First Day of Relieving!

Guess what? I got called in to teach yesterday! I was sound asleep when the phone rang at 7:00am, but I was immediately wide awake, thrilled at the idea that it might be a school wanting me to relieve. And it was! The Kindergarten Association had a centre with three teachers all gone on the same day, so they sent me there. I was a little nervous, but mostly just excited and thankful.

When I got there, I was told that I would be in charge of monitoring the "rolling tea/lunch" room, "rolling" here meaning that it is available all morning, and that children come and eat when they're ready. The room is a covered deck with two long tables that can seat a total of 16 children. Many of the centres have rooms like this, with plastic roll-up walls that allow the room to be open or fully enclosed, as weather permits. I really like them, because they successfully blur the line between inside and outside. Anyway, the children had tea/lunch boxes in cubbies, and water bottles in tubs on the table. I voiced my concern at not being a whole lot of help because I didn't know any of the 40 children's names, but I was encouraged that the children would do a lot of it themselves, and that I could just ask for help when I needed it. Soon after I arrived, the children rushed out from mat time (where they had been doing some fun dances), and swarmed the tables, cubbies, and water bottles. I felt totally lost, trying to figure out names, guide appropriate eating behaviour, and monitor movement well enough to make sure that each lunch box got put back in the appropriate cubby. This last bit was particularly difficult, since many lunch boxes were not labelled, and some of the younger children seemed content to put theirs in a cubby that was in the general vicinity of their own. Yikes! In addition, as the children came in and out of the classroom, they were supposed to either put their sun hat on, or hang it on their hook for later. Unfortunately, this is the first week when that has been the expectation, so the children don't have the routine down yet. This meant a lot of time spent searching for hats, which, again, was complicated by the fact that the name on any given hat I found did not actually help me to match it with its owner. Most of them also had pictures on them, but not knowing the children, sometimes even that was hard to match, as a child who is deeply engrossed in play (or running across the playground) seldom looks much like that same child when told to smile for the camera. Yikes again!

Despite this rather hectic picture, I actually believe that this was a good kindergarten. In fact, the time that I spent all the way inside the classroom, or out on the playground, felt like an engaging, positive environment, with plenty to do, explore, and learn. The tea/lunch room was the most chaotic place, and I still think that that had I only known the children's names and been familiar with the routine, it wouldn't have felt that way. In addition, I am very confident that the children quickly noticed that 3 of their 5 teachers were relievers, and decided to go ahead and see what they could get away with. Add to that the always difficult transition to new expectations (such as wearing sun hats outside), and it is only natural that things weren't running as smoothly as they likely do on a "typical" day. I put "typical" in quotes because when you put 40 kids between 2 1/2 and 4 years old in one place, how "typical" is anything, ever? And I mean that as a compliment - I love that they are inventive, full of surprises, and never caught up in the mundane (or if they are, it's because things that adults label mundane are actually quite fun for children).

The good news about all of this, however, was that in the midst of struggling to find a hat for a child who had repeated his name to me five times without it seeming any clearer to me (remember that many names here are very different than those that I'm used to), while trying to make sure that the children at the table didn't leave without putting their things away.... I was wonderfully happy. It felt amazing to be back in the classroom, and each and every time I remembered a name and used it on the right child (I think I knew about 20 of the 40 names by the end of the day), I was so proud of myself! The children were, as children tend to be, dynamic, enthusiastic, affectionate, and positive, and I was so glad to be contributing to their day, even if it was only to ask them to show me where their cubbies were. It warmed my heart when they climbed onto my lap, or asked me to sit next to them while they ate, or showed me a scratch and asked me to kiss it.

Also, twice during my day there, a teacher came by and asked me how I take my tea/coffee, and then brought some out to me and encouraged me to sit down, have a rest, and drink my tea. In the morning, two other teachers came and sat with me - just for a few minutes, and with watchful eyes still on the children - but we all sat together and talked a bit about how the day was going, which was really nice. J says that they take breaks very seriously at his work, too, and I have heard that that is true across NZ. If your shift includes even a 10 minute break, you are expected to stop working for that entire time, and to relax and eat something. The teachers at this kindergarten each took a break, from 10 minutes to half and hour, depending on how long their shift was. I think this is nice, and that the time is well worth it, because even a little time can be quite rejuvenating.

I don't know when I will get called again, but I am so happy that yesterday happened! Despite my imperfect performance, I feel that I did my best, and I know that it was exactly where I was meant to be.