Well, it's probably about time for a new post. I was thinking about what on earth I would post about (our vacation, duh) when I had an interesting experience in Primary today, and I knew it just had to be the topic. I've just been called to team-teach the 4-5 year old primary class, and I am very excited. I love this age, and I relish the challenge of thinking of ways to get those active little bodies to move and learn at the same time. I think it will help me think of new ways to teach Everett, as well.
I walked into Primary today with a bright smile on my face, full of anticipation. I had heard that my class is challenging, but I assumed it just meant they were extra wiggly. After my row was pointed out to me, I found my way over and sat down on the end next to a couple of blonde girls who looked like they were friends with each other.
What I didn't expect, however, was to see these girls laughing uproariously as they feigned eating garbage and vomiting it all over the kids sitting in front of them. Loudly. Without any sign of stopping.
"Hi!" I say brightly. "My name is Sister Johnson, and I'm your new teacher. What's your name?"
They look at each other, glare at me, and then grin impishly.
"Here. Have some gum-gum!" they shriek, which I interpret to mean used gum, meaning that they want me to join them in their enormous vomiting upheavals. They spend the next few minutes vomiting up anything they can think of, in any direction, no matter my attempted interventions.
The other teacher is at the other end of the row, holding a quiet, sweet-looking girl on her lap and isn't looking our direction. I don't blame her; I would rather ignore the problem as well. However, since sharing time just barely began, I tell the girls if they make those noises one more time, I will sit between them.
They do it again. I separate them and sit between them, which quiets them momentarily.
Feeling proud of myself, I sit back to enjoy the lesson, when girl number 1 jumps up and announces,
"I have to go pee-pee and I can go by myself!" then bolts out of the room before I have a chance to absorb what she is saying. I tap the teacher in front of me and ask if we are supposed to let them go by themselves (I can't keep up with the primary norms), and she just shrugs then turns back to her docile and bright-eyed three year-olds.
I decide to go after her and when I do, she dashes back into the Primary room. I figure this isn't the appropriate time to make her go back and walk the route reverently because she is actually returning to her seat. I realize I have to take what I can get, and so I go sit by her without comment.
She tells me, loudly, that she doesn't want me to sit by her, and motions two chairs down to the very end of the row. I decline her request and tell her that I want to sit by her, when what I really want is to let her know she can't boss me around.
Two minutes later, she jumps up again and shouts,
"I have to poop now!" Knowing how this charade works by now, I jump up and follow her out of the room, as she is still too fast for me to catch. In the bathroom she hides in the farthest stall and tells me to go out.
"You know what?" I say as kindly as I can, "I can't go out. I need to stay right here."
She glares at me through the crack in the door and tells me that she doesn't want me to see her. I tell her I will turn my back, and this seems to appease her while she is making sound effects to try to fool me into thinking she is actually using the toilet. I suppose there's no need to make her wash her hands, and do my best to help her walk slowly back to primary. I fail. Miserably. Fortunately, I do not feel discouraged.
Meanwhile, the other blonde girl who had decided she had to use the bathroom at the exact moment as girl #1, and looked at me angrily when I told her she could wait until her friend returned, decides she doesn't want to be near me.
She makes a beeline for a primary leader in the back of the room and buries her face in the leader's lap. When I go over to coax her back to me, telling her I would really like to sit by her, and would she like to sit by Boy or Girl number 1? She finally turns her face to me and I am surprised to see such angry distrust.
"I hate you" She says. Knowing she probably is just trying to get a reaction (and not feeling bothered even if she does hate me), I keep my face pleasant and impassive and tell her again that I would really like to sit by her, and that when she is ready I will be saving her a seat.
When I sit back down, I find myself near the boy whose name I asked earlier. He had just looked at me and then at his shoes without answering, but now he turns to me excitedly. "I have a boat, a big big big boat!" He says. I wish him well and congratulate him, then gently direct him back to the lesson. I am relieved to have talked to a child who follows directions compliantly.
The rest of Sharing Time and Singing Time pass with similar incidents, keeping me hopping up and down like I was sitting on live coals. Primary is not about discipline, so I attempt lots of positive reinforcement. By the end of the hour, I feel it might be working well enough that the overall hostility level will decrease next week.
On the whole, I really enjoyed my time in Primary today, and I am excited to go back next week. It is fun to get to know some strong personalities, and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to guide that strength. I suppose it is within my comfort zone to address this, provided I don't feel other adults are watching.
In fact, I don't know what it says about me that I felt by far the most awkward today not while attempting to deal with some extreme outbursts, but while standing up in front of the entire primary while they sang me a welcome song. Oh well. I suppose I have more growing up to do, but I certainly was grateful today that many primary songs are so short. No reason to prolong the agony!
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