#pre-k

Switching age groups means I am in need of some new materials. Any donations/gifts are so appreciated!!

• taught 4 year olds what the skin on your elbow is called

• taught another 4 year old how to wink

• convinced one of my favorite kids that he has a little friend named ghosty ghost following him around who pokes him at random intervals throughout the day

• taught a special needs student who didn’t speak when I met him how to communicate with me specifically through hand signals that indicated what animal he was - does it swim/fly/walk, what does it eat, is it big/small - to which he now speaks more now then he has probably ever

• got played by a 4 year old who wanted a second snack so he casually slid me the last two gushers from his bag and then turned to the teacher and said, “I’m done!”

• got a group of special ed pre-k kids to officially deem bath and body works eucalyptus hand sanitizer as “the good stuff”

• made a joke to a three year old that the enormous books he read after snack every day made him look like he was reading a newspaper. They made a joke every single day that they were on their way to read their newspapers. (It was a volcano book) 😭

• learned that pipe cleaners have metal in them. Yes, I am twenty four.

learned who Pete the Cat was

• learned that adult women between the ages of 35-40 really do act like adult children

• got complimented that my hair was “rapunzel hair” despite it not being cut for like 7 months

• learned how to be a physical touch person despite hating being hugged but hey, four year olds want to hug you constantly and how are you going to deny those puppy dog eyes?

ended up buying one of the little ones who lost his house in a tornado a stuffy and a book.. took it to his house, where he then proceeded to act like he had no idea who I was (it was cute in the moment)

apparently line tag is a thing??? on a basketball court??

oh also, they crack up with laughter when I play tag with them!

they smell markers for sport

You think they realize common little games like staring contests and then when you realize they don’t and teach them anyway they go around and teach their little minions

I have heard them sing: Barbie Girl, Flowers, Unholy, and the one song from Wednesday I can’t remember the name of 😂

I had a guy pass me a love note through his second grade son. No joke. He gave it to his kid, who gave it to the teacher to give to me, and the note was asking me out on a date.

Had a 4 year old straight up innocently say a curse word from his encoded message to his father which said, “dad: please don’t bust my a** anymore.” (Which, according to aunt who worked in building, has only happened once) And about DIED from laughing so hard. So did the teachers.

I got addicted to the snacks I had never tried until working with pre-school. SunChips and Rice Krispies never die.

Found out one of my little boys called me Carla to his parents because they couldn’t quite figure out what name he was saying. It was only upon meeting me that they said, “oh YOU’RE Kayla! We called you Carla for days!”

They sang a song about Goldfish. That song is now burned into my memory. Why is some young children’s music so freaking catchy?

On the last day, my favorite girl turned around to look at me before she got on the bus. I didn’t have the heart to really tell her that I wasn’t coming back. What I said was very brief. When she did turn around, I waved. She waved back. Little did she know I BROKE the second she walked through that door and disappeared. I didn’t think I’d come to love her as much as I did but she made it so EASY.

My oldest boy who I was the aide for? I met his grandmother, and she now sends me such wholesome photos of him and stresses that my loving him the way I did made a huge difference. She doesn’t know how hard I cry every single time she says it.

They have lungs. And I made the mistake of sticking them on high swings they can’t get to by themselves, which they all want to fight over, so half the time I wanted to just talk to teachers I ended up hearing: “MISSSSSSSSS KAYLLLAAAA!!! WILL YOU COME PUSH ME?” Hollered across the playground.

^ I will never make that same mistake again. 😂

Not everyone is meant for pre-school, but MAN… did I love it.

Cons: I never got included in anything by the teachers or their aides. They never included me, and man did that sting.

The $3.5 Trillion Bill Corporate America is Terrified Of

Right now, Democrats are working to pass a $3.5 trillion package that will provide long overdue help for working Americans.

The final bill hasn’t yet been determined, so we don’t know the exact dollar amounts for all its policies. We’ll probably find that out in late September or early October. For now, the Democrats’ budget resolution frames what’s in the bill.  

First, on families:

The bill would make permanent key benefits for working families, including the expanded child tax credit in the pandemic relief plan that sends families up to $300 per child each month but is now set to expire in December, and is estimated to cut child poverty by half. 

It would also establish universal child care, for which low- and middle-income households would pay no more than 7 percent of their incomes. 

And provide a national program of paid leave — worth up to $4,000 a month — for workers who take time off because they are ill or caring for a relative.

Next, on education:

The bill would reduce educational inequality by establishing universal pre-K for all 3- and 4-year-olds, benefiting an estimated 5 million children, and providing tuition-free community college -- essentially expanding free public education from 12 years to 16 years. 

It will also invest in historically Black colleges and universities and increase the maximum amount of Pell grants for students from lower-income families. 

On health care:

The bill expands Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing benefits and lowers the eligibility age. It also expands Medicaid to cover people living in the 12 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid, and makes critical investments to improve healthcare for people of color. 

The big question is how far it will go to reduce prescription drug prices by, for example, allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies. That could reduce Medicare and Medicaid spending, and free up more money for other parts of the bill. But Big Pharma is dead-set against this.

Big corporations and the rich picking up the tab:

In another step toward fairness, all of these are to be financed by higher taxes on the rich and big corporations. 

The bill would also increase the Internal Revenue Service’s funding so the agency can properly audit wealthy tax cheats, who fail to report about a fifth of their income every year, thereby costing the government $105 billion annually. 

In addition, the bill tackles the climate crisis, which also especially burdens lower-income Americans: 

There are a range of solutions -- subsidizing the use of solar, wind, nuclear and other forms of clean energy while financially penalizing the use of dirty energy like coal; helping families pay for electric cars and energy-efficient homes. 

The bill might include something known as a carbon border adjustment tax — a tax on imports whose production was carbon-intensive, like many from China.

The bill would also establish a Civilian Climate Corps, and invest in communities that bear the brunt of the climate crisis.

And the bill helps American workers:

It will hopefully contain much of the PRO Act, the toughest labor law reform in a generation. 

Finally, the bill includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. This is all about making America fairer. 

Remember: we won’t know the exact details of the bill for at least a month, but these are the main areas that it will focus on. The big challenge will be ensuring Senate Democrats remain united to get it passed. All of us will need to fight like hell.

Don’t listen to spending hawks who claim it’s too expensive or too radical. For far too long, our government has ignored the needs of everyday Americans, catering instead to the demands of corporations and the super-rich. No more. 

What tips would you give a new pre k teacher to help them handle challenging scenarios with children with ASD? I wasn’t given any training specific to this. I want to help these children in productive ways that also keep them feeling safe.

For instance, a child who dreads washing their hands (but we aren’t allowed to provide wet wipes or hand sanitizer.) What do? I’ll usually wash my hands with them and talk to them the whole time and explain everything. “I’m going to give you soap now, I know you don’t like it, but it will get rid of the germs. When you go potty, you get germs on your hands that can make you sick. I don’t want you to get sick because I care about you.” They will cry the whole time, but go through the motions. Should I change any of this?