First Day Jitters

First Day of school!

I celebrated by going out with a couple new gal pals, braving the grocery store for backpacking snacks, then giving myself a late night impromptu haircut - bangs and all.

Most women would detect from the last statement that I've gone mad and must've had a horrible, no good, very bad first day of school. I mean, it's one thing to move across the world without knowing another soul but it's an ENTIRELY different thing to give yourself bangs!! Or just get bangs period.

However, I think it went really well! School, that is.

I didn't cry.

According to the four preschool teachers from last year, who apparently cried the first two weeks of school, our first day was a success. That's, oddly encouraging.

I found out while walking to work a week and a half ago that I was not here to teach kindergarten but preschool. Somehow that got lost in translation.

Here's the thing about teaching preschool in an english emersion school: One of the first tasks we were told we need to do is help teach the children their names. 

Sounds simple enough. Not so much.

If the child doesn't know their name and you don't know their name and all you have is a class list, then HOW do you figure out who they are?

Deduction.

.

By lunchtime my Chinese teacher, Sara, and I had it figured out. Don't go clapping your hands for us though. 

Lunchtime was 15 minutes before they left! 





Sadly, that was after I'd apparently changed a child who'd wet herself into some other girl's clothes. We only figured that out when the parents started stripping the poor girl at pick up! I asked Sara what on earth they were doing that for right in the hallway. She told me they weren't her pants or underwear. Oops.

I'm still not sure who the girl is, but I do know those pants belong to a girl named Catherine. I'm pretty sure Catherine also had to be changed because another gal, Pandey (Look at me, I've got this name thing!) spilled soup on her.

Little Miss Tantrum can'tcha tell?
She's stuck with this pic all year now.

All in all, it was a successful day!

• We only had one girl who threw a tantrum and screamed the entire time. 
• Just a few criers throughout the day.
• Three children wet their pants.
• There must've been some poop issue because the ayi and Sara asked me which child went poop earlier then they promptly grabbed her and disappeared. I didn't ask. 
• One teacher found a child of mine in the courtyard and brought her back (frankly she could have left her had I not been liable for losing my job...)
• Escape artist girl bit a boy.
• Took said boy to nurse's office. Nurse could not document it because I had no clue who said boy was.
• Nurse had to find someone with broken english to translate because she could not speak ANY english. Don't even get me started on the illogic of that one. Simple answer I'm learning? It's China.
• Found out I took the child to the wrong nurse but was told the other one doesn't speak english either.
• Escape artist child pushed two other kids, slapped a child, and pinched multiple children. This was AFTER spending the majority of her time in time out. Tomorrow I'm bringing rope and tying her down.
• Another boy decided he loved time out. Shoot. 
• Only one soup was spilled. Who feeds soup to a classroom of 3 year olds!?

I also called it a HUGE success in that everyone left with their own shoes on. Okay, maybe stay tuned for that one because it seems highly unlikely. 

Shoes. Uggggghhhh 

Asian culture has everyone take off their shoes before entering the house. I always thought it was just a simple "no shoes in the house" rule. There's more to it. People pee (and poop sometimes I hear) on the streets here. You don't want those shoes in your house. I keep ALL my shoes outside. 

This sweet girl just stood there like this.

Because of that cultural tidbit, each child must bring inside shoes to school. Remember the whole not knowing their names thing? 

Imagine having 20 three year olds who don't speak much of anything frankly - mega first day jitters and all - and taking them to the hall to find their outside shoes for playtime? 

Now imagine them going back inside and finding their correct shoes? Yeah, like that happened. One three year old had her wedges on the rest of the day. Yes, I just said that. She could probably teach all us American gals proper balance.

Side note: I was also on HIGH alert for kiddos (aka boys) getting ready to pee on the carpet or floor. Thankfully that didn't happen. See!? Successful day! 




My goal tomorrow? Make it to the playground instead of the courtyard for outside play and do not lose a child. I know, I know, I'm setting lofty goals...but I think my co-teacher and I can do this!

                                                   












It's a good thing I have these smiling pictures. Miss Sara and I will be referring to them OFTEN I'm sure.