Week One

Although this post is called "Week One," it really was only 2 days, so I'm not sure how well the name fits. I suppose I could have called it "Days One and Two" or "The Very Beginning."

Perhaps the most appropriate title, however, would be "Standing Around and Not Really Doing Much." That was the way I spent a lot of time at Little Blue these past two days. I find that I'm very hesitant when it comes to approaching the kids sometimes, especially when I've just met them. Another difficulty I had was that I don’t really know my way around the preschool. I've worked there before, but only once or twice for a couple of hours, so I don't really know where things are kept or what the routine is. Fortunately, those sorts of problems should work themselves out as I become more familiar and more comfortable with the place.

There were a couple of things that I noticed while I was just standing around, observing. I was very intrigued by the difference in maturity between 3 year olds and 4 year olds. I found it very interesting how much more aware the older children were, as well as how individual they were. That doesn't really make a lot of sense; let me give you an example. On my first day, 3 of the older girls (4+) were playing with cornstarch and food coloring. One of the girls was very meticulous, putting only small amounts of food coloring at a time on her pile of cornstarch. One of the other girls was the complete opposite; she immediately dug her hands right in!
--Something I just thought of: even though I have only met the second girl once, I could immediately tell that she is much more outgoing than the other little girl, who is fairly quiet and reserved. I just find it interesting how their personalities were reflected even in the way that they played and experimented with this one activity.

Another thing I noticed was the difference between children of the same age. Two kids who are both about a year and a half have incredibly different personalities. One is probably the most easy going little boy I've ever met (Mom, if you're reading this, yes I am talking about L.) while the other was much more shy and I can't recall even hearing her laugh or seeing her smile.

So that's a super quick recap of my first two days. My goals for the next month are:
-To be less shy and try to interact more with the kids
-Continue observing emotional/maturity differences between girls vs. boys, older vs. younger, and even kids around the same age.
-Ask questions when I'm not sure how to deal with a situation, because, let's face it, I'm working with one of the best, and I'd be crazy not to take full advantage of it!

Until next time,
Kaity