Everything I need to know I learned TEACHING pre-k

You may have read the popular poem titled "All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten." And how true that is. Things such as: play fair, share, flush, wash your hands, say you're sorry, clean up your own mess, take a nap every afternoon (i learned that one REAL well), and when you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick togther. How true all of these are. Yet, how often do we forget these basic rules. More often that we should maybe. But after a year of teaching this particular Pre-K class, there are many MORE things i have learned that I will take with me on this journey called "Life." And here are just a few of those things:

1) A simple smile goes a long way

2) My definition of emergency is much different than a 5 year old

3) Saying Sorry isn't as hard as we make it out to be, and what a differnce a simple word can make.

4) Admitting a 5 year old is right and you are wrong...also not easy

5) Patience is TRULY a virtue

6) Laughing when a child does something naughy makes it IMPOSSIBLE to then punish them

7) Hearing a child laugh can at times be such a beautiful sound, and othertimes it resembles crashing gong.

8) Teaching is the best form of birth control EVER

9) According to my students, i am the most beautiful woman alive

10) When you have a square rug, yet you call it "Circle Time"...kids don't fall for it...

Last night we had our Graduation Ceremony here at Pearce 4 Kids. It was a crazy day getting all the last minute details in order, but it was well worth the ciaos. Here are a few pictures from our ceremony and a few of my favorites from the year.

Here are the Graduates! (the front row are my students)

Here is a picture I took when we were practicing wearing our hats AND singing, (notice my little model in the front row...she is a mini Punky Brewster!)

ok, i know that the first rule of teaching is to NOT have favorties, but really secretly everyone does have a favorite, well here is mine. He is the sweetest child and he is so cute and i melt when he says my name. I teared up last night when he said to me in his little voice "Miss Becca, I love you and I am really going to miss you..." I melted. I will miss him so very much.

We went on a field trip to a local gymnastics class, and this was a foam put they had. You couldn't get in it if you were over 100 pounds or you can't get out easily...i didn't get it....

cutie....

this says it all about him... it says it ALL :)

And to conclude this post, I will share with you a few of my favorite quotes from the year.

"Miss Becca, are you having a bad hair day?"

(This next quote is from a former student who was at graduation):

Former student: "Miss Becca, are you getting bigger?"

Me: "Oh! Do I look taller?!?!"

Former Student: "oh...well that too..."

Me: uh...maybe (uncomfortable laugh)

" MISS BECCA! I have to go to the bathroom now, my pee pee can't take it anymore!"

let me preface this next one with a few details: This child was wearing my patience thin and i had had about enough, so i called him over, and this is what he said:

(child slowly approaches, when he reaches where i am standing, he puts his little hands on his little hips) and said: "This had better be good"

"Um, miss becca, i have a question... um....uh....uh (seriously, like a minute of this goes on, while i just wait patiently for his question) well...i can't remember what the question is, but the answer is George W. Bush!"

On one of the last days of school, a mother in the class made T-Shirts for each of us to wear on the last day of school. So the day before, I held up MY shirt before handing out each of theirs, and this is the conversation we had:

Me: look boys and girls! Here is the shirt that was made for us! I want each of you to wear it on our last day of school!

Child: Um...that shirt looks like it will way to big on us. It looks like it could fit a man.

Me: This is my shirt

Child: Oh, it will fit you too i guess. but mine needs to be MUCH smaller.

Last night at graduation, we sang a beautiful song about how Jesus died for us, and we also did the sign language to it. We sang through the song twice, but at the end of our first time, one of my students yelled out "don't clap yet, that's not all folks!" I died laughing. oh kids are so unpredictable...

my favorite quote of the year is: "Just so you know miss. becca, I am a way better singer that you. You may sing on stage at church, but i will be the next americal idol."

I am really going to miss these kids!