On the Front Lines

I'm on the front lines. I've caught a two year old half a second before he would have been hit by a car, after an overburdened mother of four accidently left the daycare center's gate open. I've been the target of hits, kicks, bites, and screams, without the option to fight back. I've been witness to a three year old's sudden violence after too much stimulation, and caught children literally flying through the air. I've worked with children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, autism, Down's Syndrome, bipolar disorder, and Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I've been bled on, and wondered how much I should worry---the child's mother did do drugs.


Name any bodily fluid, and I've encountered it. Projectile vomit? Check. One day in the one year olds' classroom crossed that one off my list. Poop? The infant room did that one in, when a child with a stomach bug had a leaky diaper. Blood? I've had a bloody hand unceremoniously dumped in mine after a rough fall.


I've translated for a frantic grandmother whose granddaughter was locked in a car, a mother who just got divorced, and a teacher when a sweet, peaceful child got badly bitten.

I am the subject of violence on a daily basis, without the option of fighting back. An angry child in the midst of a manic episode can have superhuman strength!

And people still think teachers aren't underpaid?

Ice Storm!

There is nothing more entertaining than trying to get a solid 3/8ths inch of ice off of a car. My Toyota was totally encased in ice---when I opened the trunk, a huge slab fell off.


Let's just say that I have no plans to go to work, optional teacher workday or not. If my car is still covered in ice, who knows about the roads. A half hour drive on these roads is nothing to shrug off.


Is it just me, or is it crazy to deem roads too icy for kids to be out on, but just fine for teachers? Are our lives less valuable? I guess they figure that we are able to judge just how challenging the roads are, and can decide for ourselves whether or not to make it in to work. However, if you don't show up, you have to use personal leave time. Luckily, as AmeriCorps, my only requirement is to get 1700 hours in 10 and a half months. I can take off a day for a crazy ice storm, without wondering if I can make rent or pay for doctor bills that month without working for the day.

Sunday's Successes

Today I:

1. Made enough homemade pizza for my roommates and I to have supper tonight, lunch tomorrow, and some leftovers. I used Betty Crocker's Stir and Roll Pizza Crust recipe, and random ingredients from the fridge. It was super tasty, but I should have had the oven a little lower (maybe 375), and checked it at 15 minutes. It was a little crispy, but still tasted wonderful!
2. Made a batch of homemade Chex Mix to take to work for a snack, and to my EDU 119 class tomorrow night. It will be another day of not getting home until 8 or later, but I have my three roommates in the same class, so it's fun.
3. Took a long overdue nap. I've been working over fifty hours a week for the past three weeks, with very few breaks. It felt so good to relax and get caught up on sleep!
4. Researched an article for my EDU 119 class.

What did you do today?

Signs You Might Work in Childcare

You might work in childcare if:

1) You cough into your elbow (to avoid spreading germs)

2) You avoid touching children's elbows, knowing that they just sneezed into them.

3) You know what lice look like, and can identify a nit.

4) You can discuss exploding diapers without flinching.

5) You find yourself singing the clean up song as you clean your apartment.

6) You have four spare pairs of gloves in your winter coat for the children who don't have any or forgot theirs at home.

7) You use positive reinforcement and avoid negative statements. "Use your walking feet!"


8) You find yourself telling someone to not lick the window, and then wonder how you could have phrased it positively.

9) You've ever had to explain why your pockets were filled with toy cars and plastic monkeys at the security checkpoint at a hockey game.

The Twelve Days of Daycare

(To be sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas)
Twelve hyper three year olds,
eleven missing gloves,
ten tossed off shoes,
nine bouts of crying,
eight changes of clothes,
seven major fights,
six "I want my mommy"s,
five spilled milks,
four hours outside,
three exploding diapers,
two crazy tantrums,
and one lice outbreak.

This was my week. Sorry I didn't post more last week---as you can see, it was a little intense!

Ten Things I'm Thankful For

1) Pizza for Thanksgiving. Not your traditional meal, but very tasty! Basil pesto pizza topped with peppers and tomatoes from my local farmer's market made this a delicious feast indeed!

2) Warm blankets. I'll be able to turn on the heat soon (I hope). In the mean time, I'm enjoying bundling up nice and warm under my grandmother's handmade quilt!

3) Make Your Own Burrito Night with my roommate. Even though neither of us were able to go home for Thanksgiving, we've been having a blast and a culinary extravaganza.

4) The library! I now have multiple books on tape for my drive to and from work; plenty of books I've been waiting months to read, and a huge selection of DVDs to choose from.

5) My laptop. I can take classes online, write parent brochures for work, keep in touch with my friends and family, and watch movies.


6) Trains. Less crazy than a Greyhound, they are a money saving way to get home. I love seeing all the great scenery, and not having to worry about driving through traffic heavy cities.


7) Family. I have a very supportive and loving family, and I can't wait to see them at Christmas!

8) Steady work. Sure, AmeriCorps doesn't pay a lot, but the experience is priceless, and the comfort of knowing that I have a stable income is a huge relief.

9) Working with little kids. I love every child I work with, and they make life so much more interesting. In what other field do you go from cuddling three one year olds on your lap as you read them a story to teaching a kid how to cut with scissors? Where else can you hear such memorable quotes as, "I had to concentrate when my mom got the bugs out of my hair?"

10) Life. The possibilities that each day bring, and the opportunity to direct my life's path in any direction I choose.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

One of the advantages of working in an early childhood education center is all of the funny quotes that I get to hear throughout the day. Amid the children who communicate mainly in Baby Signs or growls, I also get to hear these fun quotes:

1) "I like playing Michael Jackson with my friends." Not creepy at all.

2) "Where do babies come from?" Given that I'm your teacher and not your parent, I don't think I'll be answering this one.

3) "We don't bury our friends!" A three year old parroting a rule given earlier that day---who knew that it would have to be used twice in one day?

4) "Boogers!" The observation that every teacher dreads, knowing that they will be the ones to remove said boogers. Where's the hand sanitizer when you need it?

5) "Am I your pet?" A three year old's question after his mom puts him on a leash. I loved her response: "You're my pet iguana Iggy!"

Aren't children fun?

Ways You Know You Work with Children

You may work with children if...
1) You've ever told a child "Don't pee on the sink!"
2) You find yourself singing the clean up song at home while washing the dishes.
3) You can push a swing one handedly.
4) You can put five kids to sleep in ten minutes or less.
5) You spend your mornings scraping congealed cereal and milk off the floor.
6) You have calluses from pushing swings.
7) You've perfected your "teacher's voice": loud and no nonsense
8) You break up three fights a day, wipe ten noises an hour, and diaper eight children
9) You've ever picked up a spider to save it from being squashed by anxious children.
10) You get twelve hugs and sloppy kisses at the end of the day.

Blood, Spit, and Tears

My little three year old at the Head Start center was busy today.


One of the other three year olds taught him how to use spit as a weapon, prompting much disgust among the other children and two "think times" after he tried to spit on teachers.

Ew. That's all I can say. Ew.

Things to Do

Things I need to do this week, to finish off October:

1. Contact the head of the magazine turnover division at my local library, to get all of the magazines slated to be recycled. We can use these at the Head Start to make collages and find interesting pictures to post on the wall (Hello, Diversity Project!)


2. Type up a summary of the apple tasting to send to my AmeriCorps supervisor to officially finish with one of three nutrition projects.


3. Fasten my new, $2 corkboard message board onto the wall.

What's on your To Do List?

Margarita Monday

You have to love Margarita Mondays. 99 cent margaritas, with special flavors (such as Desert Pear or Blackberry) just 50 cents more. There were also plenty of sides for just $2. I enjoyed the seasoned fries. What's not to love?

We had a nine person group of fellow AmeriCorps childcare workers, which let us discuss all the craziness at our centers, our success stories, and our struggles. We commiserated with the member who had a screamer at her center (a three year old who literally loved to get right up in your face and scream endlessly). We traded behavior modification tips for two year olds who loved to hit (buy a punching bag if at all possible, or find a loud drum or squishy ball they can take their agression out on).

It's a fun tradition, and fairly reasonably priced (as long as you ate beforehand and didn't catch a meal at the restaurant).

Where do you go for a cheap night out?

Batanga

I love Spanish music---Reik, Camila, Juanes, Aleks Syntek---it's an addiction. However, I'm in AmeriCorps, and don't have endless founts of money to buy expensive CDs.

Batanga online radio, however, has solved this dilemma. I can listen to a personalized radio station while writing papers, surfing the web, or blogging, all for free. I can personalize my radio stations to only have one artist, or a mix. Best of all, it's free---there is only the occasional ad (about every three or four songs). If I'm listening to the Spanish version of Batanga, that ad is in Spanish, and I get to test out my understanding of spoken Spanish. If it's the English version of Batanga, it's a little more annoying, but nothing major.

Check it out today!

My Kid Is Special!

So my three year old at the Head Start is a little special. The fact that two of his rules are: "Don't lick the window!" and "Don't pee on the sink!" says it all.

It was your typical nap time: a few tears, twelve stories, four backrubs, and all thirteen children were out for the count. I had just finished taping together a few books that our "angry child" had ripped and had moved to the sink to wash my hands (kids get the weirdest things on books). Suddenly a little face popped up by the edge of the sink. It was Noah, my little trouble making machine.

I waited for him to slip by me into the kids' bathroom, or say that he had a nightmare. Instead, he kept looking straight ahead with a glazed look in his eyes. A few seconds passed, and I began to grow concerned.

"Noah? Noah, stop!"

I could hardly believe my eyes. He was peeing against the sink.

I jumped back, not eager to get my flip flops, or my toes, wet. Why, or why, hadn't I worn my sneakers that day? Baby pee I can handle. Three year old drenching pee? Not so much.

I got him to stop long enough to direct him to the toilet. After he washed his hands, still expressionless, he went back to bed.

When I brought the incident up with the lead teacher, she was incredulous. This had never happened before. Yet the puddle next to the sink was vivid proof that something crazy was going on.

When Noah woke up from his nap fifteen minutes later, we led him over to the puddle to help with clean-up. He kept asking why he was cleaning up, and what the big puddle was.

It turns out we have a sleepwalker on our hands. And not just your garden variety sleepwalker, but a walking, peeing sleepwalker.

This year is going to be fun.

Kitty Gets Tickled

Just a little something to brighten up your day! Check out more at Lolcats and funny pictures. After a rough day at work (how many times can one kid bite you in day? Just how many dirty diapers can one teacher change?), this is a definite stress reliever.

How do you relieve stress?

Habitat for Humanity Fridays

I have learned how to shoot nails through concrete, fasten plywood onto the roof with just six strikes of the hammer, and install interior walls, all in two weeks. How did I do this? I signed on to Habitat for Humanity's Women Build.

A team of nearly all women work to construct a home from crawlspace to roof in just sixteen weeks. These homes are then sold to individuals living at or below the poverty line. In lieu of a down payment, they must contribute 250 hours of service building their home, or the homes of others. The homes are sold at cost, with a zero percent interest rate, making these homes decent, safe, and affordable.

Volunteers make this project possible, so search Habitat's website today for an opportunity near you. You don't even need to know which end of the hammer is used to pound a nail to volunteer---you just need the willingness to learn. I went there knowing nothing about nail guns, but by the end of the afternoon, I was a pro.

Volunteer today, either at a Women Build or with Habitat for Humanity's regular building!

To Do List

I just got back from a leisurely three hour babysitting stint. Half the time, the kids were asleep. The only strenuous part of the night was reading two long fairy tales in Spanish. I got to practice my rusty Spanish, and got $40---enough to replace my dying phone!

So my To Do List is fairly simple:

1. Visit Verizon and check in on getting a replacement phone. Even though my phone is fully charged, it will randomly shut itself off. It also refuses to alert me when I have messages, so I find out weeks later that my friend called, needing a place to stay, or tWQhat my sister sent me a picture of her engagement ring.
2. Order more checks. I finally ran out, after seven years with my bank. I always use online bill pay, as it's fast, easy, and free for my account. However, occasionally I will need a physical check, and they're always good to have.
3. Buy groceries for the week. I need tempeh, whole wheat tortillas, fruit, bread, and garlic.
4. Wash my laundry! I participated in two Habitat for Humanity builds this week, so I have a lot of really muddy, grubby clothes. My shoes probably could do with a wash, too.
5. Call my family. I haven't talked to them in a while.
6. Head over to the library to research Washington, D.C. and pick up some books on tape for my drive to work.

Tomorrow will be busy, but productive. What's on your to do list?

"Do You Want to Smell My Man Breath?"

You have to love three year olds. I woke little Jeremiah up from his nap, and needless to say, he wasn't pleased. However, when he finally got over the tragedy, he was cheery enough to offer the chance to smell his "man breath." When I asked him whether it smelled good, he looked at me like I was crazy, before replying very exasperatedly, "No, it's smelly!

It definitely beat the day that I went to put Tony to sleep, and he tried to punch me. And put boogers in another teacher's hair. And bit the co-teacher. Three year olds are a strange, crazy bunch.

You Can't See Me!

You have to love little kids. Their idea of hide and seek is to cover their eyes, or turn around. Apparently, if they can't see you, you can't see them. So we have little kids hiding from their parents at pick up time with their legs sticking out from behind a corner, or curled up in a little ball with their head hidden. They also love to call out that they left half an hour ago.

Kids are silly.

Laptop

I am now the proud owner of a Toshiba laptop! It has a high Energy Star rating, 3 GBs of memory, a 320 GB hard drive, and a webcam. It can stay charged for four and a half hours, and I can type on it without hitting four keys at once (don't you hate the small keyboards that some laptops have?). I'm thrilled!

I can now take my online class without having to reserve a computer at any one of four random libraries and hope that I can work my schedule around their open hours. This is a huge relief!Especially since my hours are so crazy---very few libraries are open before 8:30, or open much past 6 p.m. Trying to fit my online class in in fits and starts was not an appealing option, so this is a much needed relief!

Nap Time

Oh, how true this is. I am in charge of putting both the two year olds and the three year olds at my center to sleep. Inevitably, there will be one child who is overcome by the sorrow of not having her mother with her at that very instant, and I will spent an hour consoling her and speaking to her soothingly. Eventually she'll drift off to sleep, a mere thirty minutes before her mother shows up to get her and wakes her up again. Nap time, understandably, is not my favorite time of day.

However, once all of the children have listened to a few stories and drifted off to the sweet sounds of gentle music, I can just wander around and gaze at their small, sleeping faces, so sweet and innocent. There is nothing comparable. Forgotten is the biting incident of yore, and the fist fight that I had to break up at risk of life and limb. They are all calm and sweet in sleep.