“Take your finger out of your nose and start cleaning up”

November 17, 2010 in Mumbo Jumbo, Work with 4 Comments

Being a teacher of two and three year old kids can be challenging, frustrating, and draining. Changing diapers, potty training, accidents, sharing, paint, throwing toys, crying, and zippers are all a part of a day at preschool. Sometimes it can get downright exhausting. You want to just yell out, “OK Listen up! We’re going to eat our green beans and not say a word until they’re gone!”

But…you don’t. You sit patiently as a child refuses to try a tiny bite of mashed potatoes before they can get more of whatever it is they actually ate. You talk calmly, keeping composure, and make sure they know why they need to share and not hit their friend (for the umpteenth time that hour). Yet, the main thing that gets you (well, me) through the day is laughing.If I’m finding myself becoming more and more impatient, I run up to one of the kids and tickle them with the tickle monster or tip them upside down and see them laugh and laugh. Sometimes it’s not even making them laugh or hearing something funny they said. It’s listening to myself.

Towards the end of the day today, we were cleaning up the toys before we went to play at the tables with puzzles and paints, I saw a child not cleaning up. I said to him in all seriousness, “Take your finger out of your nose and start cleaning up.” I looked at the other teacher in the room at the time. We burst out laughing. Realizing it is an actual legitimate direction I had to say was hilarious! Kids say the darnedest things, and they also make you say some pretty ridiculous things too. I love my job. Although it can be tough at times, it’s the laughter and smiles that get me through. Thanks kids. You’re the best.

~Margot

Notable Noticables

November 15, 2010 in Mumbo Jumbo with 8 Comments

Just a quick thought for the day. I was looking at the number of people who have read my blog posts and I have a theory: Do the posts that are titled more creatively apt to more views? Yep. (That’s my theory)

The lame puns i.e. “Catch up. Ketchup” did not receive as many views as “Intimidating Breakfast” – which is more exciting. “Why was breakfast intimidating? Was it just this particular breakfast? I’m pretty sure breakfast is the easiest meal to make; why was Margot so threatened by eggs?”

See? It draws in the reader. I will hopefully continue to have thrilling and captivating blog titles. Maybe the blog itself won’t be interesting at all, but at least you’ll take a looksee.

Now, will “Notable Noticeables” be in the lame “Ketchup” pile or in the ranks of “Breakfast”? I’m guessing ketchup. Only time will tell. (And the handy graph that actually tells me when I sign in).

Intimidating Breakfast

November 13, 2010 in Growing Up with 8 Comments

It’s Saturday and I woke up at 7:40 (AM!). My college-self would have looked at me in disgust. Since I was awake and couldn’t fall back to sleep, I decided to make breakfast. Scrambled “omelette” (stuff you would put in an omelette, but since I can’t flip it just right, they always turn out scrambled) and toast. Delicious! I can’t remember the last time I had breakfast food in the allotted time frame of “breakfast”. I then went back to bed and began looking at jobs.

Don’t worry, I’m happy where I’m at for the moment. I love what I’m doing, but I do want to move eventually and get a job that’s more Sociology-inclined wherever that may be. This morning, I began looking for jobs in the cities area. I found some really interesting things, but I kept thinking “woh…there’s a lot of legal paperwork-y things that I might not be good at”. Yes. I referred to documenting and keeping records as “legal paperworky things”. I may or may not be a little intimidated.

I then thought about my mom. When I was little and was asked what my mom did for a living, I honestly had no idea. I knew she “built homes for poor people” but I knew she didn’t actually pour concrete or anything. Basically, she built homes with numbers and paperworky things. She originally went to school for elementary education and french; hoping one day to be an elementary teacher. When it really came down to it, she was intimidated and was scared she would never do the job justice and be creative enough. I’m now an early preschool teacher and I think it’s really fun! (Granted she didn’t have the internet to give you an abundance of art activities, songs, and small group activities- so it really was more work then…) Still, I’m having a great time. I just look at some of my coworkers who have either been doing this for years and years or the ones who are so passionate about childcare it’s inside their bones. I definitely enjoy what I do, but I’m not that person. I’m going to do this for awhile, but I know it’s not my ultimate passion in life. What else could I be doing? I’m certainly not dreaming of one day doing what my mom does, but I do want an office and a desk. It just intimidates me that I might be relied on with deadlines and having to sleep at the office in order to finish my work (something my mom was know for back in the 90′s). :) *I love you mom! How did you do it?!

I desperately want to be useful to a nonprofit or government agency that is doing something I am passionate about. It just scares me. Will I be good enough? Yes. I believe I will. Sometimes.

~Margot

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