A Day at School

Last week, I volunteered in Annabelle's classroom.  Because of budget cuts, almost all teacher aides have been cut from our school district.  Now teacher aides, especially in Kindergarten, are so vital to teachers.  Trying to teach 22 children the fundamentals of all learning, letters, numbers, math, reading along with showing them how to be good, constructive people in their communities, is hard work.  A full time teacher's aide is invaluable until there isn't the money to pay them.  Now parents are asked to come and volunteer whenever they can and being a very lucky, SAHM, I obviously jumped at the chance to see my girl in action.

My job was to help them make a scarecrow, which meant helping with cutting, gluing and drawing.  Annabelle was so excited to see me there and I must have gotten about 10,000 kisses and hugs in the hour and a half I was there.  But I was a little concerned.  It took her the whole hour and a half to finish her seat work.  Now she did get called out by nurse for a quick eye test, plus she worked with me and with her teacher, Mrs. Tripi.  But every other student was finished and doing fun center work even though hey were pulled out for all of the same things.  Reading and puzzles and games.

When she brought her worksheet home the next day, I saw why it took her so long.

Some of the normal papers we get home.  No coloring and she forgot to put her name on it.  She did the bare minimum and nothing more.

This is what she did while I was there.  Everything was colored nice and neat.  She cut her lines straight and didn't go overboard on the glue.

When I asked why the two papers looked so different, she told me she did her best job.  So that I would be proud of her.  And I am.