Teaching is getting easier. Kinda. The kids are still much harder to deal with than I remember, but I am getting into a routine. And the staff at my school is fabulous which helps tremendously. Mucho support from everyone. But back to the kids. After spring break I had the kids tell me one fun thing they did over the break. The first kid I called on said he went to Disneyland. Um…yeah…right. How did you get there? A limo. Now I know he has no idea that to drive to Disneyland would take a full 24 hours. But still…why make up such a crazy story? After that the stories ranged from bull riding to mountain climbing to going to a waterpark. Now I know that none of the stories are true. I could tell by the way they were told. I also know that 5 year olds don’t ride bulls, there are no mountains anywhere close, and that the waterparks weren’t open yet. I was so thankful for the kid who said he and his brother got to stay up late and jump on his trampoline in the dark. The best part was how excited he was to tell me that. He didn’t make up a story about something that he couldn’t even imagine. He told the truth, and it showed all over his face.
The same kid who “went to Disneyland” for spring break mentioned that his birthday was coming up. He wondered aloud if I was coming. He answered his own thought by reminding himself that I didn’t even know where his house was. Just because I was curious what he would say I asked him if he could tell me how to get there. I wrote down his directions to make sure I got them right.
“You know where that red light is by my nana’s house? That green light that means go, yellow for slow down and red to stop? Go straight. You see that barbershop. Russell, he works there. My horse is right there by that tree. He is a brown horse. What kind is your car? (me…a van) Yeah, my church has a van. You see the donut shop right here. You gotta turn your head this way. Then you turn and that’s my house.”
And of course his directions were full of hand motions and pointing. He was sure I got it because I paid attention and wrote it all down. Poor kid. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to his party despite his excellent directions. My reason…I don’t know where his nana lives.
Midlife Natalie 