First Week of School!

Wearing scrubs while painting my classroom! 

There is nothing like seeing the joy on a child's face when they enter school for the first time. 

This past week, was the first week of school. Although, they do things a little differently here. Only two students come from 8am-10am, then another two-three come from 10am-12pm. So only about 4-5 students each day this week, for a short while to help them get adjusted to the environment, the teachers, and the routine. This allows for every student to get one-on-one attention/instruction from a teacher. I personally found this method to be very beneficial, especially for these families. These children are sometimes breast feeding until the age of 5! The boys especially tend to be babied as they are growing up. This makes the transition for school rather difficult. It was rather shocking to see some of the students cry/scream when they entered school this week, even though their mother was literally upstairs at school. The mothers stayed and waited for the two hours to be over. Yet still, some children had a hard time leaving their mother's side. For me, this is one of my favorite challenges about being a teacher. And this is why I really do want to teach the little ones. Being a kindergarten or preschool teacher means you are the first role model/mother;y figure in these children's lives after their mother. They are so used to being with their family/mom 24/7 and starting school for the first time, can be difficult. I embrace this challenge and love to see these children grow into independent individuals. Now that the week is over, I have met all of our students this year. And I must say....they are SO cute!! We refer to them as "micro-dolls" sometimes because they are all literally very small!! Especially the three year old, my favorite! These children have the biggest, darkest eyes, that look at you with so much love and hope. They truly inspire me to want to be the best teacher I can be, because I know just how important education is in their life. And more than education, but love. We teach them courtesy, kindness, independence, and responsibility. This school is created with different motives than a traditional public school because these children do not have role models at home to teach them all of these things. Its a rather daunting task, but Diane Jackelyn and I are all passionate and more than ready to take it on. This Monday will be the first day with ALL of the 25 children...and I couldn't be more excited to see the start of this year. This year is double the amount of students that they had last year. So it will, without a doubt, be different. But different doesn't have to be in a negative way, different for the better because this year, we can impact the lives of 25 children! And that is something to be excited about! 

All week I have been getting my classroom ready! I can't wait to post a before and after picture. Keep in mind, my classroom used to be used as a storage room, and I have transformed it into a beautiful outdoor classroom. Just a few more days and it will be ready to go! Stay posted!