As any professional knows, regardless of the industry, being able to have the opportunity to take on some professional development in some shape, way or form, is always a bonus to one's job. Luckily, my preschool has a set budget each year for both myself and my T.A to use for our own professional development. And as we all know, the way budget cuts are happening currently, I will take what I can get... privately.
But that's not what this post is about. It's about the importance of continuing our education from a career standpoint in the early childhood education field. Quite frankly, it's more than just sitting for a day, transitioning from workshop to workshop, writing notes that you will never read the day after, taking free stuff, and spending money on things for your classroom that you might use but, a year later, it's still sitting in the plastic. Professional development in the E.C.E field is about observation and reflection. And here's why.
First and foremost, when you go to these events, the first thing you do is observe. And when you're observing, it's EVERYTHING - every person that you cross paths with, the environment, the materials, the system in how the conference or workshop is being carried out.. even the clock on the wall. While you're observing, you may even become judgemental and realize there are people sitting beside you who shouldn't be because they're opinions do not match their profession. I'm not ashamed to say it because it's true and I've done it. You also observe the benfits and drawbacks to government spending with initatives and projects. That can also make you judgemental for obvious reasons. But most importantly, as you're observing what you see and hear (and possibly smell...), you start reflecting. You begin reflecting on your observations in both positive and negative forms.
"I would never show up in sweats for a conference", "Oh! That's a great idea to promote language development through such-and-such rhyme!", "Who the hell runs that daycare and is ACCREDITED!?", "What a great presenter on brain development.. I wish I was with them all day". At some point or another, thoughts like these ones occur because you are reflecting and deciding on what you're going to take from it. You're going to think about how your teachings may be altered, how your approach to your profession is professional enough, if you're giving your 100% each and every day you are with those kids. All these things and more, contribute to your profession and how you plan to develop within it. Yes, these events are great for new ideas and/or strategies that haven't been tested before. It's even great for networking as you never know who knows who. However, I feel the real benefit to it, it allowing yourself the opportunity to submerge in the whole concept as it demonstrates the thought process of "I can always do more". When you allow yourself to become involved in such opportunities, then it speaks to others of how much you truly care about the professional-you. And the ripple effect continues.
And this is all because you decided to take on some professional development. It's more than just sitting with a bunch of strangers listening to other strangers preach about various aspects of our jobs. It's about developing into something more because YOU can and you believe it. That's why professional development is key.
On a side note, I know the posts of have been scarce and there have been requests as to an explanation. I do have a secret to share, but not quite yet. It'll come in due time.
And no, I'm not pregnant.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
And the nominees are..
Coincedently with the Oscars happening this weekend, I have my own nomination to report as well. Not for an Oscar (obviously) but in the Alberta Child Care Professional Excellence Awards.
Crazy, right?! I'm still in shock myself and feel so honoured!
The families of the preschool are nominating me for an award on behalf of the province of Alberta.
As the humbling person I am, I really don't think I deserve the award as really, I just love what I do and always feel I can do better for my preschoolers. But.. as I was told this past week, "people need to know about you and the differences you make".
This afternoon, I did an interview with one the parents who is organizing the nomination and I do have to say, reflecting on the seven years (offically, unoffically nine) I have been in the field.. it was tough answering some of the questions. Areas that are judged include how the nominee supports learning in children, involvement with parents, and of course, involvement in the professional world as well. It wasn't till this morning when I annouced the news to my ELAA group, that we went through a list of things that should be mentioned in the letter and realized, "Holy crap - I've done alot in seven years!".
With this reflection underway, I realize more of it should be done on life itself. Seven years ago, I never imagined myself as a preschool teacher in Calgary, Alberta.. being nominated for a provincal award of excellence. Instead, I envisioned myself working in a private-run daycare in Ontario, barely making ends meet and considering another profession altogether. I also didn't envision that at the age of 27, I would be gaining a degree in Bachelor of Professional Arts.
With that said, I am offically done my program this Thursday, February 28th.
Yep.. lots of reflection needed at this point in life!
Now that my educational career is finally coming to an end, where should I see myself in another six years? Where do you see yourself? Are you happy with the choices you've made, for the most part anyway? Because we all make choices that were bad. And somehow, we made it through those bad choices. But what are you doing now with your life and are you happy with it? Do you want to do something different? These are the questions I'm asking myself at this very moment.
I think I do know what I want to do next.
I've always been interested in some form of consultation in the childcare field. Obviously, licensing is the dream goal but we all know those jobs come only when someone retires. I've also wanted to open my preschool. Will that happen? Not sure. But its worth exploring..
And so is everything else.
Crazy, right?! I'm still in shock myself and feel so honoured!
The families of the preschool are nominating me for an award on behalf of the province of Alberta.
This afternoon, I did an interview with one the parents who is organizing the nomination and I do have to say, reflecting on the seven years (offically, unoffically nine) I have been in the field.. it was tough answering some of the questions. Areas that are judged include how the nominee supports learning in children, involvement with parents, and of course, involvement in the professional world as well. It wasn't till this morning when I annouced the news to my ELAA group, that we went through a list of things that should be mentioned in the letter and realized, "Holy crap - I've done alot in seven years!".
With this reflection underway, I realize more of it should be done on life itself. Seven years ago, I never imagined myself as a preschool teacher in Calgary, Alberta.. being nominated for a provincal award of excellence. Instead, I envisioned myself working in a private-run daycare in Ontario, barely making ends meet and considering another profession altogether. I also didn't envision that at the age of 27, I would be gaining a degree in Bachelor of Professional Arts.
With that said, I am offically done my program this Thursday, February 28th.
Yep.. lots of reflection needed at this point in life!
Now that my educational career is finally coming to an end, where should I see myself in another six years? Where do you see yourself? Are you happy with the choices you've made, for the most part anyway? Because we all make choices that were bad. And somehow, we made it through those bad choices. But what are you doing now with your life and are you happy with it? Do you want to do something different? These are the questions I'm asking myself at this very moment.
I think I do know what I want to do next.
I've always been interested in some form of consultation in the childcare field. Obviously, licensing is the dream goal but we all know those jobs come only when someone retires. I've also wanted to open my preschool. Will that happen? Not sure. But its worth exploring..
And so is everything else.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Anxieties over fieldtrips and health inspectors
The title is true to its name - having anxiety over fieldtrips with preschoolers.. and health inspectors paying their annual visit. That is exactly what the last two days have been like and for once, my mind isn't racing and wondering if I forgot to do something.
In one of my previous jobs as a childcare worker, one of the aspects about the job was taking your class on fieldtrips all over the city. Whether it was going to the zoo or the closest playground to the centre itself, the expectation was that at least once a month (weather permitting) you went on a fieldtrip with the kids and room partner. Of the four years I was there, we had literally gone to all quanderants of the city; NE, NW, SE, SW. You name it - we did it. And about 95% of those trips involved taking a C-Train at some of the busiest times of day. Sometimes, my room partner and I would have to make comments to between ourselves in a loud voice, if people were unwillingly wanting to give up their seat because they weren't done their Quarter Pounder yet or just enjoyed watching kids falling over like dominoes. Although there were some rough days, we always made it back to the centre with each child, not losing anyone or anything at any given time.
Nowadays, as a preschool teacher, I find my attitude towards fieldtrips has changed but I think it is heavily due to parental influence. Parents questioning why not every parent can come along.. how much food should they be sending..worrying if their child will have separation anxiety.. arguing if whether or not the child should even go because the timing is out of the norm (..which was a complete lie, this past fieldtrip was the same hours as regular class time). Although most of the time I just held my tongue and said "It's up to you.", what I really want to say is "Stop being such a bubblewrap parent!". I wanted to explode on telling them the amount of trips I did with 20 four year olds and one other adult, the amount of times we took public transit, the amount of times we sat in a public space (meaning a park!) and ate lunch, and the amount of times both the parents and kids were happy with their trips at the end of it all. But I can't. And I won't.
So needless to say, when planning trips with these groups, I mentally prepare for the 40 questions from parents, rather than 20. And, when I get those questions, I think about them at night while trying to sleep.. and the ball gets rolling.. the buildup keeps growing.. See where I'm going with this? I feel I haven't met the neutral ground with fieldtrips because I have gone from one extreme to another. And it's not like these parents were concerned about safety; it was about if whether or not their child could handle it.
I appreciate families being concerned and wanting to be involved in every aspect of their preschoolers' life, but sometimes, you just gotta let them experience things independently. How else are they going to be independent?!
And now, for the health inspector visit.
Our preschool is in the midst of renewing our licence so as part of the paperwork and checks, they need a report from a couple of departments giving the "PASS"stamp on the facility. One of these is the Health department and not to say our school is a dirty place, I just get really agitated when they come. When it comes to anyone else, I could careless. No anxiety..no sweaty palms, no stuttering. Just the health department.
I think this might have to do with a bad experience I once had, though. Granted, this was many years ago but once I had a health inspector show me how to wash my hands. First, he asked me to show how I did it. So I did, and he timed me. Despite me singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in my head, I had gone too fast and therefore needed to be "retaught". Then he showed me how to properly dry my hands and asked me to demonstrate in return. At the end, he said maybe I should try singing the "ABCs" instead.
The guy was jerk.
Anyways, since then, I'm expecting the worst when they come even though everything is completely where it should be in terms of accuracte levels, sanitization, first aid, safety measures, etc. Today was our visit and both my assistant and I were making sure these past few days that everything in the classroom was a little extra more spic-and-span.
So, in she came with her white booties, clipboard, and bleach strips and away she went. Checking levels, opening cupboard doors, rumaging through a well-organized first aid kit. Well, to make long story short, everything did go smooth. She wasn't even there as long as I thought she was going to be and made little comments like how clean and organized the preschool was. ...Isn't it suppose to be really clean and organized?!
Once she left, both myself and my T.A seemed to be laughing and breathing again. It was over and we passed. Again, not that we had any doubt, but hey.. we could have been shown how to wash and dry our hands!
Feeling pretty good right now and hell, it's only Tuesday.
In one of my previous jobs as a childcare worker, one of the aspects about the job was taking your class on fieldtrips all over the city. Whether it was going to the zoo or the closest playground to the centre itself, the expectation was that at least once a month (weather permitting) you went on a fieldtrip with the kids and room partner. Of the four years I was there, we had literally gone to all quanderants of the city; NE, NW, SE, SW. You name it - we did it. And about 95% of those trips involved taking a C-Train at some of the busiest times of day. Sometimes, my room partner and I would have to make comments to between ourselves in a loud voice, if people were unwillingly wanting to give up their seat because they weren't done their Quarter Pounder yet or just enjoyed watching kids falling over like dominoes. Although there were some rough days, we always made it back to the centre with each child, not losing anyone or anything at any given time.
Nowadays, as a preschool teacher, I find my attitude towards fieldtrips has changed but I think it is heavily due to parental influence. Parents questioning why not every parent can come along.. how much food should they be sending..worrying if their child will have separation anxiety.. arguing if whether or not the child should even go because the timing is out of the norm (..which was a complete lie, this past fieldtrip was the same hours as regular class time). Although most of the time I just held my tongue and said "It's up to you.", what I really want to say is "Stop being such a bubblewrap parent!". I wanted to explode on telling them the amount of trips I did with 20 four year olds and one other adult, the amount of times we took public transit, the amount of times we sat in a public space (meaning a park!) and ate lunch, and the amount of times both the parents and kids were happy with their trips at the end of it all. But I can't. And I won't.
So needless to say, when planning trips with these groups, I mentally prepare for the 40 questions from parents, rather than 20. And, when I get those questions, I think about them at night while trying to sleep.. and the ball gets rolling.. the buildup keeps growing.. See where I'm going with this? I feel I haven't met the neutral ground with fieldtrips because I have gone from one extreme to another. And it's not like these parents were concerned about safety; it was about if whether or not their child could handle it.
I appreciate families being concerned and wanting to be involved in every aspect of their preschoolers' life, but sometimes, you just gotta let them experience things independently. How else are they going to be independent?!
And now, for the health inspector visit.
Our preschool is in the midst of renewing our licence so as part of the paperwork and checks, they need a report from a couple of departments giving the "PASS"stamp on the facility. One of these is the Health department and not to say our school is a dirty place, I just get really agitated when they come. When it comes to anyone else, I could careless. No anxiety..no sweaty palms, no stuttering. Just the health department.
I think this might have to do with a bad experience I once had, though. Granted, this was many years ago but once I had a health inspector show me how to wash my hands. First, he asked me to show how I did it. So I did, and he timed me. Despite me singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in my head, I had gone too fast and therefore needed to be "retaught". Then he showed me how to properly dry my hands and asked me to demonstrate in return. At the end, he said maybe I should try singing the "ABCs" instead.
The guy was jerk.
Anyways, since then, I'm expecting the worst when they come even though everything is completely where it should be in terms of accuracte levels, sanitization, first aid, safety measures, etc. Today was our visit and both my assistant and I were making sure these past few days that everything in the classroom was a little extra more spic-and-span.
So, in she came with her white booties, clipboard, and bleach strips and away she went. Checking levels, opening cupboard doors, rumaging through a well-organized first aid kit. Well, to make long story short, everything did go smooth. She wasn't even there as long as I thought she was going to be and made little comments like how clean and organized the preschool was. ...Isn't it suppose to be really clean and organized?!
Once she left, both myself and my T.A seemed to be laughing and breathing again. It was over and we passed. Again, not that we had any doubt, but hey.. we could have been shown how to wash and dry our hands!
Feeling pretty good right now and hell, it's only Tuesday.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
January: the quiet month
I took a break with the blogs in December because of the extreme business that takes over all of us; literally from the 1st to the 31st. I also held off becaue of school shooting that happened in the U.S primarily because it has taken me quite awhile to comprehend what happened, without getting upset.
But now that things have settled, been accepted, movws on, and attacking those so-called New Year resolutions, it's time to get back to blogging those preschooler moments!
As an early childhood educator, I always found January to be a quiet month in regards to program planning. Although you can do the standard "winter" themes which I am guilty of for the past few years, I also deem it a month when you can teach something different. There's no special holidays (New Year's doesn't real mean much to a preschooler), no significant themes you feel obligated to do, and I put the months of November, March, and June in this category too. Again, there are the obvious ones for each of those months but really, can you drag on Rememberance Day or Father's Day for a whole month?!
So with that said, I've decided at our school that will be dedicating January to science! As per usual, each week and day will be designated to some kind of aspect related to science. Hot topics are going to include weather, the human body, life cycles, rocks and minerals, space, senses, and all the inbetweens. We're also going to do a short, quick experiment each class, every class that will only consist of 5-10minutes of paying attention. I figured I would do this when we're in a transition mode like from snack time to outdoor play. Not only will expose them to think outside the box, but it will also let them SEE outside the box with things they never thought possible. For example, watching a bottle of diet cola EXPLODE because of a mento. Or creating various colours with food colouring and milk.
Needless to say, Pinterest is really helping me out on this.
Anyways, the 3 day groups have a scheduled trip to the science centre at the end of the month and the two day groups have a biology teacher coming in. Should be fun! I'll keep you posted on progress but oddly enough, as much as I was the kid who absolutely HATED anything related to science - I'm pretty pumped to be teaching it!
But now that things have settled, been accepted, movws on, and attacking those so-called New Year resolutions, it's time to get back to blogging those preschooler moments!
As an early childhood educator, I always found January to be a quiet month in regards to program planning. Although you can do the standard "winter" themes which I am guilty of for the past few years, I also deem it a month when you can teach something different. There's no special holidays (New Year's doesn't real mean much to a preschooler), no significant themes you feel obligated to do, and I put the months of November, March, and June in this category too. Again, there are the obvious ones for each of those months but really, can you drag on Rememberance Day or Father's Day for a whole month?!
So with that said, I've decided at our school that will be dedicating January to science! As per usual, each week and day will be designated to some kind of aspect related to science. Hot topics are going to include weather, the human body, life cycles, rocks and minerals, space, senses, and all the inbetweens. We're also going to do a short, quick experiment each class, every class that will only consist of 5-10minutes of paying attention. I figured I would do this when we're in a transition mode like from snack time to outdoor play. Not only will expose them to think outside the box, but it will also let them SEE outside the box with things they never thought possible. For example, watching a bottle of diet cola EXPLODE because of a mento. Or creating various colours with food colouring and milk.
Needless to say, Pinterest is really helping me out on this.
Anyways, the 3 day groups have a scheduled trip to the science centre at the end of the month and the two day groups have a biology teacher coming in. Should be fun! I'll keep you posted on progress but oddly enough, as much as I was the kid who absolutely HATED anything related to science - I'm pretty pumped to be teaching it!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Elf on the Shelf: Yeah, I joined the craze too.
Every individual I cross and mention "Elf on the Shelf" usually ends in either two ways: 1) "What the hell is that?" or 2) "Oh. You got one too."
Both responses are legit.
For those of you who don't know, 'Elf on the Shelf' is the latest kid-craze on Christmas traditions. You can find the kit in a Chapters or Indigo and it includes a book and well, an elf! A doll-like elf. The story behind it is that this elf is sent by Santa himself to report on the child's behaviour. Every night when they go to bed, the elf is flying back up to the North Pole to tell the "boss" how they were that day. Then, in the morning, the elf is in a new spot and it ends up becoming a game in finding him. There's rules too. First one, "please don't touch". This means the kids are unable to touch him as if they do, he could lose his magic that allows him to travel to the North Pole and report to Santa. Second rule: he cannot speak (well played, don't you think?). This is because it's the laws of Santa. I've expanded into saying that Santa is full of secrets about the North Pole, the reindeer, and elves. If the elf talks too much, he may let out a secret..and then get into trouble by Santa.
So, after seeing so many pins on Pinterest, I bought one. Yep. That's right. Pinterest inspired me to pay for this doll. And I did it.. for the preschoolers.
Duh.
Luckily it's the month of December and Canada Post is delivering parcels on Sundays because that's when mine arrived. Funny enough, we had my family over and I ended up reading the story to my cousins and grandmother.. who look quite interested and in tune to say the least!
I was very excited Monday morning of introducing our elf friend to the preschoolers. Needless to say, some preschoolers have been challenging in terms of convincing them the elf is REAL and not just a puppet or doll. In order to change their minds, my T.A and I have been taking turns moving him around when no one is looking. Then the whispers of "TOLD YOU HE WAS REAL" and "HE'S MAGICAL!!" started up. One kid still thinks he's not real, but believes Santa is coming into the classroom instead and is the one moving him around. Hmm.
The three year olds got introduced to him today and they love it. They are obviously less suspicious and hate to say it, easier to fool. My husband asked me if I feel guilty lying to the kids about him. Honestly?
NO! This is so so so FUNNNNN!
I've got so many ideas on how to get the kids going! Tomorrow we're decorating the Christmas tree and guess who's going to be waiting for them up top!?
Another requirement for this elf is naming him, so I left it up to the kids to decide what the name was going to be. The four year olds each had to tell me a name, wrote it down on a piece of paper and put it in a "construction worker's" hat. The morning class settled for "Prince", afternoon class got "Super Elf" (that one.. I kinda sorta fixed.. the original was Heart.......). Today, the 3 year olds had their chance. Well the morning class just had to "tell me".. and it ended up that we're sticking with just "Elf", but the afternoon class actually thought about it and decided on "Eddie". Cute!
See! Even three year olds can be pretty creative:)
Both responses are legit.
For those of you who don't know, 'Elf on the Shelf' is the latest kid-craze on Christmas traditions. You can find the kit in a Chapters or Indigo and it includes a book and well, an elf! A doll-like elf. The story behind it is that this elf is sent by Santa himself to report on the child's behaviour. Every night when they go to bed, the elf is flying back up to the North Pole to tell the "boss" how they were that day. Then, in the morning, the elf is in a new spot and it ends up becoming a game in finding him. There's rules too. First one, "please don't touch". This means the kids are unable to touch him as if they do, he could lose his magic that allows him to travel to the North Pole and report to Santa. Second rule: he cannot speak (well played, don't you think?). This is because it's the laws of Santa. I've expanded into saying that Santa is full of secrets about the North Pole, the reindeer, and elves. If the elf talks too much, he may let out a secret..and then get into trouble by Santa.
So, after seeing so many pins on Pinterest, I bought one. Yep. That's right. Pinterest inspired me to pay for this doll. And I did it.. for the preschoolers.
Duh.
Luckily it's the month of December and Canada Post is delivering parcels on Sundays because that's when mine arrived. Funny enough, we had my family over and I ended up reading the story to my cousins and grandmother.. who look quite interested and in tune to say the least!
I was very excited Monday morning of introducing our elf friend to the preschoolers. Needless to say, some preschoolers have been challenging in terms of convincing them the elf is REAL and not just a puppet or doll. In order to change their minds, my T.A and I have been taking turns moving him around when no one is looking. Then the whispers of "TOLD YOU HE WAS REAL" and "HE'S MAGICAL!!" started up. One kid still thinks he's not real, but believes Santa is coming into the classroom instead and is the one moving him around. Hmm.
The three year olds got introduced to him today and they love it. They are obviously less suspicious and hate to say it, easier to fool. My husband asked me if I feel guilty lying to the kids about him. Honestly?
NO! This is so so so FUNNNNN!
I've got so many ideas on how to get the kids going! Tomorrow we're decorating the Christmas tree and guess who's going to be waiting for them up top!?
Another requirement for this elf is naming him, so I left it up to the kids to decide what the name was going to be. The four year olds each had to tell me a name, wrote it down on a piece of paper and put it in a "construction worker's" hat. The morning class settled for "Prince", afternoon class got "Super Elf" (that one.. I kinda sorta fixed.. the original was Heart.......). Today, the 3 year olds had their chance. Well the morning class just had to "tell me".. and it ended up that we're sticking with just "Elf", but the afternoon class actually thought about it and decided on "Eddie". Cute!
See! Even three year olds can be pretty creative:)
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
When you want to cry, I want to cry too.
I needed to write a new post this time because I was on the brink tears when I experienced what I saw today from a sad four year old. Already feeling blue myself and on the verge of needing a good cry, my heart broke for what I shared with a child. This week has been really bad for having students away sick with either bad colds and/or flus, so my little friend I'm about to talk about, makes me sure she's on the brink of getting either one of the two as well.
When she got dropped off this morning at preschool, she really seemed to struggle in letting go of her father's hand. Something you never, ever see from her. Even on her first day of preschool with us, she ran into the classroom. So for her to not want her father to leave, meant something was up. Anyways, after some convincing from him, she slowly let go and walked into the classroom. Not paying much attention, I followed her in and started to prepare for circle time. Well, as I was grabbing my keys to lock the front door, I looked into our reading corner and this is what I found:
Back in September, we had made a family photo album for each class and have kept them in our reading corner. So, our little friend was making good use of ours today as you can see. But at first, I thought she was just "looking" at it, like what most kids do. That's why I took the picture! To prove that these photo albums really do work! But, this wasn't the case. After I took the picture, I noticed something was not right. I stopped right away and just stood there, watching her. And within that second, she looked up and tears were streaming down here face. I walked over to her, got down at her level, and just hugged her. By that point, I had my own tears welling up as I just felt so sad for her and wanted to cry with her too. She told me she missed her mom and dad and wanted to hug them.
Bring out the tissues!
After a good cry and a good hug, our little friend managed to get through her class after that. Lots of times, I'm reminded why I do what I do for a living. But today? Well, the fact that when I was ready to cry with her just because, well, once again realized that I knew I was in the right job.
When she got dropped off this morning at preschool, she really seemed to struggle in letting go of her father's hand. Something you never, ever see from her. Even on her first day of preschool with us, she ran into the classroom. So for her to not want her father to leave, meant something was up. Anyways, after some convincing from him, she slowly let go and walked into the classroom. Not paying much attention, I followed her in and started to prepare for circle time. Well, as I was grabbing my keys to lock the front door, I looked into our reading corner and this is what I found:
Back in September, we had made a family photo album for each class and have kept them in our reading corner. So, our little friend was making good use of ours today as you can see. But at first, I thought she was just "looking" at it, like what most kids do. That's why I took the picture! To prove that these photo albums really do work! But, this wasn't the case. After I took the picture, I noticed something was not right. I stopped right away and just stood there, watching her. And within that second, she looked up and tears were streaming down here face. I walked over to her, got down at her level, and just hugged her. By that point, I had my own tears welling up as I just felt so sad for her and wanted to cry with her too. She told me she missed her mom and dad and wanted to hug them.
Bring out the tissues!
After a good cry and a good hug, our little friend managed to get through her class after that. Lots of times, I'm reminded why I do what I do for a living. But today? Well, the fact that when I was ready to cry with her just because, well, once again realized that I knew I was in the right job.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
When the teacher gets sick
Since I have been working with young children, I always averaged two major sicknesses per school year. It's guarnteed it will be a major cold each time as well. And usually, I'm able to stick it out. Take enough meds, get plenty of sleep, and keep the vitmans coming. However, this time the strategy and assumption fell through.
Needless to say, although I ended up taking a day off work, it really doesn't make things better for the teacher. The amount of prep that needs to be done, the final post-its on notes already written out twice because the first one didn't look neat enough, and of course, the aprehension of 'will the kids be good?'. Only once, I got a bad report back and needless to say, the next time I was away, that class was on their best behaviour after that. But needless to say, it's alot harder to "call in sick" then the average person in their job. My husband still struggles to comprehend that it isn't as easy for me to call in than it is for him. All he has to do is call.. no wait.. EMAIL his boss, and it's done. I wish. And I'm sure so does everyone else in the early childhood industry. Especially for those who have dayhomes.. how do you do it?!
After returning for one day and the next two being the weekend, by Monday I felt like a million dollars. And the kids seemed to have noticed it too. The older ones said I wasn't boring anymore and I didn't look like I needed a nap. The younger ones, who were the ones that experienced their teacher being away, asked why I got sick when I saw them again. I told them because I got some bad germs in my body. But what I was really thinking was, "because of all of you and your snotty noses!".
And we all know, it's the honest truth.
Needless to say, although I ended up taking a day off work, it really doesn't make things better for the teacher. The amount of prep that needs to be done, the final post-its on notes already written out twice because the first one didn't look neat enough, and of course, the aprehension of 'will the kids be good?'. Only once, I got a bad report back and needless to say, the next time I was away, that class was on their best behaviour after that. But needless to say, it's alot harder to "call in sick" then the average person in their job. My husband still struggles to comprehend that it isn't as easy for me to call in than it is for him. All he has to do is call.. no wait.. EMAIL his boss, and it's done. I wish. And I'm sure so does everyone else in the early childhood industry. Especially for those who have dayhomes.. how do you do it?!
After returning for one day and the next two being the weekend, by Monday I felt like a million dollars. And the kids seemed to have noticed it too. The older ones said I wasn't boring anymore and I didn't look like I needed a nap. The younger ones, who were the ones that experienced their teacher being away, asked why I got sick when I saw them again. I told them because I got some bad germs in my body. But what I was really thinking was, "because of all of you and your snotty noses!".
And we all know, it's the honest truth.
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