And So It Begins

"Uh-oh, you have your work cut out for you today."
"What do you mean?"
"The kids, they're ready for you."
I look around for 3 seconds.
"Darin, I can see them from here."
"At least they aren't hiding behind a backpack!"



And so starts my day with the kindergarten class. Every morning (and I mean every morning) the girls run past me screaming and proceed to hide in the most obvious places, thinking if they can't see me, I must not be able to see them.

Julie and Mimi even curled up on the floor and placed their kid-sized backpacks in front of their faces in all seriousness, believing I would never be able to find them. I play along, saying the likes of "Uh-oh, where is everyone!? I guess I'm all alone today! Nobody is here to play..." You get the idea. The only response I get is tons of little girl giggles before they pop up and run screaming to the next hiding place. This continues for at least 10 minutes before I can even attempt to say the words "Purple books out" (I think we have covered the fact that complete sentences are not used in this school. One kindergarten class uses a purple book, one uses an orange book, the other a blue book; all in the Sesame Street series.) And then I bribe them with colouring or drawing after they finish the lesson for the day. In the back of my mind, I am always comparing how I am teaching these children and how I will be when the time comes to teach my own. I hope it will be way different and I will not have to resort to bribery.