Tuesday, July 13, 2010

you can take the girl away from teaching...

The man glanced at me skeptically, and then looked down again at the contents of my bag. I'm sure I looked like your average DC citizen on lunch break, complete with the professional bag large enough to hold folders, files, and a laptop. His eyes scanned the contents of the bag, his eyebrows raised, and he glanced at me again, clearly questioning my choice of reading materials.

*sigh*

this is all because, while you can take the girl away from teaching,

but you can't take the teacher out of the girl.


I'm slowly relaxing my way through summer with lots of reading for fun, short trips, sewing & knitting projects, some arts and crafts, lots of naps, and a little bit of volunteering (mainly to force some sort of structure into my life).

I'm spending two mornings a week at a day care project in DC. It's an amazing place with a mission I strongly believe in, and so I felt like I should take advantage of my long summer to get to know such a great organization, and gain more experience working with two-four year olds. I'm extremely interested in early child development, and hope to look into the brain development of young children in my doctorate program, but the youngest children I work with are five years old. I feel like I need to know how two year olds manage their world.

Yesterday I was scheduled to do a read aloud- something I do many times a day during the year. No big deal. But as I scanned my bookshelf looking for the perfect book, I couldn't decide. Alice the Fairy? Knuffle Bunny? Caps for Sale? Which children's book would I be longing for when it came time?
Knuffle Bunny is a classic, but what if we're in the mood for some good monkey business? Or if we want to feel magical, like in Alice? Or do we need something ridiculously silly from Robert Munch?

And so, when I left the house today, ready to schlep into DC on the metro bus and the train, I had a bag full of children's books. I just couldn't leave any behind. I mean, really, I could almost hear Alice the Fairy calling to me, begging to come along. And the Pigeon? We all know how he feels about not getting his way...

Despite the fact that my bag was unnecessarily heavy I thought it wasn't really a big deal that my indecisiveness had left me with a plethora of options for story time. Until, of course, I was settled in for lunch, enjoying the fact that like most people in the city, I was out for lunch on a weekday. It was then I noticed the man eyeing my bag that had fallen open. He didn't look like he was about to swipe my wallet, but I saw his eyes scan the titles of my favorite children's book, and then look back to me.

I fought the urge to take one out and begin reading as though they were my choice reading for pleasure books.

Maybe one day I'll be able to walk through DC blending in as though I am an actual real-live adult and not just an impostor enjoying playing for the day in the city...

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