Hello friends!
I'm probably procrastinating right now, but that's beside the point. My life has been super hectic and sometimes I feel like I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but this semester, I have learned so many lessons, have laughed, cried, and everything in between. If you did not already know, I am an Early Childhood Education Major with an emphasis in Special Education. I have the pleasure of working with three types of kids on a very regular basis: the littles, the bigs, and the college type (my peers) and would love to share some things with you.
Little Kids
If you know me at all, you probably know that I have a soft spot for small children. I think they are cute, sweet, and super fun. Twice a week, I go to elementary schools and work with children ranging in ages from 5-7 (Kindergarten and First Grade) and absolutely LOVE it. My experiences with them make me so excited to have my own classroom in the near future. Here is a list of things I have learned from working with these tiny humans all semester:
1. They do crazy things.
Little kids are known for their sometimes questionable antics, whether it is the way they walk down the hallway, or their behavior in the classroom, kids will keep you on your toes. In one of my classrooms, it is not unusual for one little girl to dance while in line, whether they are supposed to be quiet in the hallway or lining up from brain break, sometimes she just has to bust a move, whether the situation is appropriate or not. Sometimes kids roll around on the floor when they're just not feeling carpet time or they stick their head in their locker trying to "hide" from the teacher because they just don't want to do their work. Other times, they throw things AT EACH OTHER at Brain Break, for no reason at all. Every week these tiny humans make me laugh and honestly, I will probably have to learn to hide my amusement a little better before I have my own classroom. But for now, I will let myself chuckle.
2. They say HILARIOUS things.
Every week, it never fails, someone in at least one of my classes says something that is just so funny I can't help but laugh. The issue with this is sometimes they weren't trying to be funny and were actually quite serious. This can lead to confusion on the kid's part. At the beginning of the semester, I wrote down some of the funny things kids have said to me, and if you're like me, you could use a laugh right about now. Here they are:
5 year old boy: "She's a really pretty girl, like [her], but prettier."
5 year old girls: "Girls go to college to get more knowledge. Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider." I'm proud this old adage is still alive and well, but I'm also concerned that kids so young are already saying this. I didn't learn that until the second grade for goodness sake.
Conversation between 5 year old boy and me as I was helping him sound out some new words:
Him-"I don't speak Spanish."
Me- "Buddy, that's English."
Him- "I don't speak that either."
Me- "Then what do you speak?"
Him- "Like Mrs. J"
Me- "What does she speak?"
Him (completely serious)- "Words."
3. Dinosaur Noises
There's this group of boys in one of my classes that LOVES dinosaurs. Every time we go outside to Brain Break, they pretend to be dinosaurs and do not go back to being human again until we line up to go inside, regardless of who tries to interact with them. Just the other day, I had received a complaint from another child that these boys had "yelled in her ear." In reality, they had just made a really loud dinosaur noise a little too close to her. I told these boys that they needed to be a certain distance away from someone else to make that loud of a noise, so to let me know he heard me, one of them made a very soft dinosaur noise back to me and we fist bumped. It was great.
4. Littles LOVE TO LOVE
This is probably why I enjoy children so much. They give the best hugs and best compliments. One little girl in particular will do anything just for me to give her a hug. Once she told me her stomach hurt, other times she tells me she's sad, sometimes she will just come over and hug me. It's so precious. I've also been told that I'm pretty, my braid looks cool, they like my sweater. It seems kids know just what to say when you need it most. I can walk in crabby and tired, but as soon as I walk in and the kids excitedly wave (every week), my mood completely changes.
5. Small children cry.
In my kindergarten class, at least one child cries every time I am there. It never fails. Reasons vary from having an "owie," to having to wait their turn to get water, to not wanting to do their work, an so on. It is usually an easy fix. A hug, word of encouragement, or bandaid usually does the trick.
6. Kids Need Encouragement
Young children are eager to please, so it is extremely important to encourage their efforts and get excited about things that make them excited. My teacher is really good at this and makes her kids smile on a regular basis. Things like, "I'm so proud of you," "You really tried!" "Your picture is beautiful!" come out of her mouth quite often.
7. Kids Need to Move
I'm not going to go into a rant about the importance of recess, but kids need to be able to move throughout the school day. Some days are more squirmy than others, and instead of getting annoyed at the lack of attention, just stop and have the kids get up and move for a few minutes. My teacher does this with GoNoodle (I'm obsessed with this website) and the kids dance to the song for 3-5 minutes. It's shocking just how much that little bit of movement helps with their ability to pay attention.
The children I get to work with teach me more than they will ever know and I am so thankful for them each and every day. I am so blessed to be going into a profession that helps to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation. As C.S. Lewis once said, "Children are NOT a distraction from more important work. They are the MOST IMPORTANT work."
Big Kids
Currently, I am a nanny to a sixth grade boy and an eighth grade girl. To be quite honest with you, at first I was a little nervous because middle schoolers freak me out a little bit. I do best with littles and people over the age of 18, so this was kind of uncharted territory for me. I am so grateful for the experience and I do love working with them; they are great kids and I have learned a lot about the needs of middle schoolers and how to reach them because this is a very weird time in their lives. I am blessed to be able to be a positive influence on them and do not take it lightly at all. Here are some things about working with "big kids."
1. Life Lessons
When my kids get in the car after school, oftentimes my sixth grader will start talking about his day and a kid in his class that he has a hard time with. He often talks about something this kid did or how annoying he is, so that opens up the discussion on how to be nice to difficult people. We chat about being the bigger person and loving your neighbor as yourself, no matter how hard it might be. One of the kids that he struggles with happens to be new this year and does things to try and fit in and look cool (what my kid tells me), so I'm able to share what it is like to be the new kid and how challenging it can be. I then challenge him to be kind to him. Even though sometimes he rolls his eyes and says, "not everything is a life lesson," we are able to have good talks and he never hesitates to tell me something that is bothering him, and we discuss it from both points of view.
2. Listening
This leads me to my next point. I have learned that it is SO important to listen attentively to my middle schoolers. It was difficult to get them to open up at first, but after I showed them that I care about them and will listen to what they have to say, whether it's a question they have or how their day went, they trust me enough to share. Listening also means discerning when it is appropriate to put in my two cents and when I need to just let them talk.
3. Say Yes
Obviously I cannot say yes to everything my middle schoolers want, but when I can say yes, I do. When my eighth grader wants to play angsty rap music on the radio, I let her, not because I particularly enjoy it, but because she does. If they want to stop somewhere on the way home, I don't have to drive any further to get there, and they brought their own money, I take them because they showed responsibility and planned ahead, and that is something that should be rewarded when at all possible, especially at this age.
These kids have definitely challenged me in ways I have not been challenged, we've had some pretty deep discussions, and I have learned things that will make me a better teacher, parent (one day), and better human. I cannot wait to continue to grow with them.
College Kids
Last but certainly not least, I work with college kids on the daily. You might be thinking to yourself that we're not kids because we're over the age of 18. That is so false. We have much more in common with the little kids and the big kids. We all do weird things from time to time, we're all funny (sometimes), we cry, we laugh, we love, we grapple with concepts and decisions and opinions, and we love encouragement. In the end, we're all just full-grown children learning how to navigate this world, taking it one day at a time, and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. My peers teach me so much about life and love on a daily basis and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I love you all. Give the kids in your life a big hug. We could all use one.
Yours Truly,
Steph
