The Little Rascals

So before Mt. Fuji took over my blog, I mentioned that I wanted to feature another age group to talk about in my posts. This week, it will be the kindergartners.

I have a bunch of classes in this age group but one class in particular is very special to me. I won't say that I am always super-excited to teach these students, but I can tell you that this is the one class that makes me feel like a real life Ms. Crabtree. I call them my "Little Rascals." There are four of them and every week they file into my classroom, each bringing their own brand of cuteness and humor.

The Smarty Pants

Let's start with the smart one. First off, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm partial to intelligent children. And on top of that, this child looks like a little monkey. He has big, full cheeks and ears that poke out awkwardly. His eyes always look slightly closed and his spikey hair-do completes the look. When I do races or test the vocabulary with the children, he is almost always the first one to respond with the right answer. And I can tell he is quite sensitive. He tries to keep up with the trouble-maker in this class, but it always leads to his feelings getting hurt. Which leads to the . . .

The Trouble Maker

He's the tallest one in the group and (to be honest) I think he's the one with the most potential to grow up and be a real "looker." But I also think he's going to grow up to become a real jerk and I already feel sorry for his future ex-wife. Isn't that always how it works, though? The tall, handsome one is always the one with the character flaw . . . but I digress. He is the most talkative of the group, always wants attention, always tries to get the other students into trouble and he always ALWAYS has something nasty to say. The other day, he called me a "gorilla" and I had to hold back every muscle in my body from getting up and giving him a quick slap to the mouth. But the redeeming factor was when I told him not to say that. I held my hand against my chest and said that he'd hurt my feelings. The whole class got quiet, and everyone's face became sad.

The next is my personal favorite . . .

The Little Princess

As a good friend would say, "don't let the smooth taste fool you!" This little princess can hold her own in a room full of rough-necks 5 year old boys, so she's definitely got some spirit. She is absolutely adorable. Every week she comes into class wearing a pink tutu, a glittery pink t-shirt and a string of pink and purple beads around her neck. She has a big, round head, that almost doesn't fit her tiny, chubby body. She wears a single, long braid and smiles so hard that her eyes turn into two small slits and all you can see are eye lashes poking out. I try to watch out for her to make sure that she doesn't get trampled on by the little boys, but she seems to do pretty well on her own. Her voice is soft and sweet and she often wanders around in her own little world. I try to be more delicate with her and always give her extra high-fives when we do activities.

And last but not least . . .

The Funny Guy

He can't just say, "The ball is blue" he has to stand up, dance around the classroom, make a funny face, do a kick in the air and stretch out the words in a silly voice. "The ball is bluuuuuueee!" he says, imitating me. I don't mind it so much. His jokes are not mean-spirited and actually, he makes me laugh with his goofy-ness. The interesting thing about this character is that he gets very serious at the oddest times. Everyone else will be jumping around the classroom like frogs or crawling around the floor, pretending to swim and this kid is standing against the wall just watching. And when it's time to say the language, he's often the one letting everyone know what they should say. What makes him especially funny is, he looks like a cute, little old man. When he smiles, his face creases up in a strange way. His lower jaw juts out as if he has dentures. His hair falls over his eyes and (I hope no one takes offense but . . . ) he looks a little like Jackie Chan. It especially makes him hilarious when he is making funny faces and doing kicks in the air and/or striking karate poses. I could totally picture this kid in a movie as a stereotypical Japanese character.

All right, that's all I got. Hope you enjoyed. Next group . . . the "inbetweenies." (8 to 11 year olds).

Goodnight!