Meet some of my kids

On Fridays, I take the commuter train about 20 minutes north of Budapest to the new kindergarten where I work with the oldest group. Friday is swimming day but sometimes I stay at the kindy depending on how many kids aren't swimming. I'm happy to stay behind because swimming is a big hassle ... and not going means I can play outside with the kids -- on the new trampoline! I've always liked big trampolines but never had any chance to play on them regularly. Now, my Friday mornings consist of jumping off and on for up to an hour and a half. I'm choosing to believe that it's building muscle since that's about the only sort of exercise I can safely do right now and not worry more about losing weight.

Anyway... I thought I'd write about some of the Sunny Seeds kids. There are 11 kids (I think -- there has been some shifting lately between grou
ps) age 5-7, ten boys and a girl.




Starting with A & P ... aka... Boy and Girl
-- this is hardly an exaggeration...They could almost pose for these pictures. Boy is one of the two older boys who will be going to school next year. He's somewhat of a "gentle giant" and by far the most mature of the class. Girl is the little princess of the class -- not surprising since she's the only girl. Her little sister is in the mini group and Girl is often playing Mommy to her little sister.





Next: B & K ... aka Sons of Thunder
These brothers are the loudest of the bunch... and usually the worst behaved. B is getting ready for school (7 years old) and K is just a little bundle of trouble (although, luckily for him, often adorably) at 5. Things are just getting crazier now that their parents are getting divorced... I wish parents could see what that does to their kids sometimes. Here's hoping that the kids get through it and do alright like their "namesakes."



A & A AKA... Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
These are their names, not mine. They love Star Wars and are always role playing something or building starships out of Lego blocks etc. Darth Vader is the son of one of the other kindy teachers and he loves correcting the other children - especially at meals - by yelling at them (louder than they actually are) to be quiet. Luke is/was being raised bilingual but I believe his parents are divorced and dad is back in England (or which ever English-speaking country he's from). In any case, he had a better grasp of English coming in compared to some of the others but by this point they are pretty equal.


M aka... The Mouth
The Mouth, as the name would suggest, has the worst mouth I've ever heard on a child. It's bad enough to hear "four-letter words" (although in Hungarian, they may have more or less letters) from an adult but there are some things I just don't want to hear out of a 4-5 year old. It doesn't help matters that his attitude is cruddy and he's the one who always insists he can't understand a word I say (even when another teacher who knows NO English can understand through my use of gestures).



B aka Mr. Mellow
Mr. Mellow is the kid who couldn't be more easy-going. Quiet and calm. A great helper when it comes to cleaning up or setting the table, etc. Gentle and has a big heart, although sometimes he can be a bit clingy. Over all, though, he's a really great 5 year old.



I really don't know the other three very well ... one is new, one just moved from the middle group, and the third isn't usually there on Fridays.

These little buggers can be such sweethearts. I know I shouldn't have favorites, but it's pretty much impossible. Like Boy... I got back from break today and he was in our group room working quite diligently on a paper crown which he proceeded to wear the rest of the afternoon. Or Luke -- we had a bit of a rough afternoon -- after having a hard time waking up from his nap (although, I really don't mind when they decide to snuggle up on my lap), he refused to drink his water at snack and ended up sitting at the table for a good long while after everyone else was done. He got pretty upset with me because I wouldn't let him leave until he had had two sips. Even after he finally drank some he was still moping at the table... I ended up carrying him over to the carpet and telling a "Once upon a time..." story involving everyone in the room which turned into he, Boy, and Vader stealing my shoes -- worked rather like clown shoes. I "retaliated" by wearing Boy's shoes -- kind of like high heels with no actual heels. That got Luke laughing hysterically and I knew all was fine.

Moral of the story... I love kids... especially 3-6 year olds.