BEDA Day 2: The Little Monsters

If you've known me at least a year, or have been reading my blog for that long, you may recall that last summer I worked at a local middle school SACC (school-age child care) program, and I hated it. I felt overwhelmed because my boss had been doing her job practically by herself for years and just assumed I would understand things that seemed obvious to her. The paperwork at the site was extremely unorganized and I felt like I couldn't find anything. By the end of the summer the number of kids attending was so low that I was only working 15-20 hours a week. Because of our low numbers, I was often the only adult around when I was working. And most of the kids were so snotty that I only actually liked about four of them.

Because of budget cuts, the district's middle school program had to close, so this year I'm working for the same program at one of our elementary sites, and my situation couldn't be more different. My site director is extremely organized, and there's always another adult around who takes my questions seriously, even the tiny ones that I feel silly for asking. Our numbers have been so high this summer that instead of working 28 hours a week, as I was originally scheduled, I've been working at least 35 hours since the second week of summer. I get along really well with all of the other teachers (and it's a bonus that one of my best friends is working the same hours as me), and even when our kids drive me crazy, I still love them. Because the middle school program closed, the rising sixth graders have been allowed to attend our program, and our ages range all the way down to preschool. When we break into groups I usually have the 4th-6th grade group, but we all have plenty of opportunities to work with all of the kids. At these ages, they're still so sweet that even if they get really mad at you over something, they've forgotten it by the next day and you're bound to get hugs again.

The only downside to the job is that I'm absolutely exhausted and usually starving when I get home, because the little monsters wear me out! We stay really busy. On Monday afternoons we go to the small movie theater in town that's owned by a school district alumnus for a free kids' movie. On Wednesday and Friday afternoons we go to the pool. Thursdays often mean full-day field trips, such as to the zoo or local parks or Sports Ohio. When we stay at school all day, I usually teach a mini dance class for a group of kids.

We're currently working on a piece of choreography to Taio Cruz's "Dynamite," which the kids have been singing constantly all summer. I'm actually borrowing my sister's choreography, and I told the kids this yesterday, which led to a storm of questions, including about five kids asking how old my sister is. (They don't listen to each other...or me, most of the time.) I said she's eighteen, and they all went, "Cool!!" Then someone asked me how old I am, a question I've gotten periodically all summer, and one I don't mind answering because I think they definitely have a right to be curious about their teachers' lives. Before I could answer, though, one of my little boys, Matthew, shouts indignantly, "You never ask a girl how old she is!!" After I stopped laughing, I told the kids that that's a good rule to follow when you're talking to a grown-up you don't know very well, but it's okay to ask questions of the teachers because they know us well. Little moments like that totally make this job worthwhile. :)