I wish I could stay home and play all day....
Sometimes I wonder if parents know what their daycare providers really do in a day. All too often, I hear "Gee, I sure wish I could just play with the kids all day" when a child is dropped off.
If only they knew.
Today, for example. H won "Citizen of the Month" at school, which meant she got to go have pizza with the principal. So I had to take her to school early, at a time when C (my daycare boy) is normally dropped off by the bus at our house. To make things easy on everyone, I spoke to both his mom and dad AND send home a written note asking them to let the school and transportation know I would pick him up today. NO PROBLEM, they both told me.
I passed no bus on the way to school. There was no bus at the school either, so I figured we were in the clear.
So silly of me.
He wasn't outside, so I assumed he was waiting in the office. H asked me to walk her in, and I said sure. Problem #1 - I forgot to swap our single stroller out for the double stroller. That's okay, I'll put S in, carry B, and A, R, & L can all walk with H.
We do great... right up to the front door, where I set B down to open the door and he immediately collapsed into a little crumpled heap and begins bawling piteously.
R meanwhile takes one look at the school and literally freaks out, shrieking "NO NO NO" and slamming on the brakes.
I manage to wrangle everyone inside the door, where H spies the other kindy teacher and tells me bye as she takes off. A is convinced she too is having lunch with the principal, so she and L follow along behind H. I'm calling them back while trying to fight with a stroller that doesn't want to go, carrying a snotty 21mo child and more or less dragging the dead weight 2.5yo.
The girls come back and we head to the office. No C. So I tell the secretary I'm here to pick him up and I'm not sure where he is.
She asks if they know I'm coming for him. They should, I tell her. I told both his parents yesterday AND sent a written note home, and thy were supposed to call the school and transportation.
But naturally they didn't, and C is now on the bus and headed to my house.
The secretary gives ME hell and tells me his parents need to call and let them know. I nicely tell her (AGAIN) they were supposed to, and apologize. She calls the bus and says she's waiting for a call back.
So I get the brilliant idea to take 5 kids down to the kindergarten rooms to pick an angel off their angel tree of classroom wishes. Smart. Bloody brilliant, as a matter of fact.
I love hearing second graders saying "OH WOW, did you see her? She's got FIVE KIDS!".
"Seven," I told them. "I've got two in kindergarten."
Down at the angel tree, A is still freaking out about wanting to stay at school, so I let her choose the angel and carry it out. Except because she's 3, and 3yo's believe in laws of physics unknown to any other humans, she wants to stick the angel on her shirt. And when she keeps dropping it in the hallway, she flips out. Oh yeah, she's dragging her (empty) rolling Dora backpack along behind her, but putting the angel in there isn't good enough.
We make it back to the offive and I'm only missing two chunks of hair. R is still freaking out big time. L is being a gem and admiring all the pretty Christmas decorations in her squeaky 2yo voice. B is wiping his disgusting ropes of snot on the leg of my jeans and crying pitifully. S is sitting in the stroller, happy as can be, shrieking "HI!" in his big happy voice to anyone who will look at him. A is flipping out about the angel.
The secretary tells me the bus is turning around and bringing him back, and then chastises me again for them not calling. Whatever. I told the parents. Give THEM hell, not me.
The counsellor materializes out of nowhere and asks if she can help. This angel produces a safety pin that we use to pin the angel on A's shirt. I could have kissed the woman then and there!!
Managed to get everyone back out to the van and fastened into carseats before the bus arrives. When it did, I hopped out and ran over to apologize to the driver.
"No worries!", she tells me. "We had a great chat and I had to take someone to the 7th grade center anyways! Have a great day!"
Back home, it's another round of 4 diaper changes, followed by making sure everyone washed their hands WITH soap and water and getting lunch prepared, only to be told "I don't LIKE mac & cheese" or something else. Clean everyone up, put everyone down for naps, and survey my now totally trashed kitchen.
And silently curse the parents who say they wish they could stay home and play all day, yet can't remember to call the school and transportation.
Really though, I love my job. Well... I don't love the poopy diapers. But I love things like having my special needs kid come flying up with his folder to show me he had a Good Behavior Day and he learned to write his name!! Or having the stinker 2.5yo who has FINALLY decided to talk (and now never shuts up) saying "Hey K, Hey K!" all day and LAUGHING like a maniac when I say "Hey R!" right back to him. Or listening to the giggles from the backseat as B finally starts to come out of his shell a little bit and make new friends.
If only they knew.
Today, for example. H won "Citizen of the Month" at school, which meant she got to go have pizza with the principal. So I had to take her to school early, at a time when C (my daycare boy) is normally dropped off by the bus at our house. To make things easy on everyone, I spoke to both his mom and dad AND send home a written note asking them to let the school and transportation know I would pick him up today. NO PROBLEM, they both told me.
I passed no bus on the way to school. There was no bus at the school either, so I figured we were in the clear.
So silly of me.
He wasn't outside, so I assumed he was waiting in the office. H asked me to walk her in, and I said sure. Problem #1 - I forgot to swap our single stroller out for the double stroller. That's okay, I'll put S in, carry B, and A, R, & L can all walk with H.
We do great... right up to the front door, where I set B down to open the door and he immediately collapsed into a little crumpled heap and begins bawling piteously.
R meanwhile takes one look at the school and literally freaks out, shrieking "NO NO NO" and slamming on the brakes.
I manage to wrangle everyone inside the door, where H spies the other kindy teacher and tells me bye as she takes off. A is convinced she too is having lunch with the principal, so she and L follow along behind H. I'm calling them back while trying to fight with a stroller that doesn't want to go, carrying a snotty 21mo child and more or less dragging the dead weight 2.5yo.
The girls come back and we head to the office. No C. So I tell the secretary I'm here to pick him up and I'm not sure where he is.
She asks if they know I'm coming for him. They should, I tell her. I told both his parents yesterday AND sent a written note home, and thy were supposed to call the school and transportation.
But naturally they didn't, and C is now on the bus and headed to my house.
The secretary gives ME hell and tells me his parents need to call and let them know. I nicely tell her (AGAIN) they were supposed to, and apologize. She calls the bus and says she's waiting for a call back.
So I get the brilliant idea to take 5 kids down to the kindergarten rooms to pick an angel off their angel tree of classroom wishes. Smart. Bloody brilliant, as a matter of fact.
I love hearing second graders saying "OH WOW, did you see her? She's got FIVE KIDS!".
"Seven," I told them. "I've got two in kindergarten."
Down at the angel tree, A is still freaking out about wanting to stay at school, so I let her choose the angel and carry it out. Except because she's 3, and 3yo's believe in laws of physics unknown to any other humans, she wants to stick the angel on her shirt. And when she keeps dropping it in the hallway, she flips out. Oh yeah, she's dragging her (empty) rolling Dora backpack along behind her, but putting the angel in there isn't good enough.
We make it back to the offive and I'm only missing two chunks of hair. R is still freaking out big time. L is being a gem and admiring all the pretty Christmas decorations in her squeaky 2yo voice. B is wiping his disgusting ropes of snot on the leg of my jeans and crying pitifully. S is sitting in the stroller, happy as can be, shrieking "HI!" in his big happy voice to anyone who will look at him. A is flipping out about the angel.
The secretary tells me the bus is turning around and bringing him back, and then chastises me again for them not calling. Whatever. I told the parents. Give THEM hell, not me.
The counsellor materializes out of nowhere and asks if she can help. This angel produces a safety pin that we use to pin the angel on A's shirt. I could have kissed the woman then and there!!
Managed to get everyone back out to the van and fastened into carseats before the bus arrives. When it did, I hopped out and ran over to apologize to the driver.
"No worries!", she tells me. "We had a great chat and I had to take someone to the 7th grade center anyways! Have a great day!"
Back home, it's another round of 4 diaper changes, followed by making sure everyone washed their hands WITH soap and water and getting lunch prepared, only to be told "I don't LIKE mac & cheese" or something else. Clean everyone up, put everyone down for naps, and survey my now totally trashed kitchen.
And silently curse the parents who say they wish they could stay home and play all day, yet can't remember to call the school and transportation.
Really though, I love my job. Well... I don't love the poopy diapers. But I love things like having my special needs kid come flying up with his folder to show me he had a Good Behavior Day and he learned to write his name!! Or having the stinker 2.5yo who has FINALLY decided to talk (and now never shuts up) saying "Hey K, Hey K!" all day and LAUGHING like a maniac when I say "Hey R!" right back to him. Or listening to the giggles from the backseat as B finally starts to come out of his shell a little bit and make new friends.
posted by KB at 1:45 PM
4 Comments:
Oh, I have NO illusions what my daycare people have to go through. I can't handle my 15 month old and a dog by myself. How they handles a roomfull of them (kids, not dogs) is beyond me. I know the destruction that my kid can wreck all by myself. At his last conference, I was told that he now has a partner in crime. All they both look so innocent...
I think I see the beginnings of one great book..."...No, I have two in Kindergarten"! Should be a blockbuster! If your kids' parents don't say it: Thank you.
Is it wrong that I was laughing while reading that escapade? I could TOTALLY picture myself in the office with the snot and the crying over the angel and the confusion... Except for the 7 kids. 3 is WAY enough for me. Kudos to you! You get my applause woman. Now have a drink tonight!
I've never thought that about my daycare provider!!! But then I know what a stubborn, strong willed, LOUD little boy I have... I know he's not the easiest kid around. I wish he was... I so wish he was... But I guess if he wasn't strong willed and stubborn he wouldn't be my little dude , would he?
I hope the rest of your day was better! TTYL
Thanks for the boost about daycare- it nice to know that someone would be happy to have him, tantrums and all!!
As for my nephews name... Take the last 6 letters of atmoSphere and you'll have his name! It's... ummm... err.... unique?
And apparently has "deep spiritual meaning." Sigh... she's a dingbat.
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