It's a circus. That's probably why there's a monkey (wrench)

My sidekick has some personal stuff going on and won't be starting the school year with me.

I'm disappointed because it's easier to start a new school year with the same person I've worked with for a year. He needs the time off, and I want him to take whatever personal time is necessary, but I'll miss him. We work well together in that way that happens after you've worked with someone for awhile. He knows how I prefer my site to run and is enthusiastically on board and in agreement with me regarding a token economy and why it's a crummy thing.

The site where Lyssa is working has a site teacher who is in need of some coaching.
I've heard a bit about her. Had a meeting with an upper manager person on Friday. They're moving her to my site until Jim comes back.

Lyssa says that one of the issues is that Melody wants the kids to touch her. As in hugs and high fives. That she has no concept of personal space, saying out loud when the director brought it up with her, "Well I'd never hurt a kid."

She's one of the adults who gets an emotional rush from kid attention.
An adoration junkie.
We just talked about this in my last post.
Great. Just what I need.

So I'll be dealing with that right away.

Also right away? A full program. All the zones set up plus a new one this year for dramatic play. From the moment kids walk into the cafeteria, they will have many choices available to them for ways to fill their time.

The site where Lyssa is working is a bare bones site. Not enough for kids to do. Predictably. So Lyssa, being Lyssa, was willing to bring in some extras.
Do some projects with the kids.
But no.
The site director where Lyssa is working doesn't want the kids doing special projects or getting anything 'extra' to play with/do until they 'learn expectations'.

Translated, that means, "Until you do what I want, in the way I want you to do it, you aren't going to be allowed to have fun or figure out things for yourself here."

Or more simply, "Sit down. Shut up while I talk. Do what you're told."

Good god.

Making sure kids have fun, which is one of our core values, has been reduced to another token/reward. A thing to withhold.

This site director sits the kids down ON THE CARPET every afternoon and goes over every rule.

Every.
Nitpicky.
Arbitrary.
Power tripping.
I'm the boss.
Rule.

I can't say this enough. Children may not have the words or life experience to express how they feel when an adult is looming over them physically, but they do understand the symbolism.

Consider this idea.
You're a new hire at some company or another. On day one, you and 25 other new hires are shown to a meeting room. Tables, chairs, maybe a big TV on the wall.

The trainer/onboarding person tells you to,  "Sit on the floor. Not just anywhere on the floor. Just this one area."

So because you're anxious to do a good job, you do as you're told. But no, that's not good enough. "You must sit a certain way. Hands in your lap, legs crossed. No fidgeting. No talking. We have a lot to cover."

Is this something that would work for you as an adult in a new job?
No?
Then WHY would you think it's okay to treat another human being that way?

If you were treated like that as a child, I'm sorry. It's mean. But don't continue to do it to 'your' kids. Do better.

Why are we doing this to kids that we're supposed to care about? If the adult in charge isn't smart enough to seat all the kids at a table or two, then those adults need to be educated.

Sit down at tables and speak with the young humans as equals. They're no less human than you are, they just haven't been doing it as long.

And you don't need to have a 20 minute lecture every day, either.

Kids who have been cooped up all day in school really need some time to unwind. And some free choices/activities to unwind with. Yes, they need to know what's expected of them, but it's not that hard to communicate as you go.

You'll need to keep an eye on things and intervene quite a bit at first.
But kids are smart. Most of the time, they want to do the right thing.

You're acting like someone gave you a tribe of Wild Things to tame.

These are not my Wild Things.

No. Just no.

There's a difference between communicating and being ridiculously overbearing/power tripping.

The company wants us to meet with the kids every day, let them know what's going on for the afternoon, what activity is planned, etc. Sometimes it's necessary to remind them about a specific safety rule or discuss hand washing. Whatever. That's okay. If they don't know, they don't know. But once you've told them, they DO know. It's no longer your job to inform them, it's your function to remind them as needed.

You don't need to remind every single one, though. If Wild Thing #1 isn't getting his hands clean, go watch him wash. No need to lecture the other 25 Wild Things when they already know and do what they're supposed to.

These are also not my Wild Things.

Sadly, there are some sites who go over all the rules and expectations.
Every.
Single.
Day.

That's so disrespectful to kids.
No words are strong enough to really explain it.

They go over the whole list along with what rewards the children will get for 'being good'. The whole stickers and prizes and trinkets and hearty 'you're soooo wonderful because you did my bidding' vibe. Blech. Makes me want to puke.

Condescending people aren't fun. Period.

If the majority of your decisions in this line of work involve gate keeping the fun and controlling the kids, you really should be doing something different with your time.

Put it this way.
Are we doing things TO children or are we doing things FOR children?