I knew, from a very young age, that I wanted to be a teacher. It’s more than a job, it’s a calling. I’ve taught fifth grade, pre-k, first grade and kindergarten. Teaching, especially in the primary grades, is unlike anything else. I spend my whole day surrounded by five and six (and sometimes seven) year olds. They somehow are equipped with all the skills to push every single button you have, test every ounce of your patience, and bring you to the verge of tears of frustration. But they also have brilliant minds, enormous amounts of creativity and big hearts. I love my job. I can’t imagine doing anything else. All teachers develop different coping skills to manage going an entire work day with maybe ten minutes of adult interaction. My favorite coping mechanism is documenting the craziness that comes hand in hand with five year olds to share with my friends.
So here they are. Some of my favorite Kindergarten moments from my class last year.
Student handed this paper to me just like this and asked, “Guess what it is….?”
Um…Broccoli?
”No, it’s a tree!”
“Bad people should have to wear evil hats, so kids know not to talk to them.”
Adorable. Seriously. Bad people should have to wear evil hats.
For Mother’s Day, I surveyed the kids and wrote down their responses. Because what mom wouldn’t love to know that she’s really good at putting on movies? And she’s super special because she let’s her kid eat! And she’s clearly a really good cook.
Student: I made you a picture! We are ninjas. Those are evil snowman ninjas. They are the worst. We are winning. Don't worry.
It was Valentine’s day and I had car duty (you help kids get in and out of cars and into the gym before school starts). I saw one of my kinders having a heated argument with mom. He clearly did not want to get out of the car. Eventually his older brother convinced him. When they got out of the car, big brother handed my kinder a flower. This kinder would not even look me in the face, he was so embarrassed. This is how our interaction went…
Are those for me…? They’re beautiful!
He heaved a heavy sigh, shoving the flowers in my general direction, still not looking at me. “I wanted to get you ninja turtle chocolate, but my mom said you would like this better.”
Student: Look, Mrs. T! I made a turkey. He has a word bubble. Guess what he is saying?
Uhhh…I have no idea, what is he saying?
Student: Gobble, gobble, silly! See! (He points to both of the word bubbles, as if I am the craziest teacher ever).
Oh yeah, kid, you’re right. I’m the silly one.
Student: I drew you a picture. This is you, because you are tall. This is me, because I am small. And I have blue hair
(No, student does not have blue hair in real life)
Sometimes the best moments don’t come with pictures. They come via words.
Kindergarten parent affirmation that I chose the correct career path…
Sometimes crazy things happen in other classes and you have to cover for other teachers so they can deal with the craziness. One day I had to spend a few minutes in the Pre-K classroom. I just had to supervise them for five minutes while they played at centers. That’s all it took to overhear this gem.
Sometimes Kindergarten thought processes are difficult to follow. Case in point:
Kindergarten activity for Veterans Day. Our conversation went something like this...
These types of statements happen frequently…
And finally…
But my all time favorite quotes occurred when the local fire department came to talk to the kids about fire safety. Because, of course when you want your students to be on their absolute best behavior, students act like a special kind of crazy. The firefighters had me dress in all their gear to teach the students about their equipment, so first this happened…
And then, this happened…
And with that, I’m excited for a new year, new kids and new reasons to love my job.
