So, instead of going to a boulangerie to watch them make bread, or other choices, I thought of this one!
I had to get up super early in order to get there when the kids get dropped off. I got there at 8AM, and the principal walked me around for about twenty minutes. She then introduced me to the teacher I would be shadowing for the morning. The teacher didn't seem to happy to have me there. We stood in a room as the kids got dropped off, and she talked to the other teacher as I watched the little kids. But I was laughing because of their crazy antics and adorable ways so I didn't mind kinda being awkward. Then we brought her class, 5-6 year olds, to the class room. The 6 year olds left for english class and the 5 year olds stayed behind.
They learned a new vocab word, and did a puzzle. I remember first grade being a lot different and doing a lot, but maybe that was just my first-grade mind.
Then, the other class returned and we all went to recess. I was like crap because one, it was raining, two, today was unusually cold, and three, what would I do? watch the kids? talk to the teachers? Well, that question was answered for me as we went outside and the teacher made it clear she didn't want me to hang out with her. Fine with me, you're boring.
So one of the little kids came over and asked me to zip her jacket, and then asked if I would play with them. I said ok, but to be honest, it is really hard to understand the little kid version of french. It's more mumbled and just SUPER hard to understand. So I had to kinda go with the flow in playing the game because I couldn't understand as they tried to explain. But it turned out to be freeze tag. I played with them for awhile.
It then turned into me running from them. And then me comforting each crying child on the playground who came up to me because the teachers ignored them and they knew I would listen.
The french teachers are super stern with little kids, which is SO backwards because the older kids (aka highschool ish and onwards) are horrible in class and the teachers don't do a thing about it. But anyway, I then got to leave for lunch. I walked home in the rain, had lunch, and passed out. I almost never nap. So that's an indication of my day.
I woke up from my nap, dreading going back only because they don't get out of school until 5. But I pulled myself out the door, figured out some random way into the building because I was a little late and it was locked up. I went to the principal's office but ran into the teacher I shadowed. I went back to her classroom and the kids put their heads on their desks for their "sieste," naptime! AKA NOT NECESSARY FOR ME TO BE THERE WHY DID THEY TELL ME TO COME BACK SO EARLY.
The teachers cell phone rang and she told me to go downstairs because I was going to spend the afternoon with the younger set.
I found the room, good job me, and walked in on a bunch of 4-5 year olds napping, with pillows from home, on their desks. SO CUTE. Some even had stuffed animals.
The teacher, who was REALLY nice that morning, had turned into a witch without the principal around. She just goes, "they're napping" and then goes back to watering plants. I found a big person chair and just kinda waited it out, even though they were all awake and kept waving, whispering, and making faces at me. (Except one little guy who was actually PASSED OUT on his desk, literally out. I couldn't even wake him up later).
This teacher scared even me, I don't know how the kids deal with it. It was paint time after naptime. They had to paint flowers. Only six got to paint at a time, so the others colored in a drawing while they waited. Ok first of all, the teacher would only let them draw things the right color. Aka, trees had to be green. WELL, in my youth, art time meant creativity time. If we wanted orange trees, we were allowed to go with it. These kids were so disciplined. One kid drew out of the lines and the teacher told him it was bad work! And he was sad! I would have been like IM FOUR BACK OFF.
She was crazy strict and I was kinda like why did you choose to teach such young children?
Then they all got recess again. And this time, I literally had every kid in this class, and the older class, fighting to hold my hand or for me to pick them up. I finally made them sit in a circle and tried to teach them duck duck goose, except the french version is called "tomate, tomate, ketchup." Fine. Then we played hide and seek. The bell rang and we went inside but the teacher was still outside and I was panicking. I did not want them to get yelled at because maybe they thought it was ok to go in because I was there. Maybe not. I was really nervous for them.
She came in and they all sat down. Story time! I noticed half way through, the teacher got really animated and her voice got nice. Well, when I turned around, parents had arrived to pick up their kids. Witch teacher and your evil ways, I see right through you.
The kids left and the teacher told me, Good luck... thanks?
Au revoir et merci!
That signaled the end of my day.
The end.
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