Smile

Today was a mellow, low-key kind of day for us. We had two friends absent, and one got went home with a severe earache after specials. The rest of us sneezed, hacked, and coughed our way through the day. Well, except for DC, who was in very good spirits.

DC is one of the most charming little boys I have ever had the privelege of meeting. He almost reminds me of my little brother when he was that age; smaller than most, yet a heart that is bigger than the size of Texas. He finds joy in everything and has the most wickedly funny sense of humor ever contained in a 5-year-old body.

During seatwork today, DC decided to get a little "creative." I hear "oooooo, I'm telling" coming from his table, and look up to find him drawing with a crayon on his chair. I asked him to bring his chair over to me, so that we could discuss his actions and the ramifications of such behavior. Ever so slowly he pushes the chair towards me with his head down. Using our learning tools responsibly is a big deal in our classroom, so he knows he is probably going to get into a bit of trouble.

I look down at the seat of the chair to examine it, and find a blue crayon smiley face staring back at me.

I laughed. I couldn't help it, I just had to chuckle.

He looks up and breaks into his million dollar grin. I hand him a lysol wipe and tell him to clean it up. He spends the next 15 minutes scrubbing the crayon smiley face off of the seat, with the smile on his face intact.

I love my job.

Dorothy

 This little girl is the newest of our bunch, and is known throughout the school for the sparkly ruby red shoes she wears everyday. However, the shoes are about the only thing this little miss had in common with the kind, gentle character portrayed by Judy Garland.  This little girl is a rebel without a cause, prone to throwing fits and ignoring directions.

But today, I meet the sweet child I knew was buried underneath. After an almost meltdown this morning over a paper, she was sweet as peaches and cream the rest of the day, even helping and sharing with the other kids at her table! Best part of the day: As we are getting ready to switch centers, she asks for a hug. She gives me a fierce hug, and sneaks in a peck on the cheek too.

I know we will probably butt heads everyday for the rest of the year. But this little girl knows she is loved and safe in my class. What an awesome reminder of why I teach.

I love my job!!!

And so it Begins!

I know, I totally fail. School has started, and I even had a back-to-school post. I just didn't post it. I will try to do better ;) Without further ado, here is the aforementioned post:

Our First Day of School was this past Thursday (the 12th). Every year, I am amazed at how little my new students are, and how dependent they are for everything! But I know that in just a few weeks time, they will have our procedures and policies down, and will be growing by leaps and bounds.

The first day back also made me realize how much I took for granted last year. I started in October, so someone else had done the hard work of laying the foundation of procedures, I only had to tweak them a tad when I started. This year, I am starting from scratch. It's hard. But I love it!

I have 20 kids this year, an almost even split between boys and girls. And as is my m.o., nicknames have already been assigned to a few. Meet a couple of my kids:

The Whiner- This little boy was my only crier the first day, and was down right inconsolable. It took three teachers to get him to my classroom, and one to keep him from bolting out the door. My principal removed him for a while, and then brought him back to join us; sitting with him during morning work. While he did not cry the rest of the day, and only once the next day, he has a maddening habit of whining when he doesn't get his way. Which is pretty often because I am the teacher and he's not in charge. But on Friday, I did catch a glimpse of the sweet nature I knew was somewhere behind the fear and whining. I don't think this nickname will stick for long.

Dennis- This kid is Dennis the Menace without the charming little overalls and cowlick. He seems to get himself in trouble without the slightest idea of how. He does, however, have this amazing smile that seems to charm the socks right off of most people. It's gonna be a fun year with this one!

As of now, those are the only nicknames. I'm sure as I get to know their personalities, I'll have more. For now, Happy Back-to-School!!

More Names

In an earlier post, I introduced a few of my munchkins and the nicknames that I have for them. Meet a few more:

The Professor- This little guy can tell you all about the life sciences. His specialty is aquatic life, specifically sharks, but he knows all about dinosaurs, bugs, and the like as well. He has a superhero alter-ego named Shark Boy.

The Supremes- I have four fabulous divas-in-training. These girls have got spunk, moxie and attitude to spare, but have hearts of gold.

The Banshee- This is little girl is the newest member of our learning community. She can be quite excitable, and will let out a head-splitting, ear-shattering shriek whenever she is overcome with mirth and joy.Which happens quite often.

Names

I love names. I name almost anything that I care about, including my kids. Now, I know their parents have already bestowed them with names that they deemed fit, but sometimes I just nickname them before I know I did it. My sprouts don't know I have nicknames for them; I usually use them when telling funny stories about my kids (really helps to avoid FERPA violations). Meet my a few kids from my class:

The Politician/ Dennis the Menace- This little darling will give you an entire speech to answer a yes or no question. He also happens to find himself in the most mischievous of situations.

The Talk-show Host- This little dear can talk the paint of a wall. She also has the biggest heart I have ever seen in such a little body.

Dakota Fanning- I'm pretty sure she could be a celebrity look-a-like if she wanted.

Charlie Brown/John Tesh- This little boy has two nicknames because he has changed so much. He started out as Charlie Brown because he was very melancholy and down about school and life. Now that he has more stability in the classroom (a regular classroom teacher), he is a talkative, brilliant star. He starts every conversation with "Ms. Sulaiman, did you know...."

Bad Robot- This kid nicknamed himself. Read it here .

There are more nicknames, although not everyone has one. Perhaps I'll introduce them at a later date.