Of terrible tots and wet socks...

Been pretty busy bursting my brain and balls, well, at times for the latter, working on my scripts and stuff.
If you haven't heard, I'm now officially pet-less.
The last of the hamsters died way back in May as did my stingrays by July.
We offloaded our tanks to charity and I've decided to adopt Mandalay, my little white tiger which you can find on the side bar on the right there.

Now, I had initially wanted to write this entry on Childrens' Day but considering how I got caught up with work, I never got about to doing it.

'Tis no secret that I had my field practicum attachement or internship (for some of ya..or ITP or SIP lah) last semester. And if you don't it by now, no, we Early Childhood Educators, DO NOT get paid AT ALL for our services. 'scept for that $30 to buy our materials with, which we had to spend at least $30, failing which, we had to return whatever that was left.

Moving on, it was definitely a highlight being attached at NTUC Childcare Changi Airport. Haiya, the perks lah! Air-conditioned, a lot of space, places to choose from for lunch, the works.
Ran into some minor problem with the principal for a short period and all but the teachers are all damn encouraging lah. Eventually ironed out any creases and things became quite smooth with the centre's understanding that I was busy with the musical and all.

I shall stop briefly to show y'all a picture from our trip to the new National Library building, in which, the tots are actually behaving themselves for once! hahakz.


The lil' ones at NLB

Now, My lecturer, Mrs. Koh, had, to my knowledge, chosen me to be one of her supervisees (if there is ever such a word). Meaning, she would come down to the centre and supervise me herself! Don't get me wrong, she's a nice lady but don't cross her. Oh golly gees!

Anyways, to cut a long story short, I only managed to conjure an art corner that was convincing enough and the dramatic corner, well, was, urm...lacklustre?

So, she made me do it again and this time with much encouragement and some help from the teachers, things went very well!
A good kick in the butt to create a spark did me good. One of the teachers helped me with a tree and suggested making other stuff and next thing I knew, I was suggesting ideas of my own.
And the end result was so splendid that I actually surprised myself.
Well, everyone else was just as surprised to see what they corner had been transformed into. And some people say miracles don't happen aye?

Here's some pictures:


"Come on in..."

"Scary Waggly Icky Yucky Insects!"

The Jungle/Forest whatchamacallit

I had about a week and a half to recreate the corner, keeping my children in total suspense as to what it was. They were not even allowed to step in and all. And they couldn't decide whether it's a forest or a jungle and I left it at that. Best to let their imaginations run wild and free!
In all honesty, until today, I still cannot believe I did that with my hands.


While I had taken the K2 class, I became quite attached to the K1's because they have their nap time in the same room as my class. And more often than not, I liked going over to the toddler's and playgroup children to disturb them for the heck of it. Ok, so not during their nap time but some of them reminded me of my own nieces and nephews.
Anyways, I did not manage to take pictures with any of the younger ones but here's some of the K1's who were in attendance that day.


K1 girls

From Left: That's Irene, Xuan Xuan and Tania!
Middle (L-R): That's Annabel and Pei Lin!
From Right: Kai Xin with the pose and Joey!


K1 boys

Adriel's the little poser on my lap.
Wei Jun's the other one on my lap.
Irfan's the one bending over.
Zhi Yao's right behind me and
Daryl's the one in specs!

And here are the terrible tots of mine who I miss so dearly.


K2 Girls

Erny Daniella's the one standing on the extreme left, a natural dancer and wants to be a police officer! The one slightly hidden behind her is the quietest one in class, Si Chih, who wants to be an art teacher! And there's Julia who likes to draw me and wants to be a nurse, and that's Joyce, the "when-I-want-to-irritate-teacher shaiful-I- keep-saying-I-don't-know" girl! Hahakz. No surprise what she wants to do. "I don't know."
The one with the peace signs is Genevi, the one who can read very well and wants to be a teacher. Next to her is Arika, the one who's gonna do what I like most, a drama teacher! That's Charlene right next to her, an only child who wants to be an ice cream girl! Hahakz. And that's Qian Hui. the shy one who wants to be a nurse too.
The other girl not in the picture is Deanna, the one who likes to tug on my sleeves. She wants to be a vet.


K2 Boys

And these are the ones guilty of wanting to make things hard for me but lovable still all in all. Right at the back with his hand in an Ultraman pose is Philip, who has an adoration for snakes and wants to be a Chef! The next boy at the back is Adam who just wants to do his own things some times and he wants to be a pilot!

Standing on the far left is Ze Feng who wants to be a police officer, the one with the claw is Ting Yan, the K1 Chinese teacher's son who wants to be a doctor by day and a footballer by night. The one with the fist is Shi Wen who wants to defend the nation and next to him is his friend, Benjamin who wants to take it one step further by being a General! Right behind me is Dallen, the one who wouldn't let me go on my last day and he wants to be a police officer too. And last but not least is Mr. Xavier Tan. Why call him that? Coz he wants to be the President of the the Republic of Singapore.


Carebears and Sharebears

How can I not miss such children?
At 6, they have such ambitions and dreams, for which I'm glad to hear about.
These are my little Mr's. and Ms'.
I miss their giggles whenever I address them in that manner.
I miss their tugging at my sleevs.

Hell, many at times they've tested my patience but they've always, time and again, found the ways to make things better again. Never failing to put a smile on my face no matter how bad my day could be.


Sometimes, I feel that it's such a thankless job. Childcare teachers work darn long hours and it's not like they rake in the big bucks. No, for most of them, they do it because they simply love children. What other reason could be there when:

Having to wash them (I don't have to coz I'm a guy. it's the LAW people) , having to feed them (at times) Going home with rice on your shirt and you not knowing it. You step on what seems to be a mixture of mashed rice and whatever dish it was on your socks. Getting your socks wet. Getting stains on my jacket. Having to wipe a child's pee in the classroom, who did it like a stealth expert by the way) Having to tell them to wipe their booger of their nose. Making them happy, making sure they learn and most importantly, making sure they're safe.

I respect the teachers who continue to do this day in, day out.
For I am flawed and nowhere near the eagle's nest yet.