I got told off today. Not unusual at all, really. The little person who told me off has not long turned two, and already she is quite the character. I made the observation to one of my colleagues that she ought to be a teacher when she's older, as she's quite bossy. I really do enjoy the company of this child. I like all the children I teach, of course, but she and I have this rapport going, I'm her person. She's a real c...

I had perched myself on the child-sized chair in the family play area, conveniently, this was also right underneath the heat pump. It was icy cold that morning. Two girls were with me, and we were consuming pretend cups of tea and having a good ol gossip sesh. R comes in and asks to join in. The more the merrier, so she proceeds to brew some tea and put some baking in the oven. "Hey Laura," R says to me. "Yes," I answer. ...

I was sitting inside at a table with a few children, and we were doing puzzles. It was so hot that we, the teachers, had made the executive decision to bring the kids inside and just chill out. We had Netflix for kids on the TV and some of the children were sitting on the mat and watching. Three of them, actually, had fallen asleep, all in the same position, all facing the same direction, funnily enough. Some of the other...

I was sitting at the messy play table, with some freshly made playdough. I had the kids helping me roll it out and add colour to it. I had the usual mini rolling pins and cookie cutters out that my helpers were using. "My Nana is picking me up today," T said excitedly. "I'm going to stay at their farm.""My mummy is picking me up today," C replied. The two besties happily chatted between themselves for a bit, talking about...

Coming from within the kids' bathroom I heard the unmistakable sounds of children laughing, a pause, some low sounds that I could not quite make out from where I was, then the loud sound of laughter once more. Walking across the classroom, the low sounds became clearer, as a picture was painted as to what the children were doing in the bathroom when they were supposed to be getting changed after having some fun summer wat...

I got told off at work the other day. Not uncommon, the children always have an answer for everything, and I am constantly getting attitude and sass, but I just sass them straight back. I am teaching the next generation to be sarcastic assholes. You're welcome, society.The particular boy who told me off, has no language skills. He is on the autistic spectrum and he has a specialist who comes into see him a few times a wee...

If you read the newspaper regularly, you probably missed the news about the grand opening, for the simple fact, it wasn't reported by the media or tabloids. I am, of course, talking about the grand opening of my nail salon last week at the daycare. It had all started the week prior when one of the boys asked why my nails were purple. I had painted them that colour so they matched my dress for the date I went on the night...

Working with children, you're privy to some of their conversations. Overheard snippets as you walk past or sit next to them. Even the very young children somehow seem to be able to effectively communicate with each other. To me, it just sounds like random noises and baby babble, but they just know. On Wednesday I was partially privy to such a conversation when I walked down the other end of the playground to defuse a squi...

"My Uncle Patrick is in Canada," one young boy announced to me on Friday. I was on outside duty that afternoon and it was rather quiet, so I was standing on one of the boxes that the kids can climb up and then slide down, blowing bubbles for the few interested children. It was mostly the 2 and 3-year-olds that cared, while some of the older children, especially the boys, shrugged and ran off to find something else to do....

I don't know if it's the children I work with or just children in general, but some of them are obsessed with the human anatomy. Whether it's the questions I have documented in my other stories, or pointing to certain body parts and using them as weapons, I feel like my stories these days are mostly about the human body from a child's perspective.  One little boy refers to me as 'boobies'. On the odd occasion he will use...

Sitting down with a group of children in the shade, on a very hot day, I was reading a story with them about farm animals. After the story was finished we played the "what sound does this animal make?" game. We went through the usual the dog goes woof; the cat goes meow, the sheep goes baa when I asked them what sound does a cow make. All the children make very loud mooing noises, and then we laugh at how funny and silly...

One of the funniest, yet simplest things I have ever seen since working with children happened on Thursday and even now, just thinking and writing about it, I have the giggles again. We have a 'family play' area set up for the children. They have a little seating area, a round table, two small cots and a small bed for the dolls or some of the smaller children, though they are bigger than the dolls and my fear is the wood...

Things are heating up at work. Apparently, spring didn't get the memo that it's her season, and us here in Hawkes Bay have gone straight to summer. It's not a major complaint, though, six months of summer sounds amazing, and it's even better because our Christmas and New Year's are in the summer. Because things are heating up and it's getting hotter, we leave a note for all the parents that they should start packing sun h...

I work in childcare, a job I love and enjoy very much. No two days are the same and the children definitely keep me on my toes, but I would not change it for the world. I love my job. As you probably guessed from the title, this is just a little piece about the conversations I have had with the children over the course of my job. I was on the early shift one morning, and as I walked into the daycare centre I finished my c...