A Day With The Ones
A change of pace is a good thing every once in a while, and yesterday was my change of pace. With quite a few teachers gone on vacation, and some unexpected illnesses going around the preschool, we were short staffed at work and had to shuffle some kids and teachers around in order to stay within ratio. I knew where I was needed, so volunteered to help out in the one-year old room.
I arrived in the one's just as they were finishing up their morning snack. They were all sitting around their ankle-high table eating crackers and drinking milk when I walked through the door. They turned to see who had come into their classroom and squealed with delight when they saw me....cracker crumbs falling out of their mouths and spewing everywhere.
Their vocabulary is somewhat limited, and it's even harder to understand the few words that they do know, but in the midst of the screams and table pounding I did catch the words: "Miss Weeesa" "cwackers" and "eat!"
I walked over to their table and was instantly offered handfuls of soggy crackers....they are a very generous bunch. Then they showered me with sticky hugs and kisses, covering my arms and shirt with cracker crumbs. It was a joyous reunion.
After getting them all cleaned up, it was time to draw some pictures. The other teacher and I gave them each a white piece of paper and a Crayola marker to create their own masterpieces. More ink got on the table than the paper, but what else is new?
One little boy, Floppy, as I will call him (because he's not very stable and is always falling down), had a very mischievous look on his face when he was coloring. He seemed more interested in the marker than in drawing a picture. And there was a blue smudge on the tip of his nose which told me that he had been sniffing the marker...not a good sign.
"Floppy," I said. "You need to put the marker on the paper, not on your nose."
I bent down and helped him make a few circles on his paper. However, while I was kneeling at his level I smelled something sour....something was amiss. My suspicions were confirmed when I discovered that Floppy's neighbor needed to be changed.
I silently chastised myself for volunteering to work in the one-year old class and wished that I was back with my three-year olds who could take care of their own potty needs....But it was too late for regrets. I picked up Floppy's stinky friend, pried a yellow marker out of his hand, and took him to the changing table. When the deed was done, I returned to the coloring table with a clean bundle of joy.
It was almost time to go outside to play, so I started collecting the kids' artwork and markers. When I got to Floppy, he handed me a paper with blue scribbles all over it and a marker with a clear tip....
"Are these magic markers?" I thought to myself. "Maybe these are the kind of markers that have clear tips and then color comes out of them when they touched paper...."
I looked at Floppy's blue marker again, and upon closer inspection I found that the marker did not actually have a tip...just a clear-colored stub.
I spun around to face Floppy. His entire mouth was bright blue. Not only had he chewed off the marker tip, but he has sucked out every ounce of blue ink....hence the clear stub.
He smiled at me and giggled, exposing his dyed tongue. Little chucks of the marker tip were still stuck in his teeth.
"Floppy, why did you eat the marker?!" I asked.
He laughed again and said, "Blue!" Apparently the baby Einstein knew his colors.
Well, what was done was done. I cleaned up Floppy, and threw out the marker whose life had been cut short by a ravenous toddler. Thankfully, Crayola markers are not toxic and are washable, so Floppy spent the rest of the day sporting a slightly blue five o'clock shadow.
Yes, a change of pace is good every once in a while. But after a day in the one-year old room, I am ready to get back to my three-year olds on Monday!