Bubbles, play dough, and board books...

Hi, everyone. It's been awhile since I've posted, mostly because the last couple of weeks have been full of everyday life, and sometimes I don't think to post then. Now that I'm done with my grad school course work, I'm spending more time working at preschool, and I realized that I hadn't talked much about that on my blog. I'm picking up some subbing work now, and I like the kids and the extra money. =) For the past two years, I have worked at a local Baptist kindergarten as a MDO teacher. That means that I have taught children aged 18 months to two years on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. I have a co-teacher, since all the kids are under 2 when the year starts. This is not, I repeat, is not a daycare. When the local schools are out, we are out as well. Most of the teachers are moms that want to work part time and then pick up their kids from school after 2:00. Many have degrees in elementary education. This job has been great for me for the past couple of years because it has allowed me to work part time and make a little money to pay for school. I went to graduate school at night, so it didn't interfere with that, and I could count on never being called in to work nights or weekends. I've also really enjoyed the mental break from medieval nunneries to blowing bubbles and playing hide and seek. I thought about taking an older class, but with my graduate work, I didn't feel that it would be fair to the older kids for my focus to be divided. MDO requires less planning than 3K and up. The top picture that I've posted is of me with my class this year, and the bottom one is of me with last year's class. Notice the hair change. =) My class day usually goes something like this. The kids show up through car pool around 9:30 a.m. They play until everyone arrives (8 of them on Tues. and 10 on Thursday), and then they help me clean up the toys, and then we play outside. Lunch is at 11:00, and they all eat together at the little round tables in little wooden chairs. No one is strapped in, and they all sit still for about 15-20 minutes. This looks amazing to mothers of children under the age of two, so I like to brag about it. =)Believe me, it takes work at the beginning of the year. Then we have story time, which they love. I have this cool sun hat with big fake flowers on it, and I tell them, "When I put on my story hat, then you go sit on the mat." I do, and they do. It works really well. They will usually sit through 4 or 5 short books. We also play hide and seek with shapes and colors every day. I have different colored shapes that I've cut out of construction paper and laminated, and I hide them around the room, and when they bring them to me, I tell them what they brought me, a purple circle, etc. Every day we have a craft. I really like the crafts. It's a creative outlet for me, and I enjoy being silly and thinking about what I can pull together with pipe cleaners and large buttons. My latest creative triumph was a caterpillar paint stamped with vegetables. I had a potato for the head, and other smaller vegetables for the body segments. I just put on antenna and legs with a marker, and I labeled the segments with a pen. Voila! Fun! I'm just a big kid at heart. I have a butterfly backpack that I bought at Gap for Kids to carry to school. I get compliments on it from the 4-year-olds all the time, so I must be cool. =) After craft time, we do music and movement with a cd and some scarves. Then they "read" books on their own. After that, its time to get ready to go home. I have really enjoyed the kids in my classes these past two years. They have such wonderful, individual personalities. There is always plenty of crying at the beginning of the year, but once we make it past the first month, things get a lot smoother. I enjoy being someone special in each child's life. Some people assume that I wouldn't want to work with young children because of infertility. That is true for a lot of women like me, and I can completely understand it. I guess that I've always enjoyed working with kids, and I don't want infertility to steal that from me. I separate my teaching in my head from time with friends and their children. I don't know how, but it just works that way. When I am with these children, they are "my" children, "my" class. I am not competing with mom for their love and attention. I can't win that competition when she's around, and I shouldn't. But I can be the one that they turn to when they fall down in class. They need me for hugs and comfort then, and I like to be there for them when they need me. It makes their lives easier to see my familiar face every Tuesday and Thursday, and I'm happy about that. When I've had a rough day with infertility, I do my best not to show it to the children, but sometimes then, I am extra thankful for their hugs. Sometimes those hugs from "my" kids are even better than the kind words of a friend. They are bittersweet, but they remind me that this is what I will have one day, somehow, with children that can call me "Mommy," instead of "Miss Ellen." I am thankful for the moms who share their children with me two days a week. They do not know what a gift they have given me in time with their precious little ones. I get to laugh with them. I get to sing silly songs with them. I get to see their faces when they learn new words and sounds. Somtimes, I get to wipe away their tears. If you're a mom with children in MDO or some other children's program, please know that you may be blessing others when you allow them to bless you by giving you a day off. Thank you, moms. Thanks for sharing some of your joy with me.