Sunday School - The aftermath.
OH. MY. GOD.
It turns out that my fear was justified. The nearest I can describe my current state is "post traumatic stress". It was horrible. My fears may have been slightly misdirected, though. I feared the children wouldn't learn anything or have fun, what I should have feared is that I might kill one of them.
Even now, I feel ill. I have lost my appetite, and for those of you who know me, that is no small thing. What I was trained in was crafts, story time and snacks. What I needed was battle training. There was so much screaming, chaos and even spitting, yes spitting, that I didn't know what to do. Thank God, there were 2 amazing helpers who were veterans, otherwise I may not have met my main goal, which was to keep everyone alive.
After teaching preschool Sunday school I have come to two conclusions:
1. Public school teachers should be paid double, whatever they are getting it needs to be doubled immediately.
2. Bring back the switch, these children need discipline.
Okay, while I might be slightly dramatizing the situation, it was much harder than I anticipated. Those of you that know Joe, realize how I might have had an unrealistic perception of how most 3-4 year old boys behave. Joe is a saint.
I am not kidding when I tell you that even now I am covered in sweat and trembling slightly. My heart beats at a rapid pace. While I thought I would be "teaching" I didn't know that meant primarily discipline. Silly me, I actually thought I would be teaching. Now I know better. I think I have gained some insight that will help me next time (should I be allowed to return). First, I should have put the disruptive children in time out and then if that didn't work, page their parents. A few of the most undisciplined boys made it impossible to actually get through the lesson, which was unfortunate. I was so surprised by their unwillingness to listen that I didn't really know what to do. For Joe it is a privilege to go to Sunday school, so he is actually excited about the activities and interested in participating. This was not the case with all the kids.
Basically, I was overwhelmed. But, the good news is, no one died. So, I guess it was a success. Thank God for all the amazing men and women who work with groups of children on a regular basis. There really is no reward large enough for what they deserve.
As far as a home school pre school co-op goes, I think it will be fine, because there will be discipline. It will be a prerequisite and anyone who does not like that doesn't have to come. In that way, we will hopefully just be able to have fun and learn and not spend all the time bringing order. Also, we will have less kids. I have a lot to learn, hopefully God will help me and I can grow. There is certainly a lot of room for personal growth :)
It turns out that my fear was justified. The nearest I can describe my current state is "post traumatic stress". It was horrible. My fears may have been slightly misdirected, though. I feared the children wouldn't learn anything or have fun, what I should have feared is that I might kill one of them.
Even now, I feel ill. I have lost my appetite, and for those of you who know me, that is no small thing. What I was trained in was crafts, story time and snacks. What I needed was battle training. There was so much screaming, chaos and even spitting, yes spitting, that I didn't know what to do. Thank God, there were 2 amazing helpers who were veterans, otherwise I may not have met my main goal, which was to keep everyone alive.
After teaching preschool Sunday school I have come to two conclusions:
1. Public school teachers should be paid double, whatever they are getting it needs to be doubled immediately.
2. Bring back the switch, these children need discipline.
Okay, while I might be slightly dramatizing the situation, it was much harder than I anticipated. Those of you that know Joe, realize how I might have had an unrealistic perception of how most 3-4 year old boys behave. Joe is a saint.
I am not kidding when I tell you that even now I am covered in sweat and trembling slightly. My heart beats at a rapid pace. While I thought I would be "teaching" I didn't know that meant primarily discipline. Silly me, I actually thought I would be teaching. Now I know better. I think I have gained some insight that will help me next time (should I be allowed to return). First, I should have put the disruptive children in time out and then if that didn't work, page their parents. A few of the most undisciplined boys made it impossible to actually get through the lesson, which was unfortunate. I was so surprised by their unwillingness to listen that I didn't really know what to do. For Joe it is a privilege to go to Sunday school, so he is actually excited about the activities and interested in participating. This was not the case with all the kids.
Basically, I was overwhelmed. But, the good news is, no one died. So, I guess it was a success. Thank God for all the amazing men and women who work with groups of children on a regular basis. There really is no reward large enough for what they deserve.
As far as a home school pre school co-op goes, I think it will be fine, because there will be discipline. It will be a prerequisite and anyone who does not like that doesn't have to come. In that way, we will hopefully just be able to have fun and learn and not spend all the time bringing order. Also, we will have less kids. I have a lot to learn, hopefully God will help me and I can grow. There is certainly a lot of room for personal growth :)
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