Sunday, October 28, 2007
What Have I Done?
I have officially jumped off of the bridge of sanity and am falling head first into the abyss of the insane. Wednesday is Halloween, perhaps one of the most enjoyable not-really-a-holiday-holidays to celebrate with preschoolers. Nothing is cuter than three year olds dressed up in costumes and filled from toes to eye brows with excitement about the fact that, while they may not understand what on earth this is about, they know something fun is going to happen. However, nothing is more stressful than a classroom full of parents expecting you to not only show off your wonderful abilities as a teacher but to entertain them and their children for an hour with creative and enthralling activities. And what did I do for Halloween? I invited the parents of all 10 of my little ones to an hour long party! Oh what have I done! They are expecting crafts, games, activities, entertainment, fun and a demonstration of the wonderful world of preschool. Is it too late to hire a substitute? Anybody instersted? Don't all come running at once! So far I have suckered...um, convinced...um, my very nice friend and the parent of one of my little ones has volunteered (okay, so I asked politely but offerd plenty of opportunities for her to say no) to do face painting for the kids. We also have treats to decorate with frosting and Holloween candies/sprinkles. I plan on setting up our ball pit with its four bags of balls which means a lot of work (cleaning all of the balls before and afterwards - dratted MRSA infection marching through our district) but should be entertaining and I can set my assistant up to play referee to limit the injuries. If I am desperate I can set the swing up - but only BEFORE we eat our endless sweets that parents are providing (I am so not catching any vomit on Halloween - that's what the parents are there for!). I have some games we can play for prizes - toddler basketball, bowling for ghosts (pop cans covered with white tissue paper). That sounds like a party to me. Besides, they are three years old. I think a few balloons and the ball pit would be enough to entertain them. As for the parents - they are always welcome but in large numbers I still get nervous like I have to put on a song and dance or something. Maybe that will go away as I teach more years...or I will learn to sing and dance. :) And performing while in costume - bonus! Yes, I will be the dork dressed as Raggedy Ann! Try finding a costume that is preschool appropriate, not scary, not trampy, readily washable, and that will not become indecent while doing preschool acrobatics (i.e. chasing a child down the hall, helping a child on the playground, circle time). Its even harder when anything with a wig, mask, or face paint is scary as is anything too "not normal" (i.e. the teacher dressed as a cow is going to scare the crap out of my kids - should be fun!). I really enjoy having parents come in the classroom, and I enjoy our parties, but it stresses me out so much beforehand. Especially this year when I have taken on extra students, when my assistant leaves (a lot) to be desired, and I still feel like I am chasing myself in circles. I think it will be lots of fun, but right now I am wondering what on earth have I done????
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