As a beginning teacher, where I live, you must do a period of substitute teaching before getting a teaching contract. Shortly after graduating from teacher's college, I was supply teaching in a kindergarten classroom, in a nearby city. Back then, some kindergarten kids went to school for a half day only. Kids either went in the morning or afternoon. It was like that when I was a kid too. It was truly the best of both worlds for me. Half a day school and half a day hanging out with my sweet Mom. When you are substitute teaching, and only have a half day assignment, it doesn't give you a chance to get to know the kids very well. When I arrived in the classroom that morning a sweet little ESL (English as a Second Language) student was very happy to see me. He proudly said with very calculated words "Good morning! I am John, and you are? I could see that English was indeed a factor and Romualdi is often a very hard name to remember and pronounce. To make it easier on the little guy, I said clearly and slowly, pointing to myself, "You can call me Mrs. R." John then sweetly replied without missing a beat, "Oh welcome, you can call me Mrs. R!" I didn't have the heart to correct him, nor did I think he would even understand my explanation, so I just left it at that. I walked away with a big smile and a very unforgettable welcome to kindergarten story to cherish. Sending you a smile, Dana Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust (Dana Romualdi) Tags: teaching memories, elementary teacher, substitute teacher, occasional teacher, classroom teacher, classroom stories, Canadian teacher, early years classroom, welcome to kindergarten, kids say the funniest things, teaching memories
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It is a very peculiar thing when teachers see a student of theirs somewhere other than the school. Over the years I have had all sorts of reactions. Embarrassment, indifference, pride, curiosity, pleasure, and complete avoidance. No reaction, however, would ever top the one I got repeatedly from a little girl I taught many years ago, named Victoria. Victoria was a ray of sunshine, a bundle of energy and positivity that would draw anyone in. Her and I clicked immediately and I was so happy to have her on my class list. As fate would have it, I saw Victoria MANY times in MANY different places outside of school. It became a running joke between her Mom and I of where we would run into each other next. I guess I had my own version of a "Where's Waldo?" game going with them, but in this case it was "Where's Mrs. R?" I am telling you, if I was out there, Victoria would surely find me! I remember this so vividly. Every time, I saw her, even if I had just seen her at school, she would squeal with delight, clap her hands and jump up and down overflowing with extreme excitement. She was beside herself. I am telling you Taylor Swift had NOTHING on me! Consistently she treated me like I was a famous celebrity that she was absolutely shocked to see EVERY TIME! You would think I had the paparazzi not far behind me the way she was acting! Truth be told, I am surprised she didn't ask for my autograph! It was so precious and very good for my self esteem too I might add. I will never forget her and the way she made me feel so special and loved. It is a precious memory that always brings a smile to my face! Sending you a smile, Dana Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust (Dana Romualdi) Tags: teaching memories, elementary teacher, classroom stories, celebrity sighting, Taylor Swift fan, Taylor Swift, fan club, kids say the funniest things, Canadian teacherSince the beginning of time, as long as kids have been kids, there seems to be NO other subject that even remotely compares to this one. It is the subject they just can't get enough of. The cat's meow, the top of the heap, the creme de la creme, the best subject of all time in a kid's eyes... It is drumroll please... GYM class! "Do we have Gym today?" "Do we have Gym today?" "Do we have Gym today?" If I had a dollar for every time this question was asked, I tell you I would be a VERY RICH woman! Once upon a time there was a student who just wasn't up to doing any work one day. Try as I may, I just couldn't get him to accomplish a thing. When I inquired what was wrong, he stated " I think I broke my arm, so because of that I need to let you know that I am just going to sit here all day and do NO work at all." I quickly responded trying to keep a straight face. I had seen him at recess and he was clearly absolutely fine. Believe me. I replied "Wow, that is so unfortunate." He said, "I know eh? These things happen. What can you do?" I then said "What I meant to say is, that is so unfortunate that you broke your arm because not only can you not do ANY work, ALL day, but I guess you will just have to sit on the bench as well, because we have Gym class in about ten minutes!" My little friend then immediately sat up straight, and said with great conviction "We have GYM today? You are not going to believe this, it is like a miracle or something, but my arm seems all of a sudden so much better!" I then said much to his dismay "Wonderful, so let's get busy until then!" Sending you a smile, Dana Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust Dana Romualdi Tags: teaching memories, elementary teacher, classroom stories, Canadian teacher, Gym class, kids say the funniest things, miraclesYears ago, I was teaching a lesson in Health and the topic was obesity. We talked about how obesity can even effect children if they are not active and choose to only do activities like watch TV or play video games all the time. We watched a video about kids making choices to have an active or inactive lifestyle and had a wonderful discussion around why we should choose to be active. I felt though obesity was an unfamiliar term, the kids really understood what the lesson was about. I couldn't help but smile when a student said to me "I really enjoyed this lesson! I learned so much! I can't wait to tell me parents all about it!" I thought to myself, "Wow that is so great!" What a proud teacher moment for me! Well, my sense of pride quickly faded when I asked her "What will you say to your parents about what we learned in Health class?" She said, "Oh, that's simple. I will just say Mrs. Romualdi gave a fantastic lesson today on why she doesn't want any of us to be OBEDIENT!" You can't make this stuff up! I quickly clarified. Obedient, YES! Obese, NO! Sending you a smile, Dana P.S. To read about the value of laughter in our daily lives click here. Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust Dana Romualdi Tags: elementary teacher, Canadian teacher, obesity, kids say the funniest things, childhood obesity, Health class, funny classroom storries |
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