So I volunteered to help teach 2-year-old Sunday School... It's a blast, really, because it is so different from my normal milieu of 6th graders. 6th graders can work with each other to solve problems or play games or whatever. 2-year-olds...? Not so much. At that age kids can play near each other, but they don't really even notice other kids or play cooperatively together until they are a bit older. So we had a lot of stations where individual kids could play house or play with cars & trucks or color with crayons.
I did the music. Almost every kid wanted to touch my guitar before we sang. So we lined them up and they each got a chance to strum. It was really cute. We also gave them each a tambourine to use during singing- some of them took full advantage of the noise making ability, others just sat and examined the construction of the instrument while the music went on around them. That's ok, everyone is in a different place in their learning.
One little girl in particular cracked me up. Upon entering the room, she pointed at my feet and said, "Fa fa". I interpreted this as "flip flops" because I was wearing flip flops and I asked her if she wanted to try them on. Without hesitation she plopped herself on the floor and un-velcroed her little sandals. I slip off my flips and pushed them toward her. She got her little feet into them and went marching around the room- big smile on her face. They looked like snowshoes on her. Then I put my big toe into her sandals and showed her how I walked in her shoes. Made her laugh. Nothing cuter than a laughing 2-year-old!
As far as my day job goes, it was a great start to the school year. I have some fantastic kids in my classes and I am looking forward to a really good year with them. I don't think it will be as stressful as last year, and I am pretty sure the test scores won't slide like they did last year.
Now if only my kiddo and I could move into that short-sale house and quit living like we're in a dorm down in the folks' basement...