Sunday Quote of the Day: knowledge vs wisdom

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

Dawud Wharnsby-Give a Little

Friday Quote of the Day: Children need our presence...

Children need our presence 

more than our presents.

(though presents make for wonderful treats :D )

Transition Week: Day Two!

God be praised!!! today was a lot better than yesterday! The little ones cried a bit but once we sat down to circle, things got calmer. Also, outside they had a ball. Our playground seems to be a miracle worker when it comes to getting newbies settled in or at least calm for a good 45 minutes to an hour! Tomorrow the newbies will stay with us for lunch. That will definately be an interesting development! We just realized, on of our new little girls is not even one yet! In a classroom full of older ones and one over-sized older one, I am worried she may get a bit overwhelmed and pushed around. It will be tough keeping her from under their feet, she is not particularly a small/light child :o but she is so lovable. I have a feeling though, she will learn quickly how to walk and stand her ground against the bigger kids! LOL! It always seem to work that way. The children ate their lunch and are still sleeping! Yay! hopefully, that means a better afternoon for fun and activities! I am so proud of my Griffy. He walked out the classroom with his new teacher and his coat with a tear, fuss or complaint! He had a good time, so his report went and cam back his happy go-lucky self! :D His transition is going much better than we thought, hopefully, it will continue to get better as his time in his new room will get longer till he is there permenantly. So the week continues..............

Monday Quote of the Day: Patience

Patience is a virtue all too often forgotten but much needed!

~SN Taylor~

Transition Week: Day One!

It is going to be a loooooong week. Transition started today. We have 3 moving up and 3 are moving in. My two little boys did good their first day, not too many tears. Our new three girls however, lots of tears! It did not help that my co-teacher had to leave early with a fever! Kids were tired, cranky and hungry long before lunch came, so we had to snack them up to hold them till lunch arrived. It was a tad bit hectic between lunch/diaper/nap transition. But most of the kids were sleep by 11:40! which is about the time they usually go down for nap, not too bad for a chaotic morning! I could use a little nap right about now but the only place condusive for it is in the teacher lounge which is heavily occupied with people eating, talking and making way too much noise for me to get any rest! Low sugar and engery is not helping either. I guess, low key activities are in order?!? How about chilling on the playground? It was really nice to get the kids outside the confines of four walls, though after nap and snack, they were not in a hurry to go out. Once numbers dropped, we did a gluing project: All Things Yellow, which they enjoyed and gave me a break from the chaos of transition week!

Hopefully, transitions this time around will go smoothly as it did last time. It is Ramadan, I need all the help I can get.

Sunday Quote of the Day: teaching children

“He who teaches children learns more than they do” German Proverb

Thursday Quote of the Day: Optimism

A little optimism never killed the cat!
Here's to a great day!

~Sn Taylor~

Wednesday Quote of the day: Be happy!

Don't worry,
Be happy!

Tired of being sick and sick of being tired!

I'm so glad this week is almost over! It would have been a great week except I had to get sick smack dab in the middle! We also had to send two children home because they had fevers :( Everyone has runny noses, sneezing and coughing! argh! It seems like the slights change in weather produces changes in the health of the children. We had gone a while without sickness in the classroom. Well, it's my turn now. I have a bad cough, sore and tight throat, but, praise be to God, I don't have a fever! I have the best job in the world! but it has its price! :D

Sunday Quote of the Day

You are never too old or experienced 

to learn something new.

Transitions all over again!

One of the toughest moments in the year are transitions! Once again, I'm getting new children into my classroom. New room, new environment, new routines, new rules, and new people are some of the few things that young children have to deal with when transitioning to a new classroom or childcare center. It is really stressful on them and it can be hard on the children already in the classroom due to the constant crying of the new children. A lot of care, attention, and time has to be given to the new child/children by at least one of the teachers to help them get acquainted with their new environment. This leaves the other teacher to sometimes (most of the time) shoulder much of the rest of the classroom and duties. Hard, stressful and exhausting can hardly describe how I feel at the end of the day during transition week. It's a good thing God made children so adorable, sweet and loving, I forget all the hardships of the previous day as I enter and see their wonderful faces every morning! :)

Tuesday Quote of the Day

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken
joy in creative expression and knowledge.
Albert Einstein