A New Batch & A Pumpkin Patch

**This was written quite some time ago & sadly forgotten about. Decided it was meant to share so better late than never!

The madness of the holidays has already begun and I have once again failed on my blogging for y'all as well as myself. I have absolutely no clue where the first quarter of school went. All I know is that this year has been completely different for me as far as teaching goes.

My classroom at the beginning of this year.

I've got a brand new batch of kindergartens who I completely adore! Seriously I was blessed with the class I got. I believe it's karma making up for what was handed to me last year. Don't get me wrong, I ended up loving last years class, but the journey was not the best. Lets just keep it at that. :)

I think part of the major change this year has part to do with starting out at the beginning of the year with all my kids instead of getting thrown into a classroom in October with munchkins from 7 different classrooms. That was pure torture, let me tell you. I was able to have all my kids on the same page when starting all the basics this year, which made my life a whole lot simpler.

Although the very beginning of the year was still just what I expected, mad chaos. There was constant yelling, screaming, crying, getting out of their chairs every 5 seconds, shouting "Miss Mays" every other second, peeing/pooping pants, bloody everythings, more crying, etc. You know, the usual kindergarten stuff just to the max. I mean a maximum level of... What the h-e-double hockey sticks made me want to deal with this every day of my life? If you recorded my voice at any point during those first few weeks it would sound something like this... "sit down, raise your hand, stay in your seat, hands to yourself, wash your hands, get a tissue, get in line, don't play with your food." On repeat. All. Day. Long.

By the end of September, after all the constant repetition of rules and procedures, my new babies really got into the swing of what myself and the school expects of our kinders. They have started to truly  blossom into a wonderful class, academically as well. The results of all the hard work are so noticeable in kindergarten. Makes my heart grow.

In October, our K Team went on our first field trip to a pumpkin patch! (At that time last year, I was lucky if all my kids would stay in a line from our room to the cafeteria.) This trip was perfect for not only for my kids, but for myself as well. Obviously around this time Facebook is filled with pictures of anyone and everyone going to get their pumpkins and carving them with their families or lovers of course. This is obviously one of my homesick triggers. Ding ding ding... (You have no family or a significant other Danielle. What are you doing with your life?) Thank goodness for my job. Without my constant hugs and unforgettable things that come out of those children's mouths I might just not make it here.

Myself & my crazy kindergarteners

Let me tell you how much they LOVED when I made them stop playing to pose for the camera. HA! :)

Not sure what my princess is doing in the front there, but cute nonetheless.

Everyone got to pick a pumpkin and take it home. I think I told them 80 times to make sure they pick one they can carry. Of course, that didn't stop my two runts from picking pumpkins double their head size. They somehow mangaed to get back on the hayride without me seeing and waited until after to plead for me to carry them. Little rascals!!! I was left carrying both to the bus and let them carry the mini pumpkin I had chosen.

Mrs. Parker's class & mine on our way to get our pumpkins.

This one literally just plopped himself right in the middle of this hay ride. Hilarious!

All in all it was a fabulous trip and my kids had a blast. Many of my kids don't have the opportunity to do fun things like go to a pumpkin patch. All those life experiences that most of us take for granted, they just don't get. Being able to share that with them just makes it even sweeter. To this day, they still talk about it and even write about it (almost too much) during Writer's Workshop. So to you and all your Facebook pics, I win. Only kidding... or not. :)

**No pumpkins were injured on the bus ride home.

True Life: I'm a Kindergarten Teacher

You think you know, but you have NO idea! Finger painting, dress-up, story time and nap time. The usual uneducated idea of what goes on in a modern day kindergarten classroom. The funny thing is NONE of those things I just listed happen in public schools anymore, not even in kindergarten (at least not in NC). Now let me tell you I don't disagree that some of those "activities"s are necessary for 5 and 6 year-olds but I don't get to write the curriculum ladies and gentleman.

Breaking the stereotype of a kindergarten teacher is not exactly what I am here to do today. This post is simply dedicated to sharing some of the hidden tales of what happens in a typical kindergarten classroom. The type of tales that only a teacher gets the joy of experiencing on a daily basis. It would also be a shame not to share some of the borderline amazing stories I've got with the world. Take a moment to think of all the recent  AT&T commercials. Now imagine this all day long with a class of 21 students. Teaching is a job that could drive a weak person to the nuthouse. A smart teacher knows that what you need to do is turn all the negatives into positives and laugh about it. I'm not going to lie, there have been many times when I have been on the verge of a breakdown then a moment like the ones below happen and instead I break out into laughter. My assistant helps a lot with this as well. She is constantly using sarcasm with them and let me remind you, they are an average age of 6 and typically give us a look of total confusion. There are constant reminders of why it is I have jumped through rings of fire to have my own classroom. If there wasn't, I'm not sure teachers would survive. 

Alright, let's just go for it and start with the nasty part of my job. The gross stuff that no one tells you about until you have signed the contract and are stuck in a room with kids who just learned how to dress themselves. Let me start by informing those of you who don't already know this about me, I am a germaphob. I am constantly thinking about when I can wash my hands next. This is partly due to the fact that anything and everything gets me sick. I knew this year my immune system was in for a treat, but didn't really think of being constantly surrounded by messy children. Let's first start off by the sneezing and couching that goes down. No matter how many times you remind them to cover their mouths/noes there will always be those 1 or 2 children that think you just like to repeat that for fun. I won't name names, but one of my little boys this year would constantly sneeze in my face. I got excellent at dodging them but I am not superwomen here. Now let's move on the the puke. Yeah, I went there. There is no sugarcoating that word in Kindergarten so get over it. I lucked out this year, most of my children made it to trash cans or on the floor. If I would have been barfed on at school (like many of the horror stories my veteran co-workers told me about), I don't know that I would still be teaching no matter how much I love it.

Boogers, good old boogers. Clearly picking and digging was a constant sight. I started off being polite but eventually just ended up starring at the child with my teacher stare until they realized what they were doing. Or I  just went with the one liner, "tissue". They immediately knew I wasn't playing and left those boogs alone. I wish I had captured some of the faces they would make when they knew they were caught in the act. By the end of the year I think my children knew not to be caught doing that by me or ended up being excellent at hiding it. Either way, I am cool with it. Runny noses also began to fade out by the end of the year and thank goodness because constant dry heaving when I saw a child with a water fountain flowing from their nose to mouth was not part of any of my lessons. As for the booboos... From bruises to blood. They were constant and often turned into acting auditions. Most of the real accidents came from falling on the playground, picking scabs, or nose bleeds. I am not good with blood. Shocker, right? Thank you Jesus for Mrs. Lupton, my handy-dandy assistant. She is a mother of 4 and can handle anything. I'm pretty sure I came close to passing out when I had to clean a chin gash one of my little girls got from taking a face-dive into mulch. The smell of blood is something I can't handle. And that my friends, is obviously the only reason I couldn't save lives for a living.

Sharing this side of kindergarten doesn't often come up in a typical conversation so that was therapeutic to get that out of my system. 

Let's move right on to the clumsiness that comes with kindergartners. This amazing trait may stay with some of them, but for right now they all have their fair share. I have tried holding in my laughter when they miss their chair or trip over their own feet, but I no longer feel it is necessary unless they are truly injured. I'm now a pro at instantly knowing when it's just Mr. Clumbsy taking over. Why yes, I'll share my wisdom with you - You've got to look for the 3 stages of emotion that hits within a minute time frame. Stage 1: Shock. This is the funnest to watch for. Their priceless face is basically saying, "What the heck just happened to me?" Sadly, it doesn't last long until the next stage hits. Stage 2: Crying. This is when they realize they have hurt themselves or are terribly embarrassed by their lack of control of their tiny bodies. This is when, as a teacher, you've got to go into actress mode/mom mode and stop the laughing because it only makes them cry more. The next stage will roll on in if you are a good nurturer like myself. Stage 3: Laughter. This when the child realizes the only way to keep their street cred is to turn that frown upside down immediately. Now you know what to look for, your welcome new mothers.

My kids on Field Day

Field Day was during the last week of school and I was astonished at how athletic some of them had become. Not much clumsiness came out of them that day. What a shame. They must just save that for the classroom.

Bribery becomes your best friend in a Kindergarten classroom. Let me give you the politically correct term for any of my professors reading this, "positive reinforcement". There is no other way for me to explain this but kindergarteners haven't fully developed a sense of self fulfillment. That is why sweets, toys, games, and sometimes parties that include sweets, toys, and games become a part of your daily routine. Any kind of classroom management from individual, to table, to class I have going on in my classroom. You can never have enough! I am constantly searching Pinterest and blogs for new management ideas, so if you are a teacher and have a favorite, please share! I love learning what others do in their classroom. Sharing is caring! :)

I am the M&M Queen in Kindergarten

So there you go. Some of the hidden secrets of kindergarten that no one shares. Don't let these adorable faces fool you. They will chew you up and spit you out if you are not prepared.

My kids on the carpet on the last day of school.