Hmm. I don't know what happened to yesterday's post. I did blog, but it was pretty short.

Anyhoo, TODAY. 3-year-olds. Off the chain.

It started right from the get-go, when they ate breakfast in the classroom rather than in the cafeteria like they usually do. Then they got to visit the Mobile Science Center, which was very cool and a lot of fun. So they were wired up from the change in routine and the excitement of trying out all the different "experiments." Most of them did pretty well, but a couple of them had to be removed for not sharing or for hurting their friends. And then there was the boy who was dropped off by Mommy, who proceeded to cry for about half an hour because he missed her. Lady, that's why they have school buses!

After the science center, I brought them back to the room. I started doing circle time, and they were talking to each other, fooling around, and not paying attention. The assistant told them to listen and stop playing around, and I had to stop midway through and give them a talk about sitting on the carpet with their legs folded, hands in their lap pockets, listening ears and watching eyes on, and a bubble in their mouths unless it was their turn to talk.

When we went outside, five of the 19 students owed me time on the wall (watching while their friends played). Two snuck by me and I had to cart them back over. One little boy had been screaming inside the room like an Irish woman at a wake, so he owed time, too. Another little boy can't keep himself to himself. Anyway, I had to use my "mean Ms. P. voice" and tell them to "get on that wall! Now! Or I'm going to call Mommy!" (waving my cell phone at them). Of course, I don't have Mommy's number, nor do I have the authority to call her, but they're too young to know that. I did let them play after about five minutes; they're only three, after all.

Lunch was a fiasco (in the room again because the Mobile Science Center was using the cafeteria). That threw them off further. At one point I had about five children crying, screaming, and saying repeatedly that "I WANT MY MOMMYYYYYY!" (I did wonder how they would react if I started pretend crying and wailing that I wanted my mommy, too, but I didn't try it.)

Most of them slept at naptime, and they were better behaved when they got up. They ate a good snack (Cheetos! Yum!), and we had another circle time. The little boy who had been wailing this morning actually sat pretty well for this circle time, so I praised him highly for turning himself around; he got to choose his center first afterward. I am hoping that rewarding positive behavior helps reinforce the idea that this is how we behave in school. The children like to sing silly alphabet songs, so we started with "A is for Alice, who met an alligator" and ended with "James and Judy, James and Judy, jumped all night, jumped all day" for our letter of the week, J.

By the time we had center time, they were playing pretty nicely together. What a difference a nap makes when you are three! (And none of them peed their pants at naptime - YAY!)

I was happy to put them on the bus at the end of the day. Wow. And I have the same class tomorrow. They are so cute, though, it's hard to stay mad at them. At the end of the day, many of them hugged me and told me, "I love you, Ms. P.!" This is why I love teaching, even though at times it gets chaotic. The rewards are just so great.