I survived my very first Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch! The field trip itself was great--mostly due to the large number of parent volunteers that came along--but I was not at all stoked for a 40 minute long bus ride with the kiddos. I am just a fan of traveling with a lot of other people, whether it's in a plane, bus, or train. I prefer the serenity of my own vehicle in which I can choose the volume of the music or have it quiet if that is the mood I am in. Let's face it-- a bus full of 5 year-olds is never quiet! Most of the parents followed the bus and I have to say I was jealous. I guess it's my intense desire to avoid vomit incidences that translates into not liking riding with other people, but luckily everyone made it through okay.
Once we got to the pumpkin patch the kids go to pet some farm animals, take a train ride to the pumpkins, choose a pumpkin, run through a hay maze, take a boat ride during which a fake dragon and shark both emerged from the water, and then enjoy a picnic lunch outside in the sunshine (thank you gorgeous Oregon October weather for blessing us with a sunny and warm day instead of rain!). One super nice dad bought me coffee, but I had to tease him that I was no longer appreciative once we realized that the only bathroom option was a porta potty. Actually--as most teachers know- we are champion pee holders which is a skill I have honed on long international flights during which I chose not to use the airplane toilet, so I definitely had no issue waiting to use the bathroom back at school.
The kiddos were so tired out that a few fell asleep on the way home. Most of the kids got picked up by 1:00 or so, but I had about 10 with me until the very end of the day. They mostly played while I assessed a few of them and we ended our day with the story Pumpkin Soup which I read while they laid on the carpet in exhausted heaps.
As soon as I put them on the bus, I came back into the classroom and began a 4.5 hour stint of conferences. They all went really well (even when I had to break the news about kiddos not listening, drawing on books/tables, or saying not nice things to other kids). I really have awesome parents this year and I love it. They know their kids and I am glad that we can have an honest conversation about what they do at school. It has taken me a long time to learn that I don't need to sugar coat everything because in the end that does not help anyone. I did one conference in Spanish and I understood everything the mom was saying to me! She was asking me if it was bad that her daughter is learning letters and sounds in both Spanish and English because she thought maybe it was slowing her down in English since she is confusing the two. I told her that I think it's great she is learning both and that she will get it and she is doing fine! She should be so proud that her child will be bilingual. I wish I had learned another language when I was that young and I think that in our world, the more languages you speak, the more people you can communicate with, which I see as a very positive thing!
Out of the whole super busy fun filled day, my favorite part had to be hearing one little boy on the bus singing in a sweet little voice....beautiful girls, all over the world... So cute!
Tomorrow I have a regular day with the kiddos, then class after work. Thursday and Fridays I have the rest of the conferences and then it is going to be the best weekend because I don't have class and I will finally have time to relax!
1 comment:
I am seriously impressed you had time to blog after a day like that :) Glad everything went well though. You crack me up about holding your pee. I am still terrible at holding pee, but I am a champ at planning when I can drink water haha- I'll plan out in the morning if I have a special that morning I can drink more, if I don't have I have to be careful haha. I am not afraid of public bathrooms though because I always had to pee as a child- my mom said I liked to "check out" the bathrooms. Total lie, I just had to go!
I have also improved in telling parents bad news- but I have also learned to read parents better to see who will react okay- there are some parents in my district anyway that you can just tell are going to give you the, "well they are 5" or "not my kid!" and it's better with them to just tell the truth but phrased VERY nicely haha. The majority of parents I can be honest with, and most do know their child like you said.
I always have so many parents ask me about bilingual reading every year. I'd say 80 % of my kids, if not more, can speak two languages and their parents are always so worried about teaching them reading in both languages. I always tell them to do it (though I think for some kids- with reading disabilities etc it wouldn't be the right thing, but I've never had a majorly struggling child who was bilingual- interesting?). Like you said, I wish I knew two languages as a kid, I think it's really cool. I also think its cool that you can do a whole conference in spanish! I took spanish 9 years in school and I'm still terrible at it.
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