care circles | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

It only really hit me on Friday that the end had come. I have been taking it one day at a time, sticking to routine, enjoying the specialness of each precious little girl and not thinking about the fact that I would soon be sending them on to the next teacher!

Of course we had spoken about how they felt about moving on in a care circle. This is what they said: “I am a little bit nervous but I’m also excited” “I am looking forward to learning new things” “I know in Grade 2 I will learn about birds and bats and that’s exciting” “We’re going to build things and I like that” “I will miss you and I hope my new teacher will be kind” “I want you to be our new Grade 2 teacher!”

Who the new teacher would be was a closely kept secret. They’re all going up together so their was a great deal of speculation as to who it could be – was it the teacher who took last year’s girls? I told them it could be anybody – Maybe Coach K (Grade 7 male teacher) would come down to teach Grade 2 – anything is possible. They shrieked in delight and at home time one reported to her dad – Coach K might be my new teacher!

Friday finally dawned. The girls arrived full of excitement and expectation. They were noisy, fidgety, over-the-top and I had to calm them down before we could do anything constructive. The choir girls (half my class) had to go off to practice so normal routine could not be followed. The remaining girls did some fun worksheets until the others returned. I just managed to complete handwriting when we all had to go to our Award Ceremony Practice. And that was that. We returned to pack up, tidy the classroom, have our snack and go out to break.

At 11 o’clock, armed with their stationery I took them to the meeting place. Mrs K announced who the Grade 2 teachers would be. My class were first and they cheered when they heard the great news that they were to be with pretty, young Miss Mey!

Waiting in anticipation

Where is Mrs Fenwick’s Class?

In the new classroom on a much bigger mat!

This is not the teacher were we were expecting!

She helps us too!

Do you like it?

While my girls were wrenched from my care I was left feeling rather bereft – I had no new little ones to welcome to soften the blow but I know I’ll get over it – there are new horizons for me too.

At the end of the day the girls returned content with the knowledge that they had landed on Planet Second Grade without mishap and the continuing journey is going to be just as exciting.

But it’s not quite over in Grade One yet! We have our Awards Ceremony on Monday, Tuesday – no school for you, girls. And on Wednesday we bid a final farewell to each other with a Teddy Bears’ Picnic – So remember to bring you favourite cuddly toy, a healthy snack, juice and a treat!

It’s a short blog this week and sorry folks – no photos.

At the best of times my life runs at a hectic pace and I like it like that. It keeps me interested and stimulated and I am never bored. This past week, though, the pace was more hectic than ever with dentist appointments, visa applications, bank problems, an unexpected school meeting to attend, an extra sports duty to perform, a midweek and Saturday play rehearsal and the culmination of a Bird Club function that I organised. So I have to confess – I got a tad behind in my marking! I’d love to say that next week will be calmer – but somehow, I doubt that!

For those parents who are reading this – don’t worry – I still managed to teach your brilliant children and my marking is now up to date! Throughout the term we continuously teach and assess and next week we will begin our report writing. Some assessments have to be done one on one with Grade Ones and so the little girls have had to work quietly on their own while their teacher tried to get through individuals as quickly as possible. Sitting still too long is of course not easy when your’re six or seven so I have to remember to get them up and moving often! The minute the noise level rises – we get up, do a movement song or go for a walk, change the task and then settle down again. I am proud that the girls are coping and cooperating.

Even when there is a rushed week of goings on the little dramas of small girls cannot be ignored. On Thursday I greeted my girls with the usual indication of how each one was feeling on a scale of 1 to 4 and one of my most cheerful entered with a one and was in fact very tearful. Her best friend was tearful and before long several others were snivelling too. The problem – her doggy was sick and had to be put down. We had a care circle . Wow ! She shared so eloquently how she felt that I had tears in my eyes. I hugged and she sobbed. The other girls were silent and then as the teddy was passed around they all had words of comfort. “He won’t be sore any more”. ” He will be like a puppy in doggy heaven.” “My doggy died and I still miss him but I know he’s happy in doggy heaven.”

Afterwards the doggy-bereaved child said, “I also have some good news. My friend is having a sleep-over with me and Mom’s going to make popcorn. And I’m getting a new puppy to keep my other dog company!” And the tears were dried and she moved on. Aren’t kids great! We can learn so much from them.