my day

i got to work today and realized because it is thanksgiving week there are not that many kids at the club. though i could walk around and watch the kids, there might not be anything for me to really do. i considered leaving early but decided to just stay the whole shift which was 3.5 hours.

it was a good thing i didn't leave early. i got to watch two brothers (still young and they look like eachother) play chess. because they are brothers the game went like this: older brother decides to not play by the rules. gets little brother mad. they are korean so the exchange went back and forth between korean and english. of course i wasn't there to watch the game. it was more to watch the brothers be brothers. right before my shift was over, i also got to play kids master mind with one of the kids.

seen & heard on the playground #2

while monitoring little kids on the playground, one of the girls who is sitting on the swings but not swinging yet, looks to me and asks, "can somebody push me?" i then realize i haven't told them my name yet and that i should do that the next time. i think it's funny that the little girl, not knowing my name, referred to me as "somebody" instead of using "you." i told this to my friend and supervisor, who both work inside, and they both giggled.

working with kids

my experience with kids is almost non-existent. before i got to where i am now, i was at ikea. i did not work in småland but i did work a little bit in the kids department. the only time i had to deal with them is when they came up to me because they got separated from their parents. at the club, i work with the kids. i am learning as i go. of course there are things i'm not aware of or that i forgot regarding working with children. i am aware that i am in a supervisory role. i need to help keep an eye out for things going on on the playground. even though i don't work at a school, i learned at a staff meeting that everyone who works in a childcare setting is held by law to report any suspicions they might have regarding sexual abuse of any student (mandated reporting). before the utterance of those words, i still saw myself as a babysitter. after however, i saw my responsibility in a whole new, scary light. of course, there will be something like this going on in homes that we have to keep our eyes open to. unfortunately, this is the dark side of working with kids.

kiddie moments

when you work with elementary school-aged kids, it opens up your mind. i say this because with teenagers, everyone remembers what it's like to be a teenager. they think they know everything and they just bug but with little kids, parts of their behavior you recognize but then does anyone remember what it was like at that age? probably not. they say and do things that just makes you understand things from a different perspective.

- back in late spring, i was helping my executive director with a project. i had to ask the kids about their experiences at the club. one of the questions i asked to one third or fourth grade student was, how do you think your volunteering will help you in the future? his response, "i don't know." i then tried to rephrase that question. his response was still, "i don't know." that's when i realized, oh! he's too young to think about the future. little kids don't think that far ahead. maybe to the end of the week if they have something fun to do but to think about something 5 or 10 years down the line, no.

- yesterday at work, during homework time, i went around the first and second grade group. one of the kids, little miss sunshine #2, a first grader, needed help. she had to read a passage but it had to be timed. she started to read. outloud. since she was sitting at a table with other kids, i asked her if she could read quietly, in her head. she said, "no." i'm not sure if it's just her or maybe little kids her age can't do things like that yet.

- during this same homework time, if kids are done with homework they are then to do worksheets and then find a book to read. a few weeks ago when i first started helping out with this activity, i noticed little miss shy sitting with her seat turned around (so she's not facing the table). she had her book upright on her lap, facing away from her and she was reading the book as if there was a group sitting in front of her. in other words, she was pretending to be a teacher. it was so adorable. she still does that sometimes. yeah, she's at that age where she mimics adults.

mr. smalls

continuing on the subject of little miss and mr. men, i'd like to introduce another "character." i call him mr. smalls. he is the smallest boy in first grade. he comes dressed everyday in hip hop style: an l.a. baseball cap one size too big, a t-shirt also a little too big, sneakers and jeans (his jeans are thankfully not baggy). i'm sure his parents dress him or maybe an older brother. mr. smalls is too cute for words. luckily he does not have a hip hop attitude to go with his style. he's still just a first grader. anyhow, what makes him too cute for words is that on top of his personal style he is also missing his front teeth. when he talks, it makes me smile and giggle. being toothless in the front makes him say everything with a hissy sound. sometimes i don't understand the words he's saying so i just turn to a colleague and ask if she understood him. it just makes me think, "mr. smalls, you just lost your street cred when you smiled. good thing, you're only in first grade."

seen & heard on the playground

stepping out to the playground the other day, a bunch of first, second, and third grade boys were playing soccer. they saw me and pointed towards the sky, shouting, "rainbow! rainbow!" i turned around and there was a rainbow. the sky was grey and threatening to rain that whole day. it probably did in some parts of the city. after turning back around, i thought to myself, well, that will be the last time a bunch of boys will say that to me. interesting to see what they see at this age.

little miss and mr. men

i decided a few weeks ago to fill up some of my available days during the week with volunteer work at the club. i realized that had i done this a year ago, i might have been given more hours to work with the kids. instead i just decided to keep to my office work and when the time came to hire more people for the summer, i knew i had missed an opportunity.

working with little kids (first - third graders) is not easy. once in awhile i will start thinking about how cute some of them are, then the next moment i'm shouting at them to stop playing while they're standing in line. because i don't look like an adult, i don't have their respect yet (i'm working on it).

since they are small i've decided to nickname them which brings me to the title of this post: little miss and mr. men. since these are little kids i work with, the title little miss and mr. men are perfect for them. there's one second grader who is chubby and adorable. she rarely does her homework and is often disobedient. she also already has an attitude. therefore a name like little miss attitude suits her well.then there's little miss shy. she's a little bit smaller than the other first graders. she's quiet and is often found wandering around the club playing by herself. today my supervisor came out to the park (just outside the building) and told me about little miss shy's wandering tendencies and to please, keep an eye on her. there's also two little miss sunshines. they are both blonde haired and adorable. little miss sunshine #1 has been a member for a couple years now. she is always seen with a soda or ice cream stain around her mouth. little miss sunshine #2 is new. she has a round face and today she tattle tailed on the boys who were sitting at her table. (i wish i could take pictures of them but it's not permitted.)

i have to admit the first two days (i started last week) working with the kids i felt lost and wondered what i was doing there, thinking to myself, "i need to get another job." that feeling is now gone and i feel more at ease now. (though i am still looking for another job.) however, there is stuff i need to learn including disciplining them, boundaries, etc. i feel like i've been trying to go after every misbehavior when everyone else only calls out the really bad incidents.

i also signed up to volunteer at an elementary school in my neighborhood. one of the first grade teachers called me last week to see if i was interested in helping her in the classroom with a reading activity. i won't be starting that until the week after next. i'm currently taking a yoga class that conflicts with her schedule. hopefully i'll be less tired once my yoga class is over. right now right after class, i have to go home, take a short break and then head out to work which is tiring since i commute on foot and by bus.