MonkeyPants

Whoosh!

...And the school year is underway!

I have a great mix of kids I know and kids who are new this year. It’s so fun to see how some of my summer students are adjusting to the new year (“Grade five is hard! I want to go back to Grade four!”) and awesome to see some kids who took the summer off (“I saw a sheep! In the Rocky Mountains! And I remembered what you said, so I didn’t try to pet it.”).

I seem to have a crop of some very little ones this year: K to 2 kids who can barely see over the table, some of whom are too shy to actually speak yet. But since I have had kids electively mute for close to 9 months before, that’s nothing new. I did go and buy some firm cushions for boosters for the really little ones. Otherwise they sometimes try to climb on the table in an effort to see what’s going on. I’m hoping that the booster pillows will make the tiny ones more comfortable.

The worst part about my job, especially now, meeting and re-meeting kids, is knowing that some mothers will hear about another academy from other mothers, who swear that THAT academy is the best, and I’ll lose some kids to some other after-school place, where I can’t answer their questions and hear about their lives. I hate that, but there’s not a lot I can do, other than encourage my students to be happy and comfortable (and therefore learn easily and well).

The best part, especially at this time of year, is knowing how much some of the kids that stay will grow and gain confidence and take the comfort they feel in my room out into the wider world. I know that sounds egotistical, but I also know a student is more likely to speak up in a class of three than a class of thirty.

I’m going to encourage them all I can. Come on, 08-09 School Year! I’m ready for you!