What do you get when you put four boys and two girls together ? Noise and more noise !!! Today I told my class that there will be no classwork . Instead of the usual hooray !! They said ' alamak teacher '. I wanted to see what will they do . So LMH , MW , AH, and IS got together and together, they decided to do a little role play among the boys . It came to be that LMH was to be the dino guy and the other three was to be the great Ultraman ! I could hear laughter and giggles . IS said to LMH that since he was going to be the dino guy , he must play the part well .. yup with sound effects and all .
At first it was a tiny growl and then it grew louder. Two girls at the back of the classroom started to giggle. Now as far as I know a giggle is suppose to be cute but THIS giggle was turned into laughter and it was really loud . I found myself laughing at them . So the the two girls , THU and NS decided to join in the role play . AH proudly stood up and said ' tak boleh , boys aje boleh main'. The two girls went 'ala bolehlah kalau tak boleh main NS bagi tau teacher '. They were at a tight spot and they had no choice . Once the four boys had some discussion with each other ,the green light was given .
They told the girls to follow their lead but NS adn THU had other plans . They told the boys "Kamu semua pergi selamatkan dunia , kami duduk rumah masak - masak untuk korang '. I wanted to laugh but I was controlling myself . Then MW got kinda irritated with the two girls . He said 'Mana ada cerita Utraman macam ni , takde pun girls duk rumah masak tau!'. I was observing them and I wanted to know how does this so call role play ends . They managed to come to some agreement and settled the whole issue . Done . No one got hurt or cried . As the boys went to their little corner , I heard AH said to the others 'girls susah la nak main asyik tukar cerita aje '.
As I observe my students both great and small . I use to wonder what will they be like twenty years from now . Will they get together and play 'ultraman ' again ? I think not . In my minds eye , all of these memories will always be with me till the end . There is never a dull moment being a kindergarten teacher.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Slow , The Not So Fast And The Not So Furious
Ok what do I have to say . Well in each class there are the fast and the slow ones . They often get bullied by the fast ones . So as I would like all of my student to be The Fast .... It does not seem so but I put my trust in all of them and believe and hope that one day they will all be The Fast . I have been working with MW for the past year . He was actually in the morning class . The first time when I set my eyes on MW, he looked tiny for his age .
I later found out from his previous teacher that he was a December baby . Now being born in the last month of the year , usually they will say that December babies are pretty slow . I told myself that I have to wait and see if this is true . The first week of school was alright for me till it came to the class work . I noticed that MW seemed a little shy and he was unsure how to approach me in class . I left him for awhile to see to the others first and then I approached MW . I asked him a few questions and he just refused to answer me .
During a short break , I went over to the other building to see his former teacher and she told me that she normally put MW next to her and she did almost everything for him like holding his hand to write or helping him to count and she even stressed that I should also do the same . Now , I got myself thinking and I felt that yes , I could do that but at the same time I would also like him to be independent . I have to find a way or a solution to it quickly .
I did place him next to me for about 3 months and one fine day , MW's dad paid me a visit and he said that he would like MW to be transferred to the afternoon session as he just couldn't wake up in the morning . Before I go on , each morning not only MW arrives late to school but I also had to carry him out from the car and into the classroom . It was pretty tiring for me . He was small in size alright but he was also heavy .
So back to where I left off ... as he made his first day to school ,in the afternoon, he seemed cheerful and alert as well . From there , I started to encourage him to come to school and told how proud his dad was of him . He manage to do some of his class work and even though he struggled with his writing , I still gave him a star . I did not put too much pressure on him as I wanted him to believe in himself and that he can do it . Little by little he started to improve .During this time the other students have began to read , and he was still unsure and shy to do read .
I received another call from MW's dad and he was worried that MW refused to read and do his homework at home and that they (the parents) can't get him to sit to do his work . His dad was also worried that MW can't read . So I did the next best thing that I knew . Each time when I gave some homework to my class , I would sit with MW and guide him with his homework and I would also coach him from time to time on his reading . This went on for a few months, and slowly he began to read and improve . Wow ! I thought to myself . I decided to call MW's dad up and I spoke to him , to tell him about MW's progress. To my surprise , his dad has also been following up on MW's progress and he is so glad that MW has developed some positive vibes towards his work .
After working with MW all along , I can finally say that he is ready for standard one . He may not be the best or the most outstanding amongst all but I can tell you that whatever that he faces , he will be able to overcome them . If you could see him now, you would see a very loud young man in my class , a little taller now , and with so much confidence in him . So now , the slow is not so slow now and I really do hope that things will work out for him .
I later found out from his previous teacher that he was a December baby . Now being born in the last month of the year , usually they will say that December babies are pretty slow . I told myself that I have to wait and see if this is true . The first week of school was alright for me till it came to the class work . I noticed that MW seemed a little shy and he was unsure how to approach me in class . I left him for awhile to see to the others first and then I approached MW . I asked him a few questions and he just refused to answer me .
During a short break , I went over to the other building to see his former teacher and she told me that she normally put MW next to her and she did almost everything for him like holding his hand to write or helping him to count and she even stressed that I should also do the same . Now , I got myself thinking and I felt that yes , I could do that but at the same time I would also like him to be independent . I have to find a way or a solution to it quickly .
I did place him next to me for about 3 months and one fine day , MW's dad paid me a visit and he said that he would like MW to be transferred to the afternoon session as he just couldn't wake up in the morning . Before I go on , each morning not only MW arrives late to school but I also had to carry him out from the car and into the classroom . It was pretty tiring for me . He was small in size alright but he was also heavy .
So back to where I left off ... as he made his first day to school ,in the afternoon, he seemed cheerful and alert as well . From there , I started to encourage him to come to school and told how proud his dad was of him . He manage to do some of his class work and even though he struggled with his writing , I still gave him a star . I did not put too much pressure on him as I wanted him to believe in himself and that he can do it . Little by little he started to improve .During this time the other students have began to read , and he was still unsure and shy to do read .
I received another call from MW's dad and he was worried that MW refused to read and do his homework at home and that they (the parents) can't get him to sit to do his work . His dad was also worried that MW can't read . So I did the next best thing that I knew . Each time when I gave some homework to my class , I would sit with MW and guide him with his homework and I would also coach him from time to time on his reading . This went on for a few months, and slowly he began to read and improve . Wow ! I thought to myself . I decided to call MW's dad up and I spoke to him , to tell him about MW's progress. To my surprise , his dad has also been following up on MW's progress and he is so glad that MW has developed some positive vibes towards his work .
After working with MW all along , I can finally say that he is ready for standard one . He may not be the best or the most outstanding amongst all but I can tell you that whatever that he faces , he will be able to overcome them . If you could see him now, you would see a very loud young man in my class , a little taller now , and with so much confidence in him . So now , the slow is not so slow now and I really do hope that things will work out for him .
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