Catching Teacher

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. -George Bernard Shaw

Their eyes are gleaming in anticipation. White teeth glinting. They stomp eagerly at the line, aching to dart forward, but are held back by the invisible force of command. I begin inching backwards, knowing that if I move too quickly the tenable control we have will break, and I may not be able to get it back before the damage has been done. 

I stretch my legs a little bit, all the while watching them carefully. Looking for signs that one of them might snap. They chatter excitedly, fidgeting, but they stay behind the line. Taking a couple steps backwards I look over at the others then nod. They back away from the sides of the line, leaving me alone to face the eight kindergartners twitching for the signal to charge into the playground. 

Eyeing them suspiciously I address my little pack: "Now, remember, we run when I say 'go'." 

Shouts of agreement come from the group, and I nod approvingly. Taking another step back to give myself a little bit of a start I yell, "On your mark.....get seeettttt. Broccoli!"

Groans and giggles fill the other air, and the older kids who are used to my antics roll their eyes. 

"Alright, alright, alright. On your mark....get seeettttt... choco songi!"

More giggles from the kids and this time an eyeroll from the co-teachers in the back. I'm having a great time, but based on the enthusiastic jumping from our smallest, my time is limited. As I begin the final call, I pivot, and as I yell ''GO!" I turn and start running for my life as 16 little legs pound not too far behind. 

I dash around the slides, and head for the smaller playset on the other side. It's a strategic position as there's a small stone wall about a foot tall separating the two sections of the playground. It's about twenty feet long, with a small break in the middle. I can jump over it no problem, but even our biggest has to slow down to clamber over it, and it buys me precious seconds to pause and catch a breath. But it doesn't last for long, as they're slowly learning not to all bottle neck in one access point, and they've started breaking out into one long wave of kids. Fortunately, a lot of these kids are not very experienced taggers. If they were, I wouldn't let them get anywhere near as close as I do now. 

Full disclosure, I'm not a quiet target. I shriek, I scream, I babble at them not to get too close while simultaneously egging them on. It's loud, it's obnoxious, it's way too much fun. There's a short line of bushes that separates the play ground from the bus stop next to us, and I've caught a couple raised eyebrows from the grannies watching as I zoom by, with a horde of the littles hot on my tail. 

Sometimes there's a young mom out there with her toddler, which is like the boss level of tag for all of us. The kids slow down and give her a wide birth, but they also can use her to herd me because they know I'm going to avoid that part of the playground. 

This is generally when I have to start playing dirty, and resort to things like jumping over the teetertotters instead of running around them causing an equal jump from the eyebrows of the watching grannies. But like all good things, the running must come to an end, or I'll end up getting run to the ground, so inevitably I get caught.

Generally it's always one of the littlest ones who catch me, as they're the most committed, but there's also the law of the youngest, and though it's unspoken, everyone honors it. I let them cut corners, the big kids have to prove themselves. 

I've only been caught once on accident. I had lost track of Lila in my hurry to escape someone else, and she ran right into me from the side. I've gotten sneakier since then, but so have they, and each time they get a little wiser, and a little faster. I joke to Chloe Teacher that I'm going to have to start running, and it's really not all that much of a joke. They're going to start catching me for real these days if I don't start training. 

Then once I've been sufficiently captured, there is a wild dash to the playsets. I bounce around from group to group, sometimes rocking kids on the teetertotters, other times commanding the merry-go-round, sometimes riding the merry-go-round (which always leaves me super dizzy and nauseous afterwards, but it just looks so fun that I forget what happens until it's too late), sometimes playing the monster in the playground, sometimes getting eaten by the monster on the playground. 

 

Friday we did a few rounds of an Easter Egg hunt before playground time, and I have to say, Hayley and I out-hid everyone when each of us bunned an egg into our hair. The giggling and shrieks from the kids when they realized what had happened was pure magic. I may have lost a little hair from some over-enthusiastic tugs when the youngest tried to help me get mine out, but it was entirely worth it. 

Waiting for the Easter Candy...

While it was hardly the finish to my day, it was a great end for the kindergarten classes, and that was all that matters. 

When people hear about the hours for my job and the age levels, they always ask "but isn't kindergarten hard? Wouldn't you rather teach elementary and middle school?". The short answer is no. The long answer is "no, yeah, no."

-Shayla

PS...While the smiley faces are necessary to help protect the privacy of my kiddos, please know that great effort went into their selection, and these are true to life. Enjoy.