The Da Vinci Code of Kindergarten

Please be careful when calling your young child by a nickname at home because sometimes it comes back to bite you in the ass. Every year for the first week of school I am delivered a new class of kindergartners everyday.  The teacher is always exhausted from trying to deal with these Newbies and will run off as quickly as possible.  I am left with a group of 13 to 15 children starring at me.  At least three will have fingers in their noses.  Two will be scratching in various disgusting places and there are always two who are hugging or inappropriately touching each other.   I must then figure out who is who.  I have a list from the office of who is "suppose" to be in each class.  But if a parent showed up on the first day of school to register their child, they will not be on that list. Also if a parent decided they did not like a certain teacher and got their child moved to another class they will also not be on the correct list.  So I then must resort to the one thing I dread most.  Asking the children what their names are.  If I'm very lucky a child can clearly tell me their first and last name and can give me a hint as to proper spelling.  How often does this happen?  Almost never.  I must then try to decipher the child's name.  If is very similar to what they had to do in the book "The Da Vinci Code."  Now if the child has been called by their given name all their life then there is a chance I will figure it out.  If not, then all bets are off. 

Example 1:  Mrs. Honey:  "What is your name little boy?"

*Note:  Said Boy is sporting the tallest freestanding Mohawk I have seen to date.  Really it was quite spectacular. 

         Little Boy:  "They call me ROOSTER"

And I must say the nickname fit!

Example 2:  Now I must admit, I have a penchant for nicknames and often give others nicknames for the heck of it.  Many of my students have earned nicknames and I rarely ever call my own children by their real names.  This example is about a nickname that I Mrs. Honey bestowed upon a child. 

The little boys name is William Thomas @@@@@.  But he has always been called WT.  So when he started school in kindergarten I would make up different things that the W and T stood for and see if I got them right.  He thought this was funny.  This led to his permanent name of WILBUR TURKEYLEGS.  Which I still to this day call him in class and which he answers to.  Wilbur Turkeylegs will be in 5th grade this year.  So he has spent 5 years with that name thanks to me!


*Please note at the end of the class the kids who had been scratching "Those" places are always the same kids who want to hug you! 

Who are THE OTHERS

In my school the others are the Extra Teachers.  The non classroom teachers.  The librarian, the PE teacher, the Art teacher, and the Music teacher.  We are responsible for the block schedule.  Basically we teach the students during the classroom teacher's conference period.

We call ourselves the others because thats how we are made to feel.   We often get left out or excluded.  We are not considered REAL teachers.  Well guess what?  We are.  We all have teaching degrees just like the rest of the faculty.  In fact I have a master's degree and so does the PE teacher.  Most of the regular classroom teachers do not. 

They make assumptions about our jobs.  That our jobs are easy, not as important, that we do nothing all day, we don't have the discipline problems they have, or we don't have as much stress and pressure when it comes to testing. 

I just want everyone to know that I am a TEACHER.  I teach everyday.  My job is important too.  I worry about the Benchmark and try to make sure I am covering all that I need to with my students.  I feel the pressure too!

Who I am

I am an elementary librarian.  I have 600 students from Kindergarten thru 5th grade.  I see each class once a week so I stay very busy.  I really do love my job, but it does get very frustrating.  I decided to start this blog as a way to remember those little moments that make it all worthwhile.  (Frankly, I'm getting older and senile and can't really remember them!) 

As I start this blog I am about to start my 6th year as the librarian of our local elementary school.  I spent 2 years teaching 4th grade prior to that and know that I definitely needed to be moved to the library.  The town I live in is small and has a population of about 3,000 people.  There is only one school, so everyone's children will pass thru my library at some point.  My own children attend the same school.  My son is 15 and about to enter 10th grade and my daughter is 10 and going into the 5th grade.  This will be the last year that she will be at the same school with me.  It makes me sad to think about that because we started at this school together.  She started kindergarten the same year I took over the library.  This will be our last year together!

As you read this blog I hope you can see what I love about my job.  Kids are funny!  Even when their not trying to be.