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I am posting every day during March as part of the annual "Slice of Life" Challenge for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.
*******When my boys were little, it was the fall time change that I feared - their six a.m. wake-up became a five a.m. wake-up. Ugh.
Now, as a teacher of preschoolers, the spring time change is problematic. The day begins reasonably enough, with many children arriving later than usual and, thus, a slower and quieter start to a Monday. But naptime - oh my! Ridiculous!
No one is ready to settle in at 12:30...
no one is ready to settle in at 1 pm...
in fact, at 1:30pm,
still no one is asleep.
By their body clocks,
nap should just be beginning...
1:30 is last week's 12:30.
There is a restless energy to this napping room.
How have they spent this hour?
Giggles.
Jumping.
Dancing.
Whispering.
Dropping books on the floor.
Getting off their cot to chat with a neighbor!
Singing.
Crawling.
Making animal noises.
Rolling from side to side.
Drumming their shoes on the floor.
Throwing their cuddle toy up to the ceiling.
Tapping their feet on the edge of the cot.
Stretching into various yoga poses.
Bouncing balls [how did he get his hands on that ball? those darn balls and ramps!!]
Aieeee.
How have I spent this hour?
Shaking my head,
with understanding.
**************
(A daily share by a preschooler, in their own words)
A Story Collage by Ellie
It’s summertime. And all the butterflies appear. One stormy
thing comes and it hurts everybody. It’s lightning. The blue butterfly
fluttered away. And a wolf appears. And here’s winter. The wolf is over by the
tree. And now it is so pretty. The wolf touches the button and it makes a loud
noise and the wolf runs away. It’s kind of a happy story because butterflies
appear and they all live happily and powerfully ever after. The End.
I can't believe you have all changed already. It seems so early! Ah well, it is given back in the fall and in a couple of days everyone will be adjusted and enjoying the evening light.
ReplyDeleteYes, we just need a couple days. The children will adjust before the adults, I bet!
DeleteI love "happily and powerfully ever after." I am going to use that closing for all my bedtime stories from now on.
ReplyDeleteI agree! It's an awesome line!
DeleteI echo Lucy's comment, powerfully every after. The drawing is powerful too! I must share that my volunteering at lunch at the nursing home today was nearly the same, Maureen. At a 12:15 lunch, no one was hungry, everyone was still in a morning nap mode. We all talked about it, and lunch was not eaten this time. I think they'll all be ready for snack later! Hope tomorrow goes better!
ReplyDeleteAgain, an amazing parallel between children and seniors. I feel that they are more in touch with what's real, with the natural rhythms of our world.
DeleteShaking my head,
ReplyDeletewith understanding.
Again your love for children shines through!
Thank you, Amy! They are delightful - if you can summon the patience to sit back and observe.
DeleteHappily and powerfully ever after. MMM! What a delicious phrase!
ReplyDeleteAs far as daylight savings time, I HATE IT. I've been bracing myself for it for weeks and then forgot about it and wondered why naptime was such a hot hot mess. Then, when I put it all together it all became so clear. Too bad my understanding was in hindsight :(
Almost wrote "good to hear your naptime was a hot hot mess" - ha! Well, we are in the same soup.
DeleteThere's just not much more you can do, I've found - my goal is that they are quiet, but how hard that goal must be when they aren't even tired!
ReplyDelete