My first day at kindergarten:

Miz t. volunteered last year. Just one day a week for about an hour and a half.
She came home with stories about her kids.
Inspiring, sad, happy, funny.
She really connects with them and they loved her.

"Hey, big guy, give it a shot." she said.
And so I did.

After one day, I could write a book.
The teacher was ecstatic.
"Many of my 'babies' (her term) don't have a male influence in their lives. Last year I had one, ONE child who lived at home with mommy and daddy who were married. Most of the rest lived with a single parent. Some lived with mommy and her boyfriend."

I make no judgment on the marital status of the parents.

Today I heard:
From a little girl: "I don't have a daddy."
"Well, neither did I. That happens sometimes."
She seemed to brighten a bit. Gee, she's not alone.
"Daddy hurt mommy. He made holes in her. She had to cover up with a towel. I was scared. My daddy's in jail now."
Ho-Lee SHIT!
Know that I'm following this revelation up.

Another little girl: "I have TWO daddies. They fight alot."
Another follow up.
whew

Three Hispanic kids.
I'm pretty sure two spoke no English.
They smiled when I used my very scant Spanish.
"Hablo Inglise?"
"No." And a worried look.
"Muy bien" when they could indenify As and Bs.
I was working on ABCs with my kids.
The third little girl was just very shy, I think.
I was able to get her to sing the alphabet song along with me...VERY quietly.

There were funny parts too.
One little boy tapped the top of my head. "You got short hair!"
"I don't have any hair on top. It doesn't grow there any more."
"But you got hair on the sides."
"Yep, but your hair is shorter than mine."
"Yeah, but it'll grow back."
:rofl:

I told one kid I knew his parents and grandparents and named them.
He was bug eyed.
"I guess I better be good. You could TELL."
"I won't tell but you sure better be."

I could go on and on.

Our county school system is broke.
All the teacher's aides and most of the office and library personnel have been laid off.
If you can possibly to help in your town's or county's school, please do it.
You won't be sorry.
:-)

What heartbreaking stories. And heartwarming ones too...

Thank you for everything you do.

You are making the world a better place, one child at a time.

:hug:

:patriot:

You are my hero!

I was going to post that it couldn't be your first day at kindgarten, you've been in the lounge far too long to make that claim.

That post pales to your OP - I'm so glad you do post here.

thank you for sharing and for caring.

:thumbsup: :hug: :applause:

a difference in peoples lives; the children, the teachers, the parents, the other aides.

Thank you for volunteering for this difficult job, and for encouraging others to do so too.

that, and to be a help to the teacher and a positive influence on the kids. :hug:

and tell the same story.

We used to have a program here that enabled senior citizens to earn a discount on their property taxes by volunteering at the schools. Unfortunately, it was discontinued several years ago. The students really benefited from it and the teachers really appreciated the help.

Isn't kindergarten a hoot? :hug:

:kick:

Baldwin plans emergency school finance meeting
Baldwin County education officials have called an emergency meeting with state and federal officials to try to find ways to avoid laying off more teachers and other employees. The Board of Education will meet Aug. 27 with state Revenue Commissioner Tim Russell and U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, in an effort to get more money for local schools. The "emergency financial summit," will be at Trojan Hall at Daphne High School, Faron Hollinger, Baldwin County superintendent of education, said.

About 180 more employees will be laid off if the Baldwin County Board of Education votes Thursday to approve recommended cost-cutting measures on the agenda. In the last two years, the board has laid off about 465 workers when state funding and local tax revenue for Baldwin County public schools dropped by about $54.7 million, according to school system reports.

:loveya:

Bless you for doing that. It can be hard, hearing what some of those kids have to say... but it is so rewarding.

almost of the kids were from married families, but they all seemed to love the one male teacher that was a part-timer there. Not sure why, but maybe he was just different in a building full of women.

But, glad you had an interesting time.

and it sounds like a lot of fun!

Can't believe there have been that many school layoffs. I am looking for work in Baldwin county right now. There isnt a lot here from what I see so far. I just moved here.

I'm in Foley.
There's about a half a page of 'help wanted' in the Foley Onlooker.
(Used to be 3 or 4 pages.)
Mostly sales, data entry, or something in tourism...food & bev, motels/condos, etc.
Good luck.
PM me if you want.

I LOVE it here!!!! After years of living out in rural Texas at least 50 miles from any city, it feels wonderful to be back in civilization again. I am in a really nice part of Fairhope, too. Now I just have to find a job to be able to pay the rent!

I went to Foley on Sunday, my daughter wanted to go to Outback for her birthday dinner and they dont have one in Daphne or Fairhope. Foley is closer to me than Mobile. I am pretty close to Silverhill.

You know what's funny, but not really funny, is that before I made the decision to move here I looked at the help wanted ads on Craigslist for a long time. It appeared that there was no shortage of jobs at all over here, so I was confident that there were plenty to go around. Then I get here and start applying and it turns out that all of those ads are SCAMS. They arent real jobs (the majority of them), but I have learned how to spot them now. Because I had no experience with Craigslist before now, I didnt realize how much on there is people trying to scam you out of your money.

...and try to find a place where I can help. What a beautiful post.

other than the fact that you live in Alabama across the Bay from where I used to live.

Kindergartner's are soooooo fun! You never can tell what'll come out of there mouths. Funny, horrifying, perplexing, or waaaay TMI. :sigh: I miss the little ones.