(no subject)
So I woke up at 5am with this insane craving to read. So here I sit, having read for an hour and a half so far, and negociating in my head how much time I need to get ready for work, while watching the cat obsessively clean herself. It's funny I just pat her head and it is like pushing the on button for her internal motor. It's so cute:)
At work they increased my hours 1.5 hours a day, that's about $75 a pay check so that should help me survive until I can get a teaching job. My job entails watching a random assortment of seven 1-5 year olds to keep the main room of the daycare from being overcrowded in the morning, and since my coworker is old and easily frustrated, she gives me the most difficult children. Lucky for me noise and mess don't bother me so I just referee and make sure that no one gets hurt, everyone is behaving in a healthy way, and I usually end up teaching them something individually as they are magnetically drawn to me for hugs, book reading, or just discussion. It bothers my coworker sometimes at how strong the magnetic pull is to me, and she has actually asked the kids why they like me so much before. They just shrug and hug me. I have taughed quite a few of the kids how to do a complicated puzzle game independantly that requires 3d spacial awareness skills. Others have mastered their colors including less well known colors such as tan, black, white, brown ect. Most of the kids are counting with one to one matching after drilling them, and making them aware that each object is only counted once and one number goes with one object. It is actually a more difficult skill to mastor than you might think for their ages... The little ones I have been increasing their communication by getting them to nod and shake their head when asked a yes or no question, working on saying vowel sounds, and getting them to vocalize. The most advanced children are learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet, their sounds, and how letters make sounds to form words.
I think it is weird. The most advanced children in the room are going through the most difficult home life changes (seporation, devorce, remarriage), showing the most behaviors for other teachers, but for me they are more truthful. Instead of hiding behind bad behavior, when I call them on it, they stop displacing their emotions, own them, and act better. For example, one child is experiencing a lot of fighting at home between her mom and her dad (devorced and he about to get remarried). She cries, screams, and throws fits over EVERYTHING. I usually put up with the first few outbursts by simply telling her to calm down, she is overreacting, and she is upsetting her classmates. Sometimes that works. On bad days she will have a total melt down. In those cases I need to move her out of the center of the room, and give her a time out telling her I am not listening to a word she says until she stops screaming. Then I take her aside, and talk to her. I tell her what emotions I see, what they are doing to her and others, and encourage her to think about more positive memories. I bring up things she has told me about that made her excited, and soon she is smiling. When I release her to play she is still resistant, and may need more interventions throughout the period, but she progressively gets better. When I talk to her later, she usually listens.
Another kid is really strange. He doesn't listen much, and can be a total horror in the classroom. I liken him to a tornado on his bad days, but he is also extremly intellegent. I found that if I encourage him, and praise him when he is good it is like a drug for him. He keeps doing things to get praise, and next thing I know he is completely redirected, and listening to me.
In my room, the kids typically listen. Took a while to get there, but now they are established and it is easy. The second they go out of the room, they are pestering my coworker like they know the buttons are not hard to push, and it is the most exciting game. I feel bad for her sometimes.... If she could just learn to react less fiercely, they wouldn't get such a thrill in getting her worked up, and her life would be easier.
After my 2 hour babysitting session, I go home for 4 hours. i come back, and I feed the 1 year olds snack, change them, and watch them play. I must keep one kid from tackling the others, and I am working on a biting issue with another. Then I go to the baby room, and take care of two infants and two almost toddlers. The past two days since this schedule has started the infants have been the most joyous to see me. I was told their smiles are rare, but when I come in, belly laughing ensues. It is quite the stress reliever to see something so small and innocent so happy to see you. It makes my day.
I just wish I made more, then this job would be much better.
My thoughts are becoming more scattered so I should probably get ready for work...
Why does today feel so off?