Holy Moly!!

Well, today was the first day of Kindergarten, and I am ENTIRELY exhausted!!

Teaching Kindergarten is so different from every other grade. Most non-teachers think it's the easiest grade to teach..... there's no complicated math..... the kids are small and cute..... you don't have to grade piles of essays.... piece of cake right?? all fingerpainting and singing and playing on the playground.....

Well, I'm here to tell you teaching Kindergarten is no picnic, cake walk, or otherwise relaxing and delightful activity. IT IS WORK... HARD WORK! After one year in 3rd grade I had forgotten how taxing it really is. I kept telling myself (in my brain) that the first week of Kindergarten was the hardest thing to teach, but the reality was something my brain had blocked out... you know, the way your brain blocks out the pain of labor after you give birth!

I had kids who wouldn't talk from shyness, kids who talked constantly, kids who couldn't sit in one spot for more than 5 seconds, kids who refused to sit down, kids who wandered around aimlessly, kids who looked at me while I gave directions then went back to what they were doing, kids who couldn't line up, kids who could line up but couldn't stay in line, kids who could stand in line but couldn't walk in line, kids who drew scribbles for a self portrait and kids who took 20 minutes to draw only their eyes.

I am more tired than I can EVER remember being.....

but here's the thing about being a Kindergarten teacher..... with all the hard work, it is such a thrill when in the middle of September you call the students to the carpet and all of them come and sit down ready to listen... then there's the day when the scribbler first successfully writes his name.... later on, you get to hear the direction ignorer telling someone how to put the toys away in the correct tubs, and around about May you get to show them all how to write a story and revel in the 4 minutes of silence when all you hear are pencils scratching across paper while little faces are intent upon their work.

So, I'm not really asking for pity... I love my job..... I just have to go to bed now. Night!