If You Chance....

So obviously a part of being a preschool teacher is singing songs....a lot of songs. And while I can boast that I have many songs in my repertoire....I will admit that sometimes it gets a little boring (they always want to sing the same songs over and over and over). So today I thought I would introduce a song we hadn't sung in preschool yet. A classic from my own childhood, many of you will recognize it. The classic "If You Chance To Meet A Frown." I type the lyrics for you below because it turns out that they are important to this post and perhaps some of you will not be familiar with them or will have forgotten them.

If You Chance To Meet A Frown:

If you chance to meet a frown,
Do not let it stay.
Quickly turn it upside down,
And smile that frown away.

No one likes a frowny face.
Change it for a smile.
Make the world a better place,
By smiling all the while!

So as I sat in my chair watching 10 adorable little faces look up to mine as I sang the words I started thinking two different things:

1. I began to wonder what messages a 4 year old might take from this song. I would hate to think they would feel like they couldn't feel and express their feelings!!! I want them to know that it is okay to feel sad, and mad, and hurt, and scared, and frustrated in addition to the always popular: happy. I want them to know that everyone feels these things and that they are loved no matter what!

2. I was also thinking about how much influence my attitude can have on everyone around me and how this song could really help me remember to smile instead of frown...(even if someone was dumping their water into their yogurt cup and back again making a disgusting mess. Because is it really the end of the world?) The power of a smile is truly great and I have always appreciated those people in my life who are quick to smile. It is a trait I have always envied...with a frown I might add.

So, you the reader might ask, what has been gained from this moment of reflection? Well, dear reader, I will tell you. I have decided that I will most likely be removing this particular song from my preschool song list. And on the other hand I will also be trying to find ways to remind myself of the positive benefits of smiling more. :)

P.S. In case you were wondering I actually do have very insightful thoughts during the most random moments of preschool...singing, reading, painting, cleaning up yogurt-water, etc.

(This post is dedicated to Tera since I am using her laptop while she sleeps on the other couch!)

Un-Married

Most of my preschool kids know that sometimes my mom is upstairs during preschool, and whenever they hear a noise they can't immediately identify they ask, "Is your mom upstairs today?"

Today they heard such a noise (it was really just the furnace) and asked the inevitable question.
Miss Dawn: "Well yes my mom is upstairs today, but that noise was not her. She is asleep today because she worked all night last night." (Of course I had to explain to them why anyone would stay awake all night and then sleep during the day...silly nurses.)

Then came a new question:
Little Girl #1: "Miss Dawn, is your dad upstairs?"

Miss Dawn: "Nope, he is not upstairs." (I was really hoping this was the end of this line of questioning)

Little Boy #1: "When is he coming home?" (I guess it was not the end of the questions.)

Miss Dawn: "Well....................my dad does not live at this house so he doesn't come home to here. He goes home to his own house."
(You know, the place where he lives with his wife and my step and half siblings.)

Little Boy #2: "Why doesn't he live at this house?"
(Because it would be a little awkward for everyone involved if he lived here. It is probably better that he live with his wife, rather than his ex-wife...duh! And my mom is also probably quite content with him going to his own home.)

Miss Dawn: (There was a VERY long pause here...what should I tell them?!?! What if something I tell them scares them about their own parents? I scan the faces and nope, no know here has divorced parents.) So finally I start talking, still quite unsure where I am going to go with this. "Well do you know what married is? Your mom and dad are married to each other. And when I was a little girl my mom and dad were married to each other. But then they decided it would be best if they got unmarried. So they did, and my dad moved to a different house. But it is okay because my mom and dad both love me and I get to spend time with both of them and now they are both happier."

This is the point where I literally hold my breath....I don't want to talk about it anymore and I am already worried that they are going to be traumatized by this discussion.....

Then, silence. Glorious silence. There are no more questions about my dad or his whereabouts. Thank Heaven!!!

Oh Wait!....This IS My LIfe!

I don't know about you but sometimes I get caught up in thinking ONLY about the future. Often I think things like, "My life will start when...." But the other day I realized, "Oh Wait!...This IS my life! And guess what-- it is GREAT!" Is it what I expected my life to be at this point? No. It is nothing like I ever imagined it to be....

I didn't imagine I would feel so much intense pain....but I also didn't imagine I would feel so much joy....
I certainly didn't think I would be 28 (almost) and single (gasp!)......
Nor did I think I would have my own preschool that was so successful....
I wouldn't have believed I would be considering writing a children's book......
I didn't plan on loving 40 kids (who weren't mine) as much as I do.....
I didn't guess at who would still be a part of my life....and who wouldn't....
I didn't hope I would have the struggles that I do...but I also didn't have a clue how strong I could be......
I definately didn't realize the impact my decisions would have on my life...
But mostly I couldn't know how blessed I would feel to have this life.

So my life isn't perfect. And my life isn't what I imagined, or planned. But the truth is that I am grateful for what my life is. So I am going to stop trying to make my life what I thought it should be and start enjoying what my life has to offer.

Pig-Tails in Preschool

I have an absolutely adorable little boy in my preschool class who is fascinated by hair. It all started, his mom tells me, when he was just a little baby and loved to play with her hair as he ate or was rocked to sleep.

The other day in preschool we were all sitting at the carpet for class time (singing songs, reading stories, etc.) when this particular little boy caught my attention. His mission was quiet....silent really, and slow.....so slow I was actually able to observe the whole thing while I led songs.

First he noticed the blond pig-tails on a little girl sitting in front and slightly to the right of him. Soon he was staring at the pig-tails. Then he carefully, almost tentatively, reached out and gently touched the soft, blond pig-tail. The owner of the pig-tails was completely oblivious to the entire thing....she didn't even know he touched her hair. Then he was done and he turned his attention back to me. It was HILARIOUS!!

(This post is dedicated to his cute mom....you know who you are. You are a great mom...I hope I can be like you when I grow up!)

Obsession

I often find myself locked on to a particular task, idea, song, wish, etc. I have come to accept this about myself but this week I have come across something rather ironic...I am currently obsessed with making lists of the things I am obsessed with. I know. So I thought perhaps if I shared my list I would be able to get a laugh and move on. So here ia today's 10 item list of things I am obsessed with....at least they are the things I am obsessed with today. (Oh yeah....making it into a nice round list of 10 items makes me very happy.)

I am obsessed with.....
1. Getting warm (I am SO cold!!)
2. Watching Tina Fey spoof Sarah Palin.....I think I could watch those clips a million times and never stop laughing.
3. Cream potatoes (I would happily eat them for every single meal)
4. Having my fingernails painted red.
5. Learning how to do a good job of painting my own fingernails red. (see item #4)
6. Learning the words to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (the Broadway musical version)
7. Making the perfect hot chocolate (see item #1)
8. Cleaning off the build-up of soap that accumulates around the dispensing area of soap containers. (This is all soaps that I come in contact with...dish, hand, shampoo, face...you get the idea)
9. The new shoe website Cami told me about where you get free overnight shipping and free return shipping; it is AMAZING. And I found 2 things I had been specifically looking for a LONG time. (In case you are curious those 2 things are a pair of rain boots, and a pair of red dress-ish shoes) And I didn't even want to return anything.
10. Making lists (hence this list....it is sort of a vicious cycle)

Now you have all had a sneak peek into the "obsession center" of my brain....and you're welcome. By the way, do you think there really is an "obsession center" in your brain like the "speech center?" Great something else to be obsessed about.

The Outsiders

The other day in Preschool there came THE MOMENT. You see every day there is one moment where the noise level suddenly jumps from the acceptable (7 or below) to the unacceptable (10 or more). Even after years of surveys, consultations, and experiments I have NO idea what causes this moment. My working theory is some sort of telepathy between the kids that goes something like this: "Hey guys let's see if we can't make miss dawn's eyes get big!" then after a few moments: "YAY! We did it!!!"

So anyway we were at this moment and I pulled out one of my handy "teacher" phrases: "Friends, let's remember to use our inside voices, please." It sounds cheesy but it usually works (and if it doesn't I just scream at the top of my lungs that I will sneak into their bedrooms while they are sleeping and steal away all their Halloween Candy if they don't stop RIGHT NOW!...that works too). After I said the nice version, one little boy looked right into my eyes and said,
"Miss Dawn, YOU are outsiding."

Me: "I'm sorry? I don't know what you are trying to tell me. What do you mean?"

Little boy: "You just told us to insiding but you are outsiding."

Good point.

What am I supposed to say to that? Is a 3 year-old really going to understand that I need to use a slightly louder, and authoritative voice to convey important messages...I mean I am the teacher here. (I did attempt to explain this concept to him.) Apparently, though, he's not going to fully understand. I think he left the moment understanding that I am just a big old hypocritical "outsiding" grown-up.

(P.S. this post is dedicated to Alisha...who I know has exerienced the moment lots of times...in fact she handles the moment better than any teacher I know...I aspire to be you!)

Mind Control?

Today I told my morning class that we were going to be going on a fiedtrip in a couple of weeks. When I said it 7 super-excited cheers erupted from the kids. I was a little surprised by their reaction considering that they had never been on a preschool fiedtrip before. Then one little boy said, "Um....what is a fieldtrip?" That was the reaction I was expecting.

I thought it so cute and funny that they were SO excited even though they had no idea what I was talking about. It may have had something to do with the excited expression on my face when I told them. The good news is that my plan for mind control is going QUITE well....{insert evil laugh here}.