class observations

drayden's playclub class seems to be getting bigger by the week. day one of term there were only 13 of us, and as of last thursday two more new students have joined us, and we now have 18 kids in class. it does seem a lil' crowded now, but the more the merrier they say!

i just get a little peeved when the adults do not pay attention to the class rules and one whole family (mother, father, helper, and more all at once!) stays in the class. last week, gerry had to repeat herself that "only one adult to stay in class please", and guess what? the father, goes and stand in the corner of the class, like as if he suddenly turns invisible and we cannot see him anymore! *shakeshead*

i also get very, very annoyed when the adults do not keep quiet during the appropriate times, like during storytime or when we're learning the letter of the day. time and time again, Gerry reminds us that when the children wander from our laps, just quickly pick them up and sit them back down again. yes, it can happen over and over again, it can get very tiring for us adults, but discipline is not a one-time maneuver. you can't tell the kid once and expect him to remember and listen. we just have to keep doing it until the kids get the picture, and understand the rules. but noooooo...the adults still will keep coaxing and calling the kids back and nothing is more annoying than you trying to get your kids focused on the activity going on and trying to pay attention yourself, and the adult next to you is going: "xxx, come here, sit down, come back. xxx, come!"

even if you whisper, it still is disruptive! goddammit, just get off your lazy butt, pick the child up and bring him/her back down to sit! no doubt, sometimes the children fuss or get distracted, but nothing encourages them more than you talking back to them, therefore starting a conversation, and trying to calm them down. it will just snowball into a whiny argument and you end up distracting the other kids who have been so well-behaved and paying attention!

adults don't seem to buy the idea that if your kids fuss or start to get distracted, all you should do is remain focused on the activity, and keep your words as minimal as possible. when they see you focused, so will they, get back to paying attention.

then there are adults that simply just don't participate. they forget that they need to be actively involved as well, and help the teachers to manage the class by managing their own children. instead, they walk in with this mindset that the responsibility is off them and its up to the teachers to handle the kids. for example, when the child starts running around the class during story time, they sit and do nothing, expecting the assistant teachers to get up and go after the kid, totally forgetting that the assistant teacher needs to assist with the activity going on, like holding up the book, for example. sigh...

actually the parents in dray's class are all super nice. they're all mommies, and they're very on the ball and in great control of their kids. they're super friendly too, and totally great in class. it's the helpers that need a lot of telling and reminding sometimes.

but. there was an incident that happened last tuesday that got me really mad and insulted. on hindsight, maybe i'm just being overly-sensitive, but it sure got me pissed that day! well, this kid has just joined the class, and during snacktime, i usually try to get dray to sit with the kids he's closer to, so that snacktime will be more enjoyable for him, but he has his own preferences and makes his own decisions (heh), so that fateful day we found ourselves sitting next to the two new kids that have just joined the class, plus another boy.

then the father of this new child (same father that was hiding in the corner of the class) wanted to showcase his child's talents, and so he says: "xxx, cheers your cup with your frens, xxx". and so mommy, who was sitting next to the kid, prompted the kid, and the kid goes on the "cheers" with the new girl in front of him (whose parents they became fast friends with considering both their kids were new in class), and the she prompted her child to "cheers" with the boy on their left.

and that was that. TOTALLY ignored drayden who have been excitedly watching the whole exchange, perhaps expecting his turn to come soon. a tad rude, don't you think?
not that i wanted my son to be part of this stupid childrens' game anyway, but the act was just plain rude in itself. its not like we were far apart, we were just BESIDE!

i told noel, maybe she thought i was a helper, and she's the snotty sort that is all high and mighty and doesnt associate with helpers. bloody hell. and yes, if you were wondering, she (and the other new mom) had that arrogant i'm-rich-thats-why-i-can-send-my-child-to-this-school kinda vibe and they both didn't make any attempt talk to anyone else that don't project that same kind of vibe.

ishhh! i still get so worked up thinking about the incident!

well, anyway, tomorrow's school again, and this week we're celebrating the color red, since its gonna be Chinese New Year! no prizes for guessing, Dray's gonna don his red Elmo tee! lol! and mommy needs to pick out something red to wear too!

it's also parent-teacher chats tomorrow, but unfortunately Noel's got that airbrush booth at NUS, so it'll just be me. i have no complaints anyway. i love Gerry's class, she's great and super funny with the kids, and i'm also mighty pleased with how dray's grown since we first started. let's just wait and see what the other parents have to say!