After 15 plus years of teaching little ones, I see so many different personalities. But the beauty of being a teacher is that I get an opportunity to teach all these personalities. We live in a world where we must learn that we are different, yet we are the same in so many ways.
One of the first things parents tell me often the first day of a new class is the exact personality of there child. They may say, ”My child is very wild and they will hit the kids so just watch him”, or I hear, “My child is very shy and they may not play with the other kids so if you can help them that would be great.”  I understand that as parents we fear what will happen once our child is in a school setting with other children. Will they listen? Will the teacher pay attention to them? So there is a need to tell me everything they can upfront before I have even had a chance to say “hello” to my student.

Most of the time the personality of the child becomes much different when the parent leaves. My class is usually the first time parents are dropping their child off without them staying. I watch as children for the first time take in everything going on in my class… The toys….the other kids….the sounds….the excitement of school.

Each child to me is blank slate I allow them to show me who they are. As they discover a new world of independence in a room of others that are like them. I watch as similar personalities attract to each other, some like to play alone, some play more gently, and some have much more energy than others. I watch as they move from activity to activity with the same friend or a new friend.

I walk the room and bring children into groups and move others to new areas. Much of my day is redirection so the room is always moving.  I whisper to the kids throughout the day, “I am so happy you are here.”
I have learned to allow the observers to observe and the runners to run. As they grow, an observer may choose to be a runner or a runner may choose to be an observer….time will let there bodies decide.

Our children are all unique and special.

I have discovered over the years that there are no bad kids, and I will always teach my class that way. Everything is a learning experience.
There are days I am challenged with little hands that want to hit…feet that want to kick….and voices that want to scream…loud. There are days wherein I am exhausted and wondering if I made the difference I wanted to make. But when each day ends and I get high fives and hugs , I look at my messy empty room and know they made a difference in my life as much as I did there’s.

Love, laughter, childhood…. May it never stop.