It's finally happening....

I realized the other day as I was driving the six minutes it takes me to get to my school that I'm starting to look forward to going to work. I was planning what we were doing for the day and mentally locating the supplies and figuring out what we'd play in the gym. I was looking forward to the afternoon.

I look forward to it more in the afternoons, after all, humans weren't meant to get out of bed before noon.*  **

*If you ask me.

**No one has asked me.
I have a nice group of kids. 10 registered, never more than 8 at a time. There are a couple who attend only in the morning and a couple that only come in the afternoon.

If I could change the mix a bit, I would want a couple more girls in the group.

It's not that the boys misbehave or that I don't like them, it's that the girls are so few that when one leaves in the afternoons or one doesn't come in the morning, the one left is lonely.

I do have one small girl who comes right after school, but she's only with us a half hour per day, then her mom comes to get her. It's a situation where Mom gets off work and has to drive out this direction during a busy time. Can't have a 5 year old girl person going home alone. She's a cutie. I wish she stayed longer in the afternoons.

But things are becoming routine. Finally.
The room looks pretty much the way I want it to. The walls are covered with brightly colored tri fold boards with different themes. 

And let's not forget the children's art work, also mounted on the wall.
We made some collages this week with the painted papers we'd done.

Meow.

That's a whale of a picture...

Meow again.

Grasshopper. See the wing?

Do I have to make an animal?
No.
Okay. I'll make something *I* like.
And he did.

Remember how I said I get to play, too?

We're gearing up for making a holiday ornament or decoration every single day for the month of December.

Having a smaller group of kids has its good side. One of the good things is that not only can we do more elaborate projects, but I get to create a bit, too.

Also, I'm finally starting to have a little time to rummage through the back room and toss out things we don't need or won't use.

Went through a big tub of play doh this week and got all the dried chunks and half-empty containers of dough and threw them out. And I let the kids get all the tools and stuff out and spend an hour or so on Thursday morning playing with it.

We had some Floam in big ziploc bags, no way of telling how long it had been sitting there, but it was all dried out, too. Also into the trash.

I had to show up at a meeting Thursday morning at the main office. While I was there, Annie, who is the curriculum/supply person asked me where my supply list was. I told her that I really don't need anything except the water color paper I'd mentioned in an email.

I get the big sheets from an education supply place and then cut them into usable sizes. There are 25 giant sheets in a stack, I can usually get at least 100 pages from that. With a group of 10 kids, that will last awhile.

She expressed concern that I was spending my own money on my program.
I am, a bit. But I can't ask them to buy me the dollhouse I found on Craigslist, they'd order me some damn thing I don't even want.

I already have enough shit on site that I don't want!! And I can't ask for something when I don't know I need it, either.

For example, week before last, Lyssa and I were at the craft store and I found these perfect little penguins. They're exactly what I need to make little snowglobes with the kids. They weren't cheap, but not terribly expensive, either. I think it was 3.99 for six of them, I bought two packages. I could turn in the receipts for them, but I don't want to deal with long explanations etc... so I just bought them. I certainly spent enough money on my other job that a little here and there on this job won't really be noticed much.

I have so much crafty stuff here at the house that I really am not going to need to buy much other stuff for our holiday crafts anyway.

There are a lot of advantages in having a small group.
The kids get to make some really nice projects.

In case you didn't know... I paid for the large group to make them, too. I just want kids to have nice things to give to their families during the holidaze. I want the kids to be excited about what they're making. I want parents to look at the little projects and say that they're outstanding. I want kids to have fun and make stuff and learn things and not hate going to day care.

So things are getting where I want them.

On my wish list... developing a good working relationship with staff at the school. Our program is tucked away at the end of a hall near the gym. The school was originally built as a middle school, and our space used to be the locker rooms/showers.

It doesn't look much like a locker room now, but I can't do much about the location. I don't see school staff much. I make it a point to stop by and talk to them every afternoon on my way in, but they're busy and I don't want to be a pain in the ass.

I buy them cookies now and then.
Tell them funny stuff that the kids do, (I told them about Billy saying his dad was a dick, for example) and wish them a good afternoon. We talk about the wind. I call them on occasion with a question or to get their help in tracking down a custodian. Coordinate with them when I am missing a child. It takes time to build those relationships. I'm doing the best I can.

I don't feel off balance the way I did at the beginning of the year. Thanks to me, the place looks nice, the kids have a lot of things to do that they've never had before, and the company I work for has someone in that location who actually wants to be there.

I have to admit that I'm looking forward to having a four day weekend over Thanksgiving, though. I'm working more hours here than I did at my last job and because of all the emotional upheaval, I've been exhausted more than I'd like.

But things are smoothing out.

We painted more papers last week, the kids wanted to try some other projects.
I think that's one of my favorite things about working with children... helping them discover something and then watching them just take off with it.