Vacation!

Well it has been a very busy two days at school. The children have been so unsettled. They are all excited but I'm not sure that they know what they are excited about. I am exhausted after the business of it all. While the days were long and tiring they were certainly not without their rewards.

Yesterday one of the little boys in class was playing in housekeeping. A cell phone had been added to the props and it was a highly coveted item. As the little boy was talking on the phone, presumably to his Mom he looked at me and told me that the phone was for me. I asked him who it was. He looked into my eyes and said "It's your Dad" Well as you can imagine; you could have knocked me over with a feather. I looked over at my teaching partner 'S' and she looked at me with such compassion. So I took the phone and talked to Dad. I asked him how he was and went on to say that I would see him soon. I ended my imaginary conversation by telling him I loved him. Wow! I think that my student was taken aback by the fact that I played along. After I handed the phone back to him he again looked at me with huge eyes and said, "You're the best teacher in the whole world!"

Today there were children who probably should have remained at home. The day was just too much. We gave all we had. It felt like it wasn't enough. We could have had 5 teachers in the classroom and we would have needed more. The excitement is understandable. It's the emotional overload that spilled over that was heartbreaking. Some of the children just wanted to be hugged. The wanted to sit in my lap. It was as if the needed comforting. Such is the path of young children. Adults expect so much from the very young and when they are developmentally not ready to meet these expectations we all suffer the consequences.

I hope that all of these children will be allowed to just be kids over our break and then return to school fresh and ready to begin again. Just like me.

Peace