Thursday was my last day at my job working in a kindergarten classroom. For years, I have been saying that I didn't think teaching kindergarten was for me.... and I'm still pretty sure that still holds true! Nevertheless, I had the lucky fortunate of basically being a fly on the wall for seven months in a kindergarten classroom. As a teacher (both reading and in general), it has been an invaluable experience for me seeing the learning that takes place at that age first hand. On a personal level, it has been a lesson in patience and a reminder of some many things I think we forget all too often.
Your support system will always be the same
A few weeks after winter break, one of the students commented on my new shoes.
D: "I like your shoes."
Me: "Thanks! I just got them."
D: "Oh...so your mom bought them for me?"
Me: "Well...actually...she did."
I had to laugh, because it was out of left field for him to say that...but it was true. In the eyes of a 5 year old, your parents support basically all you do and that hasn't changed a single day of my life.
Deep breaths help
The specific student I worked with would oftentimes get very overwhelmed by things and it would be a perpetual cycle for him - if something was hard to do, he would get frustrated, making it even harder to do (sound familiar to every living person?). Prior to my working with him, he had been taught to "take a deep breath" when feeling this way. Seeing the impact it oftentimes had on him, his feelings, and the task at hand really stood out to me. Stopping to do this takes time and a lot of times we think we're too busy to do even that...but it's worth it. Taking a step back, in actuality or just mentally, helps give perspective, clarity, or even just a much-needed break.
Dress the part
Wearing black might be slimming, which is perhaps what I was thinking when I subconsciously added a lot of it, particularly my cold weather gear (often worn in the dark), to my running wardrobe. Nevertheless, I've learned it's not really ideal for running...or for kindergarten. You tie a lot of shoes in kindergarten, and kids are pretty okay with just kicking their feet up onto your pants for you to tie them.
The days are long; the years are short
One day, the students were given a writing activity to do and a student started crying, saying it was too difficult for him and he didn't know how to write. I asked him if he could write his name, and so matter-of-factly said that of course he could! I tried to remind him that when he first came to kindergarten months and months ago, he couldn't...and now he could! Of course, he didn't see it as this like I did (come on! he's 5!), but it was an ah-ha moment for me. In the moment, it can feel like nothing is going right, like all we do is not enough. It's important to remember where we've come from and how we've worked to get where we are...in terms of the big picture.
The power of a good cheerleader
Many students are quick to moan the words, "I need help!," but once you're sitting at their desks, you realize quickly that what they need is encouragement and for someone to acknowledge that they're doing it! There have been so many times when I've reached out to a friend, knowing she was going to tell me not to skip that run or to be given an imaginary gold star for a really great run. Sometimes it's important though to be our own cheerleader - our opinion of ourself is worth a lot too!
Each day is a new day; Each run is a new run
Time moves very differently when you think about it in the eyes' of a kindergartener. What happened yesterday is old, old news, and what's up ahead at the end of the week feels lightyears away. It's easy to get stuck on what already happened (especially when that something was hard/negative/not what we wanted), but it's old news! It's a new day and a new chance to do it right.
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