Week 2 down

So today was the beginning of week two at school. Mondays I have kindergarten 1, 2 and 3. K-1 is a class of 3 year olds and they are adorable. All we do is color and put together ABC puzzles. They are well behaved and quiet and I wish I had them all day every day. The kids in K-2 are 4 and 5 and are a little more rowdy but still cute enough to get away with it. We study numbers and other simple things and play games. K-3 kids are a little more difficult. They have more of a personality so their learning is more evident but they are much harder to control. Overall today was good. I still can’t get used to the laid back nature of things here. I consider myself a laid back person but this is literally a whole new world. My classes never show up on time and sometimes not at all. If K-1 is scheduled in the morning I could get K-3 or K-2, it changes every day. I am really trying to embrace it but it makes planning hard. With kindergarten it is easier to be flexible but with my 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classes, it’s a lot harder to keep the lessons straight. I also spend a lot of time coming up with fun activities and games and rarely get completely through one. Tomorrow I have P-1, 2 and 3 and they are a challenge. Tuesdays are my longest days full of chasing kids around the room who don’t listen to me. I hope that I get into some sort of routine with them soon and that they learn to cooperate. The girls in these classes are sweet and they are always sneaking up behind me and petting my hair. They always want to be near me and touch me. It’s really endearing. When I walk down the pathways past all the classrooms I feel like a celebrity. Kids will look out the door of their classrooms from their desks and yell ‘Teacher!’ at me until I wave, or they’ll run up to me from across the soccer field yelling ‘Teacher!’ the whole way. Those moments make this whole ordeal worth it. Those faces, they really make you melt. I hope that I can make some sort of difference here. I don’t want to just get through the semester, I want the kids to actually learn something and take something away from me being here. I know I might not see it but I really hope to do some good. I was told that the kids like me because I look like a Barbie doll. That is not what I want to be known or remembered for. It’s only week two... 20 more weeks to go. 20 more weeks to make some sort of difference here and in myself. What did Mr. Magorium say? “Your life is an occasion... rise to it!” I’m trying my damnedest.