Still working in the Pre-K room.
We've had some nasty rain and wind this week, and even tornado warnings. Many of the kids in my current class are walked to school by parents, so attendance has been low this week, I suspect in part to the weather, and also to the cold I picked up while in the classroom. I doubt I'm the only person the germs decided to befriend.
Yesterday, the teacher in the adjoining room (also Pre-K) had both aides out. One had to run her son to a doctor's appointment and her other aide was out sick, so she asked if I could come and be in the room for a while. The group in that room was very different from the kids I'd been working with next door.
When I walked in, the kids were all at free play. There were pinto beans in the sensory table and just as many on the carpet as in the table. I asked the kids to round up all the beans on the floor and put them back in the table. Most complied, but one looked at me and kept dumping them out of the table and on to the floor. When I got more firm with my command to keep the beans in the table, she walked away and sat next to a woman cutting construction paper at a table. These classes ask parents to volunteer time in the classroom, so I assumed this was Mom. Mom ignored her and ignored the fact that I'd asked her child to do something. So, I let it go.
After my initial run-in with her, another parent came in with a box of toys for the classroom. The teacher took what she wanted, and left the toys that were too young in the box in the corner to get rid of later. Sensory Table Girl went over and plucked one out of the box. Teacher told her to put the baby toy away and she ran over to her mother and played with it next to her. Again, Mom did nothing. Teacher took the toy away and put it back in the box. When her back was turned, Sensory Table Girl went and got the toy again.
I really wonder at this type of young child. We know behaviors can change and shy kids can come out of their shells. Can children who are so defiant at such a young age get that under control and become good students? Or are these the same kids who continually get in trouble throughout their school careers?
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI am a career changer, and have only been subbing a very short time.
Nothing drives more insane than a parent who does not support the actions of the teacher, or at the very least attempt to get the child to comply. You wanna smack the parent more than the kid. I see it in my daughter's K class, and at my son's Cub Scouts meetings
I haven't yet subbed in a elementary setting, but my wife was a pre-school teacher for 10 years, so I have heard many stories.