Today was my last day of Kindergarten Summer School. Before I was a mom I thought all Kindergarten teachers were out of their minds. For sure Preschool Teachers and Kindergarten teachers should be paid in the 6 digit range! I mean really, have you ever tried to get 20 4 year olds to do something?!!!
Anyhow, the opportunity presented itself and I was excited for the challenge. Because when you really think about it, although volatile, totally unpredictable, and sometimes just plain ole crazy, 5 year olds are actually pretty amazing. :)
And so 20 days of 5 hours with Kindergarten came and went and they literally kicked my butt. I would come home exhausted every day after work in need of a nap. Sometimes those naps lasted 2 hours!!!! The 19 kids in my class wore me out physically and mentally and coming home to my own Kindergartner and 1st grader was especially draining. To call the experience a challenge would be an understatement, to say that I learned a lot this summer would be on target!!!
Some reflection has reminded me just how much I love working with students AND their families. At our class party today two moms asked if they could join and we chatted about parenting, kids, and kids in school. It was my first time in this situation where I was a peer of the other parents. In all of my other experiences I was never a mom like them. Parenting has given me so much more insight into education and has also meant that I can connect with parents in a way that I wasn't able to when I was a young new teacher. I so enjoyed my conversations today because I could speak as an educator giving advice as well as a parent lamenting with another. These relationships are ones that I definitely want to explore in the future!!!
My time in Kindergarten also gave me a huge insight into my own kids. Like most moms I worry. Are my kids okay? Are they hyper? How do they behave at school? Do they have friends? Do they listen to teachers? Are they behind? Working with students the same age as my own kids showed me that kids this age are diverse and that my kids are way more normal that I ever could have thought!!! All kids whine. All kids fight. All kids can't sit down. All this time I was worried for nothing!! It was a great revelation to have!!
Lastly, I learned that my love affair with teaching is far from over. It's calling to me louder than ever, beckoning me to come back and rekindle the passion. Teaching is not out of my system and soo enough it will be time to go back.
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