Thursday 31 May 2012

Teachers Deserve a Medal


One of the best things about being a stay at home mum in the chance to help out in the children’s classrooms…….at least that’s what I keep trying telling my self…over and over again…..

You see the reality is that now my little man is in preschool two days a week, I have been looking at those two days as a weekend….a weekend that I’ve waited 9 years for!

One of the hardest adjustments I had to make from full time employment as a Scientist, to being a SAHM was that there are no weekends, no knock-off times…..every day and every night are just the same, all flowing into one big mass of responsibility!

So now I hold those two precious days as almost sacred….its so hard to leave my nice quite, warm house to go and help in a classroom of not just 3 noisy, snotty, demanding  children but…but 25!!

Anyway, my daughter’s year 2 teacher asked me come in and help out with some science experiments the children were going to be doing in class….one look at my daughters little expectant face, and I knew I had to go…..

It was my job to supervise the mixing part of the experiment where the children had to mix cocoa powder, icing sugar and puffed rice together….I was instructed not to let the children eat their mixes and was put in charge of 15 children!!

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*not what helping the the classroom was like at all!!


Half way through the experiment, I discovered one little boy, hiding under the table, happily devouring the contents of his plastic cup. I called him out from under the table and he had chocolate saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth….He then asked me, with great difficulty because his mouth was full of chocolate rice puffs, if he cold get a drink.

I looked at him and with my best teachers voice,  my hands on my hips and a badly disguised smile, I asked…. “Have you been eating your mix??”  There is no prizes for guessing what his response was….it was of course an emphatic “Nooooo!” I just could help but laugh, and told him to ask his teacher for a drink…..

I did actually have some fun in the end…as I thought the experiment was a bit dry, I improvised a little. I added water to the kids mixtures and  I fashioned a cone filter from some paper towel. We then poured the mix through the filter to end up with clean rice puffs…the kids actually thought that part was pretty cool!  I don't think the teacher appreciated the mess we made though!!

I guess the day was kind of like exercising. I didn’t want to go at first….but I felt really good when I was finished. It was nice seeing my little girl interacting with her friends at school and it was nice to get to know some of the other kids as well.

I came away from the class room that day needing a stiff drink and a good lie down!! I also left with the thought that teachers deserve a medal…a great big shiny medal!

Flogging my blog today over at With Some Grace....get your raunchy pants on and have a look!


11 comments:

  1. Oh that does sound like fun. I found that when I was home wiht my little man I missed the weekends and "home time" too.

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  2. Thanks Rhia...I'm glad I'm not the only one who missed weekends and home time!

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  3. That's the joys of parenting. ..Every day is much the same and weekends are a hive of activity. BUT, it does end eventually and you have your weekends back to yourself (kind of)... in my case, just as my youngest finished Year 12 and I was looking forward to life slowing down with regard to weekend sport and some "me time"... I inherited 5 more children, two of whom were in early highschool and I started the highschool journey all over again. By the time my youngest step daughter finishes school, I will have been educating kids for 25 years (and raising kids for 30!!!)... Oh my, when you see it written, it's even more exhausting!!
    And yes, teachers do deserve a medal... I'm still waiting for mine.
    Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you get just a little "you time" :)

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    1. Thanks so much Liz for your thoughtful comment! ....bugger the Olympics...Raising kids for 30 years certainly deserves a medal :)

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  4. Yes I agree wholeheartedly. I'd make a terrible teacher and I think they have one of the hardest jobs in the world.

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    1. I'd make a terrible teacher too for sure! I just don't have the crowd control....or the patience!

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  5. I get this. As part of Bailey's Kindy, we have to help once a term and I always dread it, but then end up really enjoying it.
    Then I dread it again the next time it comes up which is next week I think. *sigh*

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    1. Thanks for understanding Jess! It's a lot of hard work being in the classroom...I don't know how teachers do it every day!

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  6. I won't argue with that!!
    But so do fantastic parents like you.
    :-) xx

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  7. Oh Shar, you guys are just amazing!

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  8. How cute is that little boy ??! There would've been no way that I would've been able to keep a straight face AND tell him off at the same time.
    I used to be an English teacher in Japan and there were days when I would absolutely dread teaching my little rug rats. But then I would have the most awesome fun time with them and wonder why I was so worked up about it.
    But yes. You do need to crash on the couch and have a stiff drink afterwards...for sure !!!

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