Nerds

For some reason, I have always had an addiction to childlike candy... things like suckers and Fun Dip... and especially NERDS!
My random act of kindness to note this week comes from another teacher who surprised me with a giant box of rainbow Nerds last Friday. Mrs. Bay has no idea how much that really made my day... my week! I'm saving them at school for "one of those" days when I will desperately need a sugar fix.

Sharing Chalk

I would graciously accept “World’s Slackest Blogger” Award at any time for my lack of posting lately. To say the past month has been busy wouldn’t give my life justice.

But I won’t bore you with the details. Fast forward to today and I have successfully survived my first two weeks of teaching kindergarten. I have an inkling that a lot of my blogs in the near future will reflect events in my classroom. Of course, names will be changed to protect the sweet identity of my school babies (and protect my employment). :)

Watching kids interact with each other is one of the most humbling parts of my job. I love the honesty and the passion kids have for everything… and specifically in this story, sidewalk chalk (also a personal favorite).

“Suzy”, one of my angels, was intently drawing a masterpiece on the sidewalk of the playground one day last week. A couple of boys kept pestering her to play tag… “Tag! You’re it!” and then they’d run off as fast as possible. The first time they tried to get her attention, she politely said, “No thanks. I don’t want to play that game.” After two or three more attempts to get her to play, I could see the frustration in her face. The girl didn’t want to play! She continued to kindly decline their invitation several more times, before she finally, angrily said “LEAVE ME ALONE! I’m busy here!” With a sly grin, she turned to me and shrugged her shoulders. The boys looked like deer in headlights. I had to explain, “She told you ‘no’ very nicely, and you didn’t leave her alone.” Life lesson here, kids: She said no; she meant no.

Another little girl approached her a few minutes later and asked if she would share the chalk so they could play together. Suzy’s sweet little grin emerged again, and the two of them sat peacefully the rest of our time outside drawing with sidewalk chalk. I was amazed at her immediate reaction to share, something that seems so hard for a lot of others (especially grown ups) to do.

I’m also including a picture of my precious newborn twin nephews, born Aug. 27^th. One proud auntie here.