Costumes, Letters, Magic Ovens, and Things

Kindergartners take everything you say literally as a teacher. Sometimes it's a compliment because it shows that they really do get something out of school. Sometimes it's just funny, and sometimes it can be frustrating for others. For example, yesterday I told the kindergartners to make sure that their parents saw our October newsletter. That way they would be sure to know what was going on at school, and would also have a calendar of important events, like the Halloween parade where they would get to wear their costume to school. Shela, however, didn't quite understand what I meant.
Shela was under the impression that we were doing the Halloween parade the next day, meaning today. She was sure of it-- her teacher said so. She was so sure of it that she was not going to put on her clothes today. No ifs, ands, or buts about it... she would only wear her costume. Nothing her mother said could convince her. So, they called the school and Shela talked to the secretary- but the secretary was not her teacher, and therefore, not a valid source of information. She was still not going to school in regular clothes. So, during lunch time, I got to call Shela to tell her that today was not the day to wear her costume. Her answer was simply, "I think I got a little mixed up." :)
I told Shela she should probably not wear her costume today, but if she'd like to, she was welcome to draw me a picture of it. She was a few minutes late to class simply because it took her a little while to get in all the details on her picture. I told the rest of the class that they could also draw me a picture if they'd like. Several others assured me, "I can't wait! I'll be drawing you a picture!"

Kindergartners also have a very magical imagination. Each day this year, I have been having one letter of the alphabet visit our classroom each day. I did this last year, but this year I actually found pictures of the "Letter People" series that I grew up with. So, one of these letters "knocks" on our door each day and introduces themselves. The kids live for this. They peek out the door to see when the letter is coming. They are on pins and needles waiting for the knock, and they cheer when they arrive and welcome them, "We're so glad you're here letter __." They also get frustrated when the letter is late (like on review days) or forgets to come.

I hadn't realized how seriously they took it though until I talked to one parent today to find out that not only did her son talk about the letters like they were real people, but that he also prays for them at night. :) I guess I'd better not let him down.

This same kindergartner also was amazed by our fundraiser assembly yesterday. The woman that taught the students about the cookies had a "magic oven." She would put the cookie dough in her oven, and instantly (after saying the magic words), a batch of baked cookies would come out. Briggs was easily fooled. During recess he told me, "I wish I had a magic oven like that. That would be awesome."

And then, just to show that you never quite know what is running through a child's brain he said, "There's a fat girl in first grade. Not like the Statue of Liberty, huh Mrs. Mulder."

Are you pregnant...er... anorexic?

For the last few months, I have been seeing the doctor to help me gain weight. Since my mission, I have been under the impression that I have been losing it and that I look rather anorexic. Apparently it's all in my head. Today a parent at the assessments asked me, "Are you pregnant?"

I think I'm going to cancel that next doctor's appointment.

And back to kindergarten...

So, after a few months of nothingness, this afternoon I had the most incredible urge to blog. For the last couple of months, every time I sit down to blog, I have had nothing to write about. Until today... when I returned to kindergarten.

This week I am responsible for assessing all of my kindergartners. Most of us, when we go in for a test take it very seriously and don't ask a lot of questions. But then again, most of us aren't five.

Me: "Okay, Kody, I am going to tell you a math problem. You can use the blocks in front of you to solve it."
Kody: Okay.
Me: So, here's my problem, "I had five balls..."
Kody: Why?
Me: It's just part of the problem. Keep listening. So I had five balls, I gave two to my friend..."
Kody: Why?!?
Me: Just keep listening. I had five balls, I gave two to my friend. How many do I have left?
Kody: (after counting all of the blocks in front of him, of which there were ten) Five!

Me: Now that you've told me the letters, we're going to look at the sounds that the letters make. What sound does this letter make?
Brigham: That's an A.
Me: It is an A, what sound does it make?
Brigham: That's an A like alligator.
Me: It does start alligator. What sound does it make?
Brigham: Chop, chop, chop!

Apparently, my directions were not very clear.

I'm a little nervous now about kindergarten starting. After training my last group so well, I kind of wish I had them back. But then again, maybe I trained them too well. While walking past a first grade classroom today, I overheard a first grader say, "Miss Parrish wouldn't like that. You need to stop." At least I know my influence is still felt.

Meet RickyJoe

Nathan Rick... the one that I lovingly call RickyJoe (and keep in mind, he only lets his wife call him that :) is now an official part of the my life, and therefore, this blog!

Nathan and I have been married for almost three weeks now, and it is amazing to see how quickly time has gone by! And so today, I am short on time (partly because I'm having to use a library computer right now in order to have access the internet), but I just thought I'd welcome Ricky Joe to the blog! And to all my readers... meaning.... Ian-- look forward to me finally getting around to some new updates!

I also want to send out a special thank you to all of the wonderful friends and family members that were able to make our wedding day so special. Thank you for all of you support! It means more than you could know!

I Gotta Blog

Yesterday was one of those days in kindergarten that reminds me, "I need to blog a whole lot more... this stuff is good."

While on recess duty yesterday, I had two children come up to me to report that a little boy in the first grade had flipped them off. This did not surprise me. This child has some special challenges... and he's always getting himself into trouble. Despite this fact, he is really a super cute kid. I called him over to talk to him about it and he denied it, of course, in front of his witnesses. So, instead we talked about what it means to use kind words and how we show kindness through our actions. At this point, I asked him, "So, can you promise me that you will never do it again?"
"Yeah, I promise." He then went to make a pinky promise, only to accidentally flip off the teacher. The best part was, he looked down at his hand, saw what he had done, and looked up in total shock and bewilderment, honestly wondering, "How did that get there?"
I didn't take offense, but I'm pretty sure that verified the fact that he was guilty! He then used his other hand to manipulate his fingers correctly for a pinky promise and assured me he would never do it again. :)

During the middle of our math lesson, I let one of my students, Byron go to use the restroom. The bathroom for the kindergarten is at the back side of our coat closet, and the wall between the classroom and the bathroom apparently isn't that thick. As I was attempting to teach, all of my students looked over at the wall to listen to what was apparently a five year old boy, serenading his class,

"My name is Byron! My name is Byron!
And I'm a boy! Yeah I'm a boy!
And I'm five ! I'm five!"

Yeah... I kind of had to remind him that we use quiet voices in the bathroom... I don't think he ever knew we could hear every word.

Rick... oh how do you say your name?

We're getting a house, and we had our offer accepted! When that happened, Nathan called the school, and they used the intercom to tell me. I answered with a big "Woo hoo!" When my kids asked me about it, I told them that their teacher was buying a house so that now she'll have a place to live when she gets married.

"Does that mean we call you Mrs. Molar now?"

For some reason, my students don't quite get how this whole marriage/change your name thing works. I am often asked this question... when I got engaged, when Nathan comes to visit, and when we decide to buy a house. And even more than that, they can't say Mulder... I'm going to be called after a large tooth for a large portion of my life. And my initials will be ARM. *sigh*

Even better than that though is that the name is Dutch, and my grandma knows how to say it and I can't. That's right... as of June 18th, my "I know how to say my own name" skills will be gone. Gone! It really is a big blow to your confidence when you realize you can't pronounce your own name.

That's okay, Rick can't say it either. :)

Communicating.... is.... hard

At parent teacher conferences a few weeks ago, I was asked by a parent, "could you please send home a reminder next time there is a day off of school? This last Friday, I had no idea there wasn't any school."

I thought this was an interesting comment, but tried to be kind in my response...

"Did you get this newsletter that I sent home at the beginning of the month?"
"Yes, I did get that."
"Okay, well, if you look right here under the announcements, you'll see that I have listed any days that we do not have school that month, including the day last week. Also, there's a calendar on the back of the newsletter that also marks those days. I always send this home each month, so keep an eye out for that. If you miss that though, I also put it on the homework. Did you get Kayla's homework last week?"
"Yes, I always read through her homework."
"Well, it's was written there to remind you to return the homework earlier this week. Also, have you gotten the school newsletter?"
"Yes, I did get that."
"They also put a list of important dates in the school newsletter. In fact, the school also sent home a neon pink note last week reminding the parents about the days off of school."
"I don't think I got that."
"Okay, well it's also listed on the marquee in front of the school, and if all else fails, the school calendar that was sent home at the beginning of the year is also on the school website, and I also have our kindergarten calendar on our class website that has all of the dates listed on there."

"I don't have the internet."

Immediately I wondered, "But can you read?" and then realized that this is probably my fault. Maybe I should have sent something home. :)

Shhh...

I have a student from SLCC that comes to teach a lesson in my class every now and then. When she's teaching, I usually sit among my students to help them remember to behave (proximity is everything). This last time, while reminding one of my sprawling children to sit up, I was reminded by one of my kindergartners, (one that is constantly... as in 15 thousand times a day... having to be reminded to pay attention.) "Miss Parrish, Shhhh... We gotta be quiet!"

Rick-ochet is Stylin!

Rick has his own sense of style. Either that, or he might have possibly forgotten his church shoes when going to Syracuse to watch conference with my family. That's okay though, since it seems that the style is infectious. To be sure that he didn't feel left out, Roo and Tim joined in by wearing their tenny's too. We could write a book about this... Tennis shoes among the Brethren...

The House

We're buying a house! I never expected to own my own home so soon, but it's happening! Nathan and I are in the process of closing on our very first home! Nathan will move in first, and then I will move in when we're married in June. June 18th to be exact....

We're so excited!

It's true. I really am becoming a real person. I've graduated from college. I've gone on a mission. I have a real job. I'm getting married. I'm buying a house. I once asked a friend, "How does it feel to be real? Does it hit all at once, or is it like the Velveteen Rabbit?" Well, I think Real really is like the Velveteen rabbit. Sometimes it hurts, and sometimes it's hard... and sometimes it's just plain wonderful!

And right now... I guess I'll just enjoy the fact that things seem to be working out right now. And it's wonderful!

Working... on something

In kindergarten, there is a half hour set aside every day for something we call "workshop time." This is a special time where the teacher takes some children aside for small group instruction, and the other children sit quietly at their desks to work on seatwork and other games/activities to reinforce the things that they are learning.

Well, that's the idea anyway. We're still working on the quietly... and the sitting... and the working...and the learning too. In other words, we're a work in progress.

A few weeks ago, my friend Max, blessed child that he is, sat quietly at workshop time, coloring his work, and glancing occasionally at his teacher out of the corner of his eye. Convinced that I was not watching, he then leapt out of his chair and pretended to karate chop/fight/attack some unknown, imaginary being. Finishing his fight, he glanced back at me, jumped back into his chair, and pretended to work again. This happened a few minutes later... and a few minutes later, until finally I called out, "Max! Sit down!"

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be in a five year old's brain again?

Surprise- it's almost your birthday!

I'm trying to catch up a little bit on my blog. Nathan kind of pointed out the fact that I have not been the most faithful blogger since, well, he found my blog! That's kind of true. I'm not so sure it's because he found my blog so much as that since then I've been a little busy.

Well, my birthday is coming up, and Nathan, the ultimate planner has been working hard on my gift. He has given me plenty of updates on that, without telling me what it is, "I've been cutting wood today." Or "I was painting and gluing today." He's done a pretty good job of keeping it secret.

The birthday comes next week, and so yesterday, the boy who cannot keep secrets could bear it no longer. He gave it to me yesterday. This picture is really bad simply because my camera's battery was dying, and so I had to take the picture super fast before it turned off. So, it's a bit out of focus.

He made me my very own little school house to decorate my classroom with! How cute is that? Underneath each of the foam pieces of "carpet" is a picture of the two of us together. And underneath the chalk board is one of our engagement pictures. If you can't read the chalkboard it says, "Welcome to Mrs. Mulder's Class." Yeah... I think he might be a little excited about getting married. Just a little bit. ;)

The Reaction

Six year olds are awesome! I'm learning more about this stage of development every single day.

Nathan comes in to volunteer in our classroom quite a bit. I think it's because he's a saint. So, my children are fairly familiar with him. By that, I mean that the last time he came walking into my classroom, one of my students was so excited to see him, he fell right out of his chair! "Mr. Mulder!" They like him.

So, last week, I told my students that I had gotten engaged. Riley guessed right off, "to Mr. Mulder?" To that, Emanuel chimed in, "You're gonna marry Mr. Mulder? I think I'm gonna be sick!" A few minutes later he asked me, "You didn't kiss him, did ya?" I just asked him, "What do you think?" In both classes, I got a resounding, "Ewww!"

Well, the students got over their initial disgust, but it still seems to be sinking in. The next day, I had one little boy decide that if I was engaged yesterday, I must be married today. So, he concluded, my name is now changed to Mrs. Mulder. Not yet, buddy!

And then there was Rylee. Rylee is an adorable little girl and she is girly to the core. She wears cute hair ribbons that match her outfit. She always chooses pink paper when given the choice, and she only plays with other little girls. She also did not think it was gross that I was getting married. She wanted to see the ring. :)

Well, Rylee's mom comes in to volunteer in our classroom, and so she told me what Rylee had said when she had gotten home. She told her mom that I was getting married. Her mom asked her if I had a pretty ring, and she told her mom that yes, it was very pretty. And then she thought for awhile and came back to her mom, "They're going to get married and then they'll probably have kids, huh?"

Her mom answered, "yeah, they will, and Miss Parrish probably won't teach anymore."

"She won't? Well, Mr. Mulder can stay home with the kids!"

"Well, Rylee, it wouldn't matter anyway because by then you won't be in kindergarten anymore and she wouldn't be your teacher anyway."

"She won't?"
And so now we begin breaking the children in to the tragic reality of life. We can only shield and protect them for so long. At some point, they have to be faced with the harsh facts:

Your kindergarten teacher is not your teacher for life.

I guess it's about time to start talking about it anyway-- it's going to take a couple of months for it to sink in for some of them. :)

I'm getting married!

I'm getting married. It's true. If you had told me at the beginning of the school year that I would be engaged by February, I would have told you that you were crazy. But even though I thought it was far-fetched, I've been well prepared. For those of you that have been faithfully reading this blog, you might recall one of my kindergartners drawing me a picture of my future husband. It looked like this:

It turns out that Clarissa may have been on to something, because I found that man I was looking for, and although the picture she drew may not have been a perfect likeness of either of us, it was pretty close... the huge smiles on our faces are the same in both the drawing and in real life.

Last Saturday, Nathan and I had a wonderful day together. That morning he drove up to Syracuse to talk to my parents about marrying me, and then that afternoon we went to the Draper temple open house together. From there, we headed over to the Jordan River Temple where we did a session together. When we came out, Nathan pulled out a red scarf and blindfolded me so that I couldn't see where I was going. I already knew though. :)

He drove me up to the capital, and walked me right up to the spot where he first danced with me and where he first told me that he loved me. He then took off the blindfold and danced with me again, to Peter Breinholdt's "Grow Old With Me." That's one of my favorites. We finished dancing and he knelt down in the freezing cold snow and asked me to marry him. I said yes!!

I can't believe it! I'm getting married!

As a little girl, I often wondered about who I would marry and what he would be like. Now I don't have to wonder anymore... and I feel peace about this decision. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I'm excited!

Well, we may not look exactly like Clarissa's drawing, but we're both pretty happy. Here's a picture of us just after we got engaged. This is at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where he took me to dinner afterwards. The ring can't be seen very well in this picture, but it's beautiful. He picked it out himself and I am impressed! If I could have chosen it myself, I probably would have picked this very one.

I Think He Likes Me

Yesterday morning was Valentine's Day for my kindergartners. We were all super excited about the Pretty Princess and cool Transformer Valentine's Day cards. I put up red streamers over the door where the kids come in and put out their Valentine envelopes. I even dolled myself up in pink and red like a true elementary school teacher.

Nathan didn't forget this special occasion either. Instead, he came in early to surprise me- and surprise me he did! I knew he was coming because he called me the night before to tell me not to eat breakfast. What I didn't expect is that he would get the teacher next door to let him into my classroom. So, I show up at school a few minutes later than I planned, as usual. I go to open my door of my normally empty classroom, and there is Nathan standing right there with flowers, chocolates, and a big fuzzy teddy bear. It scared me so much, I let out a shriek! He brought me breakfast of toaster strudels and chocolate milk and we ate our breakfast in my tiny little kindergarten chairs.

I think he likes me.


My kids noticed the flowers when they came in and asked me who they were from. When I told them where they came from, one child said, "He's a nice guy." Another child chimed in, "Yeah, he is a nice guy."

The Substitute

I left them today. All 23 of them.
I had a collaboration meeting for half a day and so I had a substitute teacher for the morning session of kindergarten .
My children have heard about substitutes.
I told them about substitute teachers.
But they've never had one.
Until today.

I knew this would be a shock.
I warned them.
I told them it would be okay.
I told them that things would be different, but that's okay.
I told them I would be back and it would be okay.
I assured myself it would be okay.

The collaboration meeting wasn't very far away. It was just in the library.
I made sure to stop by in the morning and remind the students that I would be back the next day. Then, I came back for the last few minutes to get them ready to go.
Most of my kids did pretty well. They listened to their teacher and did their work.
Others didn't do so well.
Three children faked sick.
Two children clung to me as I entered the room, assuring me they missed me.
One child wet her pants.
One little boy had such a hard time with the fact that the teacher didn't do things exactly like me that he cried. And cried. And gave himself a headache and had to call home.

And I'm going to China for a week? I must be nuts.

The funny thing is, I missed my kids too. Even though sometimes I really need a break, if my kids are in school, I would rather be teaching. And so, it's funny, but it was quite a relief to be done with collaboration and be back in my classroom teaching my kindergartners. I'm going to be okay... I get to go back to kindergarten.

I miss you Meshach!

My life lately has kind of reminded me of a book called "If you give a mouse a cookie." So, I've written my own version of the story called, "If the window on Nathan's car breaks."

Sunday was Dad's birthday dinner. Nathan and I decided to go up to Syracuse for his birthday dinner, but the very afternoon we chose to do that, the window of his car fell off of its track so that he couldn't roll it back up again. And so we begin...

If the window on Nathan's car breaks, you might decide that it is too cold and wet and snowy to take his car all the way to Syracuse. You may decide that your car is a better option and take it instead.

If you choose to take your own car instead, you might get to about North Salt Lake before your car overheats and you have to pull over to the side of the road. You may decide that you can't drive any further for fear of ruining your engine and choose to call your Dad (remember how it was his birthday) to ask him to tow you home.

If you choose to call your Dad and ask him to tow you home, you may have to wait inside your cold wet car for about an hour and a half while your parents drive down to come and save the day. While you are there, you may decide that you should have put up with the broken window in the first place. When your parents tow you home, your dad may let you take their car down to Salt Lake so that you can get to work. You may decide that is a great idea and take the car.

If your Dad chooses to let you take the car, you may try to take good care of it and make sure that all of the doors are locked before you go to bed. And then the next morning, you may discover that the locks on the doors are very hard to open... meaning you can't. You may choose to call Nathan to come and give you a ride to work instead.

If you choose to get a ride to work from Nathan, you may realize that you don't have any way to get home. You may also realize that the only one that knows how to unlock the car is your dad. So you may choose to call him to pick you up from work and drive you home to unlock the door.
If you call your Dad to come and help you unlock the door, he may be able to get the door open. Only, after getting the door open, you might find out that the door has gotten some water in it from the night before, is frozen solid, and refuses to shut again. The two of you may decide that the door needs to be warmed up so that the ice can melt. You may choose to ask your roommate to trade you places so that you can leave your car in the garage.

If you choose to put your car in the garage, you might also put a lamp inside the car and leave it on all night so that it can warm up the car. You may discover, however, that because the door won't shut, the overhead light in your car is also on. The only way to get it to turn off is to lean something against the door to keep the door shut and the light off. You do this, and go to bed, hoping that your car will work in the morning.

If you choose to put a lamp in your car all night, the next morning your car door with finally shut! However, you might also discover that the heavy object you put against the door wasn't heavy enough. Your overhead light may have been on all night and now your car might not start. You may choose to call Nathan again to come and save the day.

If you choose to call Nathan to save the day, you may discover once again that you have no way to get home from work. So, Nathan might have to come pick you up during his work break, and sacrifice his dinner and drive you home to try to jumpstart your car. On the way there, he may tell you that he fixed the window on his car so that it cannot fall down again. You may choose to breathe a sigh of relief, happy to hear that your troubles might end soon.


Or at least we hope! Let's all hope that Meshach returns home safe and sound. We miss you Meshach!

Toleration

Kindergartners are much more tolerant of others. I learned that today... and I continue to learn it every day in our little classroom.

The other day I was teaching penmanship, and one of my students fell out of his chair. That's right, just fell right over. This is not an odd occurence. It happens just about every day. My reaction is usually simply, "Well, climb back in your chair."
At that moment, I stopped to think, "What if an adult sitting in my classroom had just done that?" For one thing, the other people in the room would have noticed. It would have been a concern. And if it turned out that the person had simply fallen out of her chair simply because she was wiggling so much that she had lost her balance, the adults around her may have considered getting her some help--- psychiatric help. Not so in kindergarten-- you just keep on working as if nothing happened at all.

Or how about when Ryan put his coat on upside down today and complained because he couldn't get his backpack on. The coat was hanging totally up on end with his hood hanging down by his knees, and what was Ryan was saying? "Miss Parrish, I can't get my backpack on." I looked at him and said, "That's probably because your coat is on upside down."
This got no response, other than the fact that Ryan was spinning around in circles trying to catch his other backpack strap. Finally, I stopped him and told him, "Ryan, you need to take your coat off and put it on right side up." He did so... only because he knew he had to because his teacher made him do it- not because it bothered him that his coat was on upside down. The other children either did not notice or else it didn't bother them.

That's tolerance.

But some things cannot be tolerated. Not even by kindergartners.

Today during small group instruction, I was interrupted by a student. Usually, I encourage the students to work independently- and only interrupt me if they are dying or going to wet their pants or someone is badly hurt. The girl assured me this fit under the category of "important." It did.

"Tupu is putting crayons up his nose."
"What?!? Tupu! Come over here!"

"Are you putting crayons up your nose?"
"Yes." Simple response. There was no shame. Not even a little bit.
"Don't put crayons up your nose!" I said this as firmly as I could... under the ridiculous circumstances, it was hard not to laugh.

That afternoon, the students in my p.m. class asked me why Tupu had gotten his card pulled. I told them why, and one little boy responded by saying, "You got to be kidding me!"
Like I said, some things even kindergartners can't tolerate.

Paisley

It is now a new year. 2009, if you will.
In honor of such a fantastic new year, I found an awesome background for my blog. As the Boy would say, "Paisley is amazing."

The Doctor Visit

Going to the doctor is a significant event in my life. If asked at any given time, I can count off on my fingers individually the number of doctor visits I have had... and the traumatic experiences that accompanied them. I don't see the doctor often, unless I'm sure that I am dying or my mother makes me. This time it was the latter.

I'm not dying... I've just been slowly and surely losing weight until I look... well, bony. Does this concern me? A lot. So much that I've talked about it a lot. You see, if you never go to the doctor, there's nothing wrong with you. And if you talk about it a lot, eventually it will just go away. Mom doesn't agree with me, and since we both kind of thought I brought home some happy little parasites from Taiwan, off I went to the doctor.

The picture shown here is a little extreme, only because of the intense contrast of the fat kid on the right.

You know what that doctor told me? (Besides telling me that they needed to take my blood- which I survived, in case you were curious or worried.) He told me that I have a high metabolism (yeah... didn't figure that one out on my own), that I need to drink only whole milk (check, been doing that), that I need to drink instant breakfast in the morning (double check), and that I need to eat a lot of carbs (hmmm... do I eat anything else? Oh wait, I do. It's called chocolate). So, I basically got told that the doctor totally approves of my current diet of fatty goodness, though I'm not sure exactly what it's going to change... other than maybe helping Rick gain a little extra weight in support! :)