Teaching Kindergarten

A few weeks ago, I was sitting with a few moms chatting about something and one mom said, "I could never be a teacher. Imagine trying to pretend all day long that you love someone else's kids. I couldn't do it."

Let me just say that this is so not me. As cheesy as it sounds, I just love kids. I fall in love with them quickly. And kids in Kindergarten are proving to be the best so far. I just love my class.

Now, there are many reasons that teaching Kindergarten can be challenging and exhausting, but there are so many reasons why it is hilarious and uplifting too.

First of all, you can never have low self esteem when you are a K teacher. They are constantly complimenting you. I hear the following at least 5 times a day. "Mrs. Hildebrand, I like your ________." Really, insert any word here. Clothes, dress, shoes, hair, toes, fingers, eyes. You really do start to think you are amazing and beautiful after a few days of these compliments.

And then you get one of these:
"Mrs. Hillaban, I like your hair. I like when you try."

Ummm... pardon me? "What do you mean, dear sweet child?"

"Well, somedays, you just wear your hair down like you just got out of bed. I like when you try to do something with it, like a ponytail."

Ahem. I'll have you know, it takes me about 45 minutes of prep time to wear my hair down. I do not simply roll out of bed and have amazingly curled hair. But I'm so glad you like when I "try" by throwing my hair up in a ponytail.

Oooh... or how about this story?
One day I was wearing a dress and a boy was standing by me rubbing the side of my leg with his hand. Because kinder kids are very tactile and basically like feeling things, I didn't think much of it. Suddenly he stops moving his hand, looks up at me, and asks, "Mrs. Hildebrand, are you not wearing any underwear?"

Again, AHEM. Let me state a few obvious points, but first I will again say, he was rubbing my LEG. First off, yes, I am wearing underwear. I do that every single day. Secondly, you are rubbing my leg. My LEG. Even if I was wearing the largest pair I could possibly own, he would not have felt them on the side of my leg. Thirdly, I am teaching kindergarten in a dress. 9 times out of 10, I'm wearing long tights under my dress just to be sure I can get down on their level. I'm not about to add excitement into my day by skipping my skivvies, young man.

Although I had so many responses running through my head, I simply looked down, removed his hand, and said, "I absolutely am."

This year is shaping up to be the most interesting teaching year I've had in a long time.

Walking Thesaurus

Gavin - "Mommy - I like your gorgeous gown you have on today."

Me - "Hmmm do you mean my pretty dress, Gavin?"

Gavin - "Well, pretty and gorgeous are the same. Dress and gown are the same. So you are wearing a gorgeous gown."

Me - "Well, it's not the prom, but thanks, Buddy."

Just a glimpse into the daily conversations with this guy.

First day of school

Remember, way back like a month and a half ago, there was a first day of school? Yeah, I really don't either. However, I did take pictures, my kids did have a great day, and we are now all settled into routine. Grade 2 for this beauty! When did that happen?

And this guy - he was slightly excited.

It was a bit of a rough start for this guy, who decided on the 2nd day of school to just come home... at 9:00 a.m. Thank God for the angels around him and for the sweet gem of a friend who found him running away from school and contacted me. Hopefully those days are behind us and it's smooth sailing from now on.

Silhouette

I've had this amazing canvas on my wall for three years. It's beautiful and I love all that it represents. When I was pregnant with Eli, I mentioned to Chris that I was sad that we'd have to take it down because it didn't have our whole family.

Then I begged my amazing photographer friend to replicate the photo now that our family is complete. I was so worried that we wouldn't get "the shot."

I shouldn't have worried.

The chapter ends...

This summer I had to make a difficult decision. I was torn with what to do. I've been a small business owner for almost 4 years, and although we were still making money, I don't do anything halfway, and knew that it could be doing better. Basically, it came down to me needing to invest more time into the business to build up my clientele. But when I thought about the time that I would need to spend at the office, I would become filled with dread. I felt like I was already always gone from my family, and I just couldn't figure out how it was all supposed to work. I was stressing, a lot.

And then, I read this...

And it became clear. This chapter of my life was ending, and that was okay. With the support of my wonderful husband, we decided to close shop. It was a hard, hard decision. I've loved working with IP and loved working with all my clients and a huge part of me felt like I was letting people down, but I kept reminding myself what was most important.
This.

Time with these guys is far more important than anything I can accomplish with my business. I've been trying to do it all for too long... owning a business, coaching clients, being a mom and a wife and teaching... Oy. Then this year, I was given the privilege of teaching Kindergarten and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to keep up all that I had been doing. Once we had decided to close, I felt reassured many times and for many reasons that it was the right decision. So I had to say good bye.

And so, on Monday night, we packed everything up, closed the office, and I stood and hugged my husband and cried many tears. It was a hard, hard good bye.

And so for now, I will enjoy this quiet life of mine with those that I love.