting worked on...maybe art hanging on the fridge : ) I know there are so many different family scenarios going on, that I truly don't hold a lot of judgement toward any of the above. I know I was never a saint in this area. Hopefully, however, backpacks can be brought daily even if they aren't filled daily. It's a great habit for them to develop!
