Although I was a teaching assistant for twelve years and had already been a certified teacher for 5 years, I was by no means a rookie! But my first day in my new assignment as a Pre-K teacher was a fiasco! First of all, I wore a dress! Now when new Pre-K teachers come to me for advice, the first thing I say is, “DO NOT wear a dress on your first day! Dress professionally but dress comfortably and wear closed toe shoes!”
With my assistant Maria at my side, we embarked on our newest adventure as educators. Our Pre-K classroom was far less than perfect. Someone in admin dropped the ball and we didn’t have the furniture or supplies we were promised for our new program. Maria and I set the room up as best we could without a stick of furniture...it finally came 8 weeks later! We had paper and crayon boxes laid out in one area, a few toys in another area, and Maria was sitting in the blue rocking chair waiting to read a book in the library corner.
We greeted the students and parents in the hallway and led them to the room. Everyone entered and everything was fine. Some of the kids went to the paper and crayon boxes and began to explore, others went to the pile of toys and began to explore, but NOBODY was interested in listening to a story. Parents were taking pictures and filming their children's first day of school.
I was standing around in my pretty dress trying to look calm, cool and collected. Just as I was getting ready to announce that it was time for the parents to leave, another mom came through the door with her twin boys attached to each of her legs, and they were screaming their heads off! Everyone turned to look at them and then every little boy in the room began crying and running to their parents. But for some reason, all the little girls stayed put and never cried. Actually they looked on in disgust as they watched all the handsome little boys act like babies.
I went to the mom with the screaming twins and told her to take them to the back of the room and hand them over to my assistant, and then leave the room as fast as she could. She did and of course the twins took off running after her. We tried to block them, distract them, hold them, etc! But those little twins turned into Tasmanian devils....they started picking up toys, papers and crayon boxes and began throwing them at everybody. I tried to rush the parents out of the room, but some just wouldn't leave. We had the remaining parents stand in front of the door. I figured if they were going to stay and gawk then they were going to help!
Remembering my one day of training, for just such an occasion as this, I knelt down and put myself at eye level with one of the screaming twins. I spoke to him in a soft, calm voice and touched his arm very gently. Well he was having none of that! The next thing I knew, a tiny little fist was coming right at my face. I leaned back in the "Matrix" move...but unlike the slow motion floating effect...I fell flat on my back with my legs under me ( mind you I am wearing my pretty dress) and I hit my head on the floor! I have no idea what happened to the screaming twin and honestly I DID NOT care! My ears were ringing and my big toe felt like someone hit it with a hammer!
When I finally opened my eyes...there was a dad standing over me with a video camera in my face saying, "... and this is Mrs. Hernandez, Jordan's very first teacher..." All I could think of was, "Oh my God! This is going to end up on America's Funniest Home Videos!"
Finally everybody left and we somehow got the kids calmed down...even the screaming twins...although they sat in a corner with their arms and legs wrapped around each other like little koala bears. We let them be! They spent their first day in Pre-K watching from their little spot in the room. More importantly, they were not screaming or throwing anything.
By end of the day, my assistant, Maria and I were exhausted! But we learned from the mistakes we made with the morning class. We were smarter and better prepared for the second class and had very few issues. We revisited our plans and tweaked a few procedures and we would see if things would go smoother the next day.
I suddenly realized my toe was killing me! I looked down at my newly pedicured and fashionably sandaled feet, and to my horror, I saw that the toenail on my left big toe had broken off about mid way! The more I stared at it the more it throbbed! My poor toe was sore for the next few days!!!
The next day we were prepared for the screaming twins. But to our surprise, the twins arrived without a single tear, walked right up to me and said in unison, "Good morning teacher!" as if yesterday had never happened! It was smooth sailing for the rest of the year!
We greeted the students and parents in the hallway and led them to the room. Everyone entered and everything was fine. Some of the kids went to the paper and crayon boxes and began to explore, others went to the pile of toys and began to explore, but NOBODY was interested in listening to a story. Parents were taking pictures and filming their children's first day of school.
I was standing around in my pretty dress trying to look calm, cool and collected. Just as I was getting ready to announce that it was time for the parents to leave, another mom came through the door with her twin boys attached to each of her legs, and they were screaming their heads off! Everyone turned to look at them and then every little boy in the room began crying and running to their parents. But for some reason, all the little girls stayed put and never cried. Actually they looked on in disgust as they watched all the handsome little boys act like babies.
I went to the mom with the screaming twins and told her to take them to the back of the room and hand them over to my assistant, and then leave the room as fast as she could. She did and of course the twins took off running after her. We tried to block them, distract them, hold them, etc! But those little twins turned into Tasmanian devils....they started picking up toys, papers and crayon boxes and began throwing them at everybody. I tried to rush the parents out of the room, but some just wouldn't leave. We had the remaining parents stand in front of the door. I figured if they were going to stay and gawk then they were going to help!
Remembering my one day of training, for just such an occasion as this, I knelt down and put myself at eye level with one of the screaming twins. I spoke to him in a soft, calm voice and touched his arm very gently. Well he was having none of that! The next thing I knew, a tiny little fist was coming right at my face. I leaned back in the "Matrix" move...but unlike the slow motion floating effect...I fell flat on my back with my legs under me ( mind you I am wearing my pretty dress) and I hit my head on the floor! I have no idea what happened to the screaming twin and honestly I DID NOT care! My ears were ringing and my big toe felt like someone hit it with a hammer!
When I finally opened my eyes...there was a dad standing over me with a video camera in my face saying, "... and this is Mrs. Hernandez, Jordan's very first teacher..." All I could think of was, "Oh my God! This is going to end up on America's Funniest Home Videos!"
Finally everybody left and we somehow got the kids calmed down...even the screaming twins...although they sat in a corner with their arms and legs wrapped around each other like little koala bears. We let them be! They spent their first day in Pre-K watching from their little spot in the room. More importantly, they were not screaming or throwing anything.
By end of the day, my assistant, Maria and I were exhausted! But we learned from the mistakes we made with the morning class. We were smarter and better prepared for the second class and had very few issues. We revisited our plans and tweaked a few procedures and we would see if things would go smoother the next day.
I suddenly realized my toe was killing me! I looked down at my newly pedicured and fashionably sandaled feet, and to my horror, I saw that the toenail on my left big toe had broken off about mid way! The more I stared at it the more it throbbed! My poor toe was sore for the next few days!!!
The next day we were prepared for the screaming twins. But to our surprise, the twins arrived without a single tear, walked right up to me and said in unison, "Good morning teacher!" as if yesterday had never happened! It was smooth sailing for the rest of the year!
The furniture finally arrived and we had a fabulous classroom with everything we needed. Since then we have changed classrooms several times and each time it gets better and better. I have 5 years of Pre-K experience under my belt now, and I never wear dresses on the first day of school…I save them for special occasions! Every year Maria and I learn a few more do's and don'ts and every year there is at least one new embarrassing incident that we laugh about later. But I can't think of any grade level that is more fun or rewarding!
Oh and by the way, in case you don’t already know this, the “Matrix” move is NOT real…it is a special effect…wish I had known that when I tried it!!! LOL!
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