One of the most popular articles that I have written has been on funny statements that have come from my daycare children's mouths. Then it was a break from a series of serious articles- now I am motivated by a similar feeling. It is important to take the focus from all of the challenges that childcare providers face as they seek to insure the safety and development of the children in their care and to look at the joy and laughter that can come from these little ones simply being themselves.
A year or two ago, one of the preschool classes that I taught put together scrapbooks that feautred pictures of each child and a drawing that they had made. Accompanying this was a note that each child dictated to a parent about what they loved about my co-teacher and I. Among the most popular were that we gave them hugs and told them fun stories, but one choice that many of them mentioned still tickles me to this day. A child from the neighborhood by my church had found a kitten that was too young to be left alone, and since I am a softy for both kittens and little kids crying about orphaned kittens I said that I would take it and care for it until we could find it a family. This involved my bringing the kitten to school for several days because it needed to be fed, and basically wearing the kitten in the front pocket of my favorite sweatshirt so that it would be warm and comfortable. About half of my students mentioned that their favorite part of preschool had been that I had brought the tiny kitten to school in my pocket and I showed it to them and it was cute. I got quite a few pictures of me as a stick figure with a lumpy kitten shape sticking out my abdomen.
James and his little brother Caleb had been on vacation out at the lake and James told us how he had encouraged his brother to be braver about swimming with his water wings in the assigned swimming area. "I told him that I would go with him and we would race all the way out to the boobie- and he did- he made it all the way out to the boobie in the water." We were able to deduce that he really had meant "Buoy."
It must be almost five years ago now that Abby, who was then three was out on the playground pushing her invisible pet pig Harry on the swing. Edward, seeing that no one was on the swing ran up and jumped on it and began swinging. He was very confused and upset when Abby yelled at him, saying, "You're squishing Harry, get off." He jumped off and looked at the swing and at her, but (obviously) couldn't see anyone on the swing. He came over and one of the teachers explained what was going. Abby wanted him to apologize- to Harry.
One final story for this installment.
Mitchell, who is now several years older and wouldn't admit this now, was playing with one of the other kids, leaning his head down and playfully charging at them and retreating. He called out to me, "Look Miss Carie, I'm a limousine."
"A limousine?" I aksed, "The car?"
"No- a limousine, you know, like a bull." It took some doing, especially since he also confused the word "pimple" with pitt-bull" at some point in our discussion- I'm still not sure about that particular statement, but we deduced that he meant a "longhorn bull" of some sort. He said he had watched ashow about them on the Discovery Cannel.
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