Work II

Then, before we do anything else, we have to wipe all their hands and faces down. Let me tell you, these kids can take ANY food that you can think of, and get it all over their faces. Anything. One skittle can spread sticky green goo all over a kids fingers and face, due to the taking it out to inspect it every few seconds. Animal crackers can do the same, though this one I won't elaborate on. I'll just say the kids seem to have a difficult time always leaving their chewed food in their mouths....chins and hands are ever popular places for graham cracker/saliva mixtures.

After that joyous activity, we go to centers. We have four or five centers, depending on the day, for fifteen minutes apiece. We have Manipulative Games, Home Living, Art, Gross Motor, and Spanish. Yes, my twos are learning Spanish. "ROJO!!! A-ZOOOL!"

Manipulative Games consists of mostly matching games, though on good days we make kites out of graham crackers, frosting, and licorice. (Though, after the kites, more wiping does ensue).

Home Living is something like a grocery store, or doctor's office, or fire station, where kids get to pretend to be grown ups. Art is always stressful- imagine five two-year-olds with paint brushes in hand and no reservations about painting on their clothes, the floor, or me.

Then Gross Motor, which is where they each get some type of those little kid computers, a Leap Frog or something, and they push a million buttons and get nothing they're supposed to done.

Spanish is where they learn colors and numbers and after a good ten minutes of Spanish, after Hayley holds up the card with green on it, and hopefully asks, "What color is this?" we usually hear "Rojo!" and "Greeeeeen!" mixed together. Rojo's really the only one they remember.

After all our centers, it's about five. I herd my group back to our room and we meet with whoever is still there. Now it's potty time! The potty-trained ones are easy, we just have to make sure they wash their hands. But changing diapers is another story. Not one that I'll give detail on, however! Let's just say that for five minutes every day, I wonder why I decided to work at a daycare.

Then we go to our second snack, which is ALWAYS animal crackers and water, so they don't spoil their appetites for dinner. They get four animal crackers, and no more. For some reason, the elephants are the very best animal for the twos to get, so it takes a while to eat snack because they're often too busy celebrating their elephants. After about fifteen minutes, we traipse back to the room and watch a movie. It's usually something with Elmo in it (who I can't stand), The Wiggles, or Blue's Clues.

Around five thirty, I go down to the three-fives' room and help the girl who works in that room, Allie, clean her room, and at six, I go home.

So you can see that a day at work isn't necessarily long, but it isn't super easy either. I really can't complain, though. I love going in to work not to deal with a snotty customer, but a kid who's really excited about the scribbles he drew that he claims are Optimus Prime.