Tuesday, June 21, 2011

In Charge

I used my hip to push the door ajar, while I balanced the bags in my hands. Almost walking into the large knee high table, I laid my bags down. I switched on the overhead lights, and suddenly the room came alive. The calendar on the wall read September, with the little numbered squares velcroed below, waiting for little hands.

Adjusting the waistband of my skirt nervously, I waltzed around the classroom. Looking at all I had accomplished in those few weeks. Yellow paper now covered old and tattered cork board. Signs and charts indicating days of the week, months of the year, colors and shapes danced happily on the walls. I looked up over the windows and laughed. I thought back to the adventure it had been placing twelve cardboard bears dressed in monthly appropriate attire above the ten foot high windows. A task MacGyver would have appreciated helped to make the room kid friendly.

My hands were sweating and I could feel my breakfast churning in my stomach.
I looked to the clock.
I still had thirty minutes until their arrival.
I walked to the makeshift library I had assembled. As I ran my finger over the familiar texts, I couldn't help but smile. My dad had suggested bringing the Cookie Monster and Big Bird chairs from my childhood. They sat empty now, waiting for eager emerging readers. The reading area was ready.
I looked to the space beside it. Dress up clothes, baby dolls, play kitchen, table, and chairs combined with a stack of menus I had accumulated from various restaurants indicated the pretend area. I imagined little bodies moving amongst the toys, their play actually serving as a part of their education.
From there I nervously rearranged a few wooden blocks in the block area. Soon, they would create high towers and ceremoniously knock them down, blocks crashing into the ground as shrieks of laughter would follow. Now, before they arrived, the blocks stood quiet, anticipating the months of stacking and crashing.
This room already felt like a second home, a place I was meant to be.
The blue carpet swirled around my feet, almost mimicking waves of the sea. Sitting, kneeling, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping, the kids eventually would do this and more here. They would laugh and sing all under my tutelage. They would grow up before my eyes.
I looked up again at the clock.
It was time and I was ready.
"Welcome to Kindergarten".


This week we asked you to write a prompt inspired by this sentence:
The first time I ________-ed after _________-ing.
We have no idea where this took you. We're excited to find out!

13 comments:

  1. This was a very bittersweet post for me to read, yet wonderful.

    My daughter just had her last day of Kindergarten today. She isn't little anymore.

    Thank you for writing it. I love how you lovingly describe each station you created.

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  2. Oh my goodness...I love this post! Kindergarten teachers are so important!! I loved reading how nervous you were...I'm sure you are a wonderful teacher, you can tell by how you wrote this how much you care :)

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  3. What a wonderful post. I hope when T starts kindergarten he will have a teacher who cares as much as you to set up the perfect little place for play & education.

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  4. I can tell that this is a very wonderful memory for you. Your descriptions are lovingly laid out like a keepsake from a treasure chest.

    Wonderful!

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  5. I can feel your love and care for those children and this memory in each of your words. What a wonderful teacher you must be! I hope that my future children will have a teacher who cares as much as you obviously do.

    I also love how your writing painted the perfect picture of your classroom. The reading area is my favorite part!

    Nicely done!

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  6. sooo sweet * such fun stuff! I 'll come back when i have a good answer to "fill in the blank"

    ... :)

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  7. The love you convey in this post is humbling. As a parent sending her first to preschool in the fall, I can only hope that he has teachers who care as much you do.

    I think they way you took us on a tour of the room was a very effective tool--it showed us how you feel. And I loved your honesty about the nerves.

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  8. Such a touching view into your world. I loved the chairs your dad suggested you bring. Your childhood memories help create more. And the blocks and laughter. I felt excited with you. The joy you have for teaching. Wonderful story:)

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  9. cute! i can SEE your room and feel your nervousness- nothing quite like waiting before you start to change the world ;)

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  10. My teacher heart is right there with you- taking in the alive room, anxious, nervous and excited to see what the class makeup will be and how it will jive. I loved those moments. A lot.

    I adore the way you used the word "waltzed"- it really struck me!

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  11. Aw, this was wonderful! I love the details and the nostalgia. Visiting from TRDC!

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  12. Very sweet post and talk about great details! Great job! Visiting from TRDC.

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  13. I really liked this. I teach college kids, and I know why I get nervous. But I had never really thought about being nervous at the outset of teaching a new group of small children, but what you wrote really made me stop and think. The care you described in putting the classroom together reminded me of how a mom-to-be gets a nursery ready. So much care and thought. The little chairs from your childhood were perfect. Important and sweet memories, and you shared them with us so well. :)

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Let me know what you think.