When the Lessons are for You

So today was one of "those" days.  You know, when it seems like you're down to the very last drop of your patience.  When every noise sets you on edge.  When each toy left on the floor seems like a personal vendetta that you and only you can avenge.  These kinds of days always seem to be both a nightmare and a blessing for me.  Just when I think I can't take it for another second, and the smoke from my temperamental Vesuvius starts to fume... my teacher karma sets in.

Case and point:  Due to a short field trip to our local library my class is running about fifteen minutes behind schedule.  Because of this, lunch time seems to be a whirlwind of chaos as we try to get everyone served and fed in as little time as possible.  The children are serving themselves at the normal glacial speed that four year olds only seem to adopt for things that you need done quickly.  In my haste I announce that I will be pouring their drinks and begin to fill their glasses.  Of course I'm thinking 'I'm on top of things now, I'm the in control adult'.  And thats about the time I notice that I have poured almost an entire pitcher of water onto the head of the student sitting beneath me.

Yes, I am the in control adult.

And right there, right in that moment when I think maybe I have really lost it for the day.... this little boy puts his hands on his hips, looks at his friends at the table and declares "Well I think I'm getting a shower!"  And we laugh.  I mean really laugh.

Teacher karma... I say so often is probably the best saving grace of this job.  I honestly believe teaching is one of the few jobs on this planet where you can be having the worst day and in a single act/word/ look from a child suddenly be thinking "this is the best job ever".  The moment where a child says "I love you" for no reason, or you hear them humming a song to themselves that you taught them, or they sense your grouchy mood and tell you 5 minutes worth of completely nonsensical knock knock jokes, or they walk up with that piece of artwork they've been slaving over for the last 20 minutes and announce that it was made for you.  What other job has these moments?  Teacher karma...sometimes the lessons are for you.  Take a deep breath.  It's not the end of the world.  Stop taking things so seriously.

Patience is supposed to be the teachers superpower, but everybody has a day of kryptonite.  I'm always curious how other teachers deal when their emotions get the better of them.   Parents and teachers alike, if you have any suggestions or stories I'd love to hear!!

Until then I'll just keep humming my old Follies backup "It's like I'm losing my mind" and remember that karma never sends us storms without a little sunshine after.

Teach on!

What I Like About You

So Monster week is over, but the lessons remain.  At the beginning of the week I read a book to the children called Most Loved Monster by Lynn Downey.  In it a Mamma monster puts all four of her baby monsters to bed by telling them what makes each of them uniquely special.  Of course it's funny because what makes you special in monster world is not exactly the same as human world.  Afterwards I gathered my students around and one by one had each stand with me in front.  I asked the remaining students to say what they liked best about the student standing with me (not necessarily what made them special, because at such a young age a child may be singled out for a disability rather than a quality).  I wrote down each child's answers on a chart to hang in the class.

I'm sure many of you have heard of this lesson in different formats.  Who can hold back the sap tears when reading of the teacher who did this with her elementary students, giving each child their own page of notebook paper, and finding out twenty years later that most of her students not only have kept their pages but carry them everyday?  It's an easily expandable and adaptable lesson that may carry a bigger impact than you ever imagine.  Personally I was surprised and delighted to hear my students complimenting each other for the rest of the day, a few of them are still doing it weeks later!

The Most Loved Monster book is a great jumping off point, but incase monsters aren't really your thing I've heard that the book You're All My Favorites by Sam McBratney has a very similar theme using forest animals.  Whatever book you choose to use I truly believe this is a lesson that should be used as soon and as often as possible.

Teach On!