10 Things I’ve Already Learned as a Kindergarten Teacher….

 As I wrote in my last post, teaching Kindergarten has been the hardest, craziest experience so far. Yes I have had a lot of crazy hard experiences so far, but this one tops them all I think...

Anyway, I have learned a TON from the past month after being suddenly thrown into a small room with a bunch of 5 year olds.  WOW. JUST WOW.  So here's what I've learned so FAR...and believe me, I still have SOOOO much to learn! It is a whole new world. 

1) Patience….You’ll need a LOT of it!  Sometimes people come in my room to help out and they ALWAYS say, “How do you have the patience for this.”  Answer: “I don’t…enough patience for this does not exist” (you’ll also question your sanity 20x a day!)

2) When people ask what you do for work and you tell them you teach Kinder, the response is always “Awwww HOW CUTE!”....UMMMM actually, ONE kindergartener is cute… but 20??  Not so cute anymore.  More like zoo-status.

3) There’s really no point in buying a variety of play doh colors. They will ALL turn out purple/blue/brown anyway.  Last week I bought 20 little cans of teal play doh and each student has their very own can to use for math and such.  AND of course I tell them to make sure to put the lid on very VERY tight or else “your play doh will be dry and that would make you very sad.”

4) Kids love yelling in the bathroom b/c of the “cool echo” (sigh…)

5) Short. Simple. Directions.  Saying “If you have a lunchbox go get it and bring it to your seat” is WAY too much at once. 

6) You are NEVER off.  You are literally a performer. Every single second is filled with a “he touched me, she skipped in line, etc.” Then when you say “who?” they just point “THAT one.”  Also--My name is “teacher” no matter how many times I say “I have a name! I don’t call you “hey kid.”

7) Half the time you ask a question, the answer is completely unrelated. Q: “What do you think the fish doing in this picture?” A: “Sharing is caring” 

(“Yes that’s true, but…ummm…”)

8) Meltdowns occur every hour (an avg of 4 a day).  On Tuesday I had a total of 15 (at one point 3 kids were crying at once about completely unrelated things). When toys are picked up. When books are not shared. When my favorite carpet spot is occupied.  EVERYTHING. They grab onto your legs/dress and cling for dear life as they cry.  Just a pat pat, here’s a stuffed bear usually does the trick ;) We do a lot of “Let’s all take a big deep breath before we enter the classroom.  Calm bodies enter the classroom.” 

9) Greeted by a hug every morning is probably one of the best parts.  Who else can go to work and get 20 hugs every day?!  And it’s nice to be told “I like your hair, you’re pretty and I love you!”And their drawings of you are freakin' adorable!

10) SONGS.  LOTS of songs.  Morning song, carpet song, getting ready for hallway song, cleanup song.  I could be a singer (and and actress) haha ;) AND GO NOODLE is the BEST and it SAVES my life!  Pop See Ko with the kiddos!  Who doesn’t want a midday dance party to get those wiggles out!