My Kindergarteners

It is crazy how in 6 weeks, I went from thinking that all of my kindergarteners looked the same (sorry I know that's a stereotype) to loving them for their own quirks and personalities.

On my first day at school, they had each of the students introduce themselves to me. It was so overwhelming and I thought I would never learn their names. Especially because their names are not like any names I have ever heard before. For example, some of my girl's names are Pun-Pun,  Yada, Yimwan, Cosmo, and Boobee. Some of the boys are named: Porpeang, Poopup, Mungkorn, Jaonai, and Kechi. And yes, those are all pronounced exactly how you would sound them out.

All of the girls are required to have the same hair cut, and the boys have two different styles of hair. Basically all of the kindergarteners have the same color hair and the same color eyes, too. So trying to recognize them by their similar physical characteristics, made identifying them tough at the beginning.

But as I slowly got to know them, I learned their names and so much more. I learned that I have some shy students and that I have a lot of loud ones. I have students that cry when their parents drop them off in the morning and students who don't want to go home at the end of the day. I have learned to treasure the moments after nap time when they're still sleepy and quiet because this might be the only time during the day that they're not full of energy and running around everywhere.

I have learned that these 36 kindergarteners cannot control their bladders. Seriously I think everyday we have multiple kids just pee on the floor of our classroom. Today one girl just went while sitting in her chair in music class, and yesterday one of the boys wet himself while singing songs in the classroom. Thankfully though we have Uwee, our nanny. She changes the kids (who bring an extra pair of clothes in their backpack because things like this happen so often) and then Uwee also cleans up the mess.

I have learned that they always have boogers running out of their nose and sometimes they throw up all over themselves. Basically, kids are disgusting. (This whole experience has been very eye opening for parenting in the future.) But aside from being gross, my kindergarteners are also so sweet. I receive an endless amount of hugs and high fives from them all day. They fight to stand next to me, and I know that they love me. We play around and the kids tell me every English word they can think of in that moment, no matter how random it may be.

I was nervous at first about the fact that I only knew one Thai word when I arrived here, but I don't need to speak Thai to get through to these kids. We have a great time and they really are learning. They amaze me each week, when they learn their new vocabulary. Seriously, for only being in school for 6 weeks, it's remarkable that they can count to ten, sing the alphabet, and identify different categories such as: fruit, animals, and classroom objects.

I could go on and on about my kindergarteners, but I'll wrap it up for now, and end with a picture showing you how cute all of my kindergarteners are.