The Kids Are Alright

Hello Jello!

Kids are great!

Yea you heard it - I Jenni Sofia declare that I officially like kids.

For those who don't know, this is a big deal as I don't ever want to have my own kids. "But why?" It's nothing dramatic really, I just don't see myself as a mum nor can I imagine giving up my own life, the way I live it with traveling and moving around to settle down to raise someone. Honestly  I'm too selfish and self centered to give everything up for someone else.

But. There is always a but in a but.

I like kids a lot and I enjoy working with them. 

Here is why!

Honesty

Children are honest.

IF they like you, they say it. They show it and if they don't like you, they are honest about that too. To Your Face. 

One of the boys from my daycare asked me why are my boobs so big?

What did I answer?

First: I didn't think that my boobs are big and

Second: I said to this boy that "Some have them small, some medium and some big" ... "Well then why is your belly big?" Ouch. I like snacking?

They are honest about everything. Including their bodily function.


Example. Last week I went to check on what took so long in the bathroom

"Hey how is it going here? Taking offly long time mate" - Well, I know I was supposed to pee .. but I accidentally pooped! ... OOoook. Fair enough, good job either way. With the honesty and the pooping.

Children Boost Your Confidence.

"Jenni I like your earrings!" 

"Jenni you have a beautiful skirt!"

"Jenni has the best circles"

"Jenni you are strong!" 

"You are silly Jenni"

"You are funny!"

Hey, my jokes are not always appreciated by fellow grown ups but children find the jokes funny. Well most of the time at least. And yeas, at least someone's laughing! 

Children Make You Question Things



THE questions I've been asked. 

But why? Why?

WHY why why why? What is an asteroid? What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteorite? Why is there hunger? Why do we need an army? Why do mummy and daddy fight? Why are some people black and some white? Why do we have rules? Are there ghosts? Why do we need to sleep? What is snow made of? Why do we need snow? Why do you not eat meat? Is eating meat wrong? What is milk? What is love? Can children marry? What is an jet plane?


... and so on. Finding answers to these questions is not always easy and sometimes I'm so happy that I have wikipedia on my phone so I can give them answers they are satisfied with ... but usually answers mean more questions, specify your answer!

No Gym Needed

Since I started working with children I've lost 20kilos. Some of that weight loss is my own doing as I stopped eating white wheat but I think working with children keeps you active. Just today we were "Going for a bear hunt" (Leijonaa mä metsästän) and we were dancing around the room. The other day I was lifting weights by just picking up the kiddies. AND sometimes we play catch, I run and they try to catch me ... you don't want to be caught, the consequences can be quite severe ;)

You Can Rest In The Middle Of The Day

There are not that many jobs in the world when resting is okay during working hours. With resting I mean ... full on head on a pillow and lying on comfortable mattress. In my job that is allowed. After a snack children make their way to the restingroom and teachers follow as we calm the situation down, put on some relaxing music and children, slowly but steady fall asleep.

When you gently stroke their hair and listen some whale sounds .. you doze off too. Obviously we don't sleep, sleep but we doze off. It's like your brain is put on stand by motion that you are aware of your surroundings but your mind is resting. And after 1 - 1.5h you wake up well rested. AND when you don't feel like dozing off the children are asleep anyway so you have almost two hours of child-free-work-time to do whatever. Amazing!

To Be A Kid Again


When we are kids, we learn all these poems and games but when we grow up, those are left behind - forgotten. To be a kindergarten teacher gives you the opportunity to find your childhood again.

I've been playing "Let's go for a bear hunt" and signing "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" and I enjoy it. I like planning my circles with the kiddies well so not only they have fun but I have fun too. I never realized how much work it takes to plan the morning circles until I started working in a daycare and learned (mostly from Sarita) how to it properly, so that it's not only for the kids but for you too.

Whilst being a kindergarten teacher I have had tons of fun playing imaginary games such as "Let's pretend this robe is a bus and we are off to Lapland" and then the other day we did some drama exercise with the kiddies and turned our faces from sad to jolly :) AND the kiddies appreciate it. Today I heard that my book-times are the best and I do the best circles. I enjoy my work and it shows. Key is not to take yourself so seriously, you make mistakes but it's okay - it's only human. 

Food Is Good

A daycare children gets a nice food benefit as the food is basically delivered at your doorstep, ready to be eaten. Kiddies don't appreciate the free food but I DO. Well, it's not ALL free but I pay very little for all the good food I get. Breakfast, lunch and snack benefits - say goodbye for unhealthy stuff as food for daycares are planned to be healthy. Daycare food has very little sugar or salt but it still manages to taste yummy. Not bad!

English

For a year now I've been working 90% in English language. I've been fluent in English since I studied in USA but it's hard to keep up with the language and get better at it. I KNOW I'll always have the accent and I'm not a native speaker but this doesn't mean you can't get better. My English gets better day by day the more I use it. Whenever I'm not at work it gets rusty very quick. I own close to 200 English books and I never watch movies or tv with subtitles so my vocabulary expands by the day but speaking is so different. Interacting with English, to be fluent at it .. one can only do one thing - speak it. Luckily I have manages to score a job where this is possible. English is my work language and I get to speak it everyday, so by the day - I get better at it.


***


There are still plenty of good things to mention and blog about. The whole teaching is another in depth blog post. And then there is the Arts and Crafts side of what I do. Teacher get great holidays and immediate feedback.... but what I'm trying to say that  my job is entertaining.

Yes, sometimes is awfully boring or you get fed up with the routines. Sometimes parents aren't reasonable and sometimes you question their judgement. Sometimes you boss pisses you off or then you don't have enough resources to do the things you want to... there are times when children drive you bananas and they are being loud as fuck.

Sometimes the crying and the 'accidents' like peeing on the bed/floor/clothes drives you bananas and at times you have to deal with blood and vomit but that's just part of the job.

I've learned so much from the kiddies  To be more  loving and more affectionate. I've learned that life isn't really that difficult and complex but we adults make it more so. Being more honest, more resourceful, more kind .. enjoying the simple things in life more than waiting for the next thing to happen.

Children are so honest with their emotions and feelings. They are so raw, they haven't learned yet the art of deception. Yea, they tell fibs and color their stories but they are very rarely menacing - that is something they catch along the way. My favorite moment ever, is the casual giggle or being called "You silly Jenni." And then there is a moment when child randomly places their hand on top of yours. Affection. Trust. Love. Without demands.  There are the moment when one just really needs a hug or hear a nice thing. Children deliver. 

I may not want my own kiddies but I appreciate them. I miss it when it was just about you and your mommy and daddy. To be a kid again, to appreciate the small wonders of the world and to be exited about the little things. We lose so much when we grow up. There are the moments when our childhood is left behind and turns into a memory. For myself it's a fond memory, for some it's a painful one but for all of us it becomes our personal history. "Remember when we were young..." Don't make your children grow up too quick but let them enjoy the endless days of plays and wonder. They'll grow up soon enough.

Also, I want to state my concern over parents being afraid of their children crying.  Of course parents want to protect their younglings from the horrors of the world but you shouldn't shield them from everything. Life is not cookie dough and candy all the time. Sometimes things get ruff and ugly. Children also need to be disappointed. To cry out of frustration  If you deny your child these bad feelings and emotions and when they grow up to face the world - life is going to bitch slap them so hard that they are going to come after you asking you why didn't you tell me it's not all pretty out there. 

Life is also about the disappointments, one doesn't need to make everything okay all the time. Tears are tears, you cry and then you get up. What I've noticed is that parents are so afraid letting their children down, that everything has to be picture perfect all the time. 

Life isn't perfect, you are not perfect and the kids are not perfect. Growing up in a world without ever hearing "No" or never crying because someone hurt your feelings will only do you harm. Adults learn from their mistakes, children do too. It's how we present it. We can explain why no means no and we can tell them why one needs to act in a certain way. There is many kinds of honesty, There is the honesty where you tell 3 year old that Santa Claus isn't real and then there is the honesty when you answer to an direct question with an direct answer   So when one asks you what is an asteroid - tell them. 

And for the fuck sake, manners people manners. When ever you are in a public place - think what you say because there are little elf ears everywhere. All the fucks and the sex you are having don't need to be shared in a public transportation. Say "Thank you " and "Good Morning" and give way when kiddies are crossing. And if I ever see a grown up, an adult throwing trash on the ground, manhandling an animal or being rude. Imma smack you with my umbrella because there is no need to be rude or dump. Just saying.

Enough preaching and so on. I'm not the one with the kids - I'm just the one who looks after 15 of them everyday for 8 hours. And not one kind of kid. Not only one brand but all kinds of kiddies are mine to look after.

Have a good Monday kids. Stay safe. In all sorts of ways!

XX

Jenni