7 reasons to introduce radioactive spiders into preschool

 I am way more into superheros than I was 7 years ago when I started working preschool. I could blame it on certain friends (cough - Jake and Brad). I could blame it on having to settle disputes between the 4 yr old boys about the difference between superman and spiderman. But also, I have developed a very healthy respect (and yes,  a little jealousy)  for their abilities. So for your amusement (hopefully)- here are 7 reasons (one for each year) that I think teachers should be given the opportunity to be bitten by a radioactive spider (dropped in a vat of toxic waste- whatever)


7.  Precognition  When I first started teaching, my boss told me one of the key skills I would need to learn ASAP was to tell before things started to go down hill that they were going to go down hill. I remember thinking that being psychic had not been covered in college, and that she was crazy to think this was possible. It turns out she wasn't crazy.  But I still wouldn't say no to spidey senses.

6. Super hearing I think it would be incredibly handy to be able to tell, from the far side of the playground, which of your 10-15 kiddos is crying, and what kind of cry it is. I know moms have  a sort of super sensitive radar for this with their own kids. But for those of us who aren't moms.... educated guesses are the best we've got without super hearing.

5. Super speed- I will give you just one of the many for instances of this.  Kid tries to flip over half way down the slide. You shout for them to stop, but even as you start towards the slide,  you know its too late. There is a lot of crying and boo-boos (or spilled cups, or wet pants, or scraped knees) that could all have been prevented by one little burst of super speed.

4. Wall Climbing.  Can't reach the toy the really tall teacher stashed on the closet? Solved! kid got too high on the climber and is stuck in an awkward hard to reach place? No problem. And  in Febuary when the kids are climbing the walls because they've been stuck inside for 6 straight weeks, this way you could join them.

3. Telekinesis. the ability to move the Bible lesson off your desk and across the room to circle time without interrupting the Jesus ABC song  to go get it.  Need I say more?

2. Super Strength. Curriculum books are HEAVY to lug back and forth. Teacher bags are HEAVY. Wagons full of kids are HEAVY. Super strength would = awesome

1. Telepathy. Oh to be able to hear what's going on in their little minds some times. To be able to tell why they're sad, angry, laughing histerically. What song they're trying to describe when they keep saying "THAT one!!!"

God has not chosen to send any radioactive spiders my way. As usual, God prefers to use the ordinary. By relying (really heavily) on Him-  my very ordinary self can show off His extraordinary super powers . Thouh I admit I don't have scripture to back up the wall climbing one.  :)

"We have this treasure in jars of clay, that the surpassing greatness of power may be of God and not of ourselves."  2 Corinthians 4:7

Book Blessings

When I first started teaching the preschool at MTC- I was immediately impressed with the room's resources. Art, Math, language, fine motor- we had excellent toys and tools for all of them. But being the avid bookworm that I am (and attempt to brainwash all my kiddos into being) it didn't take me long to realize there weren't very many books. Just one smallish shelf.  Some very obvious classics were missing, for instance-  The Cat in the Hat. Don't worry- that got added in a hurry. But there were others that were harder to track down. Whenever I went to a thrift store I would scour their childrens book section. Over time I realized what we needed were not more books in general, but specific books about specific things. There were a few topics -like moving and new babies and dealing with loss and change, that were conspicuously absent. These kids will deal with those things on a regular basis, and the books can provide a good talking point for how they are dealing, and can deal with those things. And of course, we needed a few books about dragons and dinosaurs to suck some of the boys more into reading :) So I made  a mental (and eventually physical) list of books I hoped would help meet some of those particular needs. But two years of thrift store hunting produced less than a third of the the list.

This spring, God started nudging me to do something I am far too loathe to do. Ask for help. So after hemming and hawing as long as possible (why do I do that?), I attached the list to a prayer letter, saying if anybody had any of the books they would like to donate, they would be very gratefully accepted. I was nervous. I hoped SO much I wouldn't sound incredibly greedy (it was sort of a long list- over thirty books). And quite honestly, I didn't really expect much of a response. Maybe- MAYBE  3-5 books total from it. But hey- 3-5 of those books would still be a help.

Well as you may have guessed. from the huge stack in the picture- God provided WAY more than 5. Some sweet, sweet ladies in several different places got totally excited about the project and between them bought nearly the ENTIRE LIST.  And two extra boxes of books that I would never have thought to ask for but the kids are loving. In the pic above you can see them holding up a few of their  new favorites.. Thank you so much for the help! It was a huge blessing to me to see new people excited about helping the families here!

And the kids are LOVE reading the new books. Very nearly as much as me :)