Kindy!

Today was my first kindergarten visit. The clock tower belongs to what I think is an elementary school, but the playground is all kindy all the time, baby.

We were supposed to go for a walk over by SS, but it rained all morning, so there was some improv to be done by Abbey-sensei to fill the time. Fortunately, I had prepared for this, sort of, and had a couple games up my sleeve. I also sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with the gosai (5-year-olds) and tried to teach them "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider." I didn't realize how difficult just the hand movements were! By the end they were able to chime in with "...spider" and do the finger movements. Kids kept coming up to me all day to show me that they could do it! So cute!

So today I
1.) got spanked more than in my childhood and adult life combined.
2.) had one kid try on more than one occasion to pluck me in the crotch.
3.) had another kid try to lift my shirt up to see my oppai.
4.) saw more bare bottoms than I've seen in a while, and that's including my little "nieces."
5.) saw more snot than ever in my entire lifetime, including any previous lives I may have lead.
6.) saw more tooth rot than I ever hope to see. And I hope they take better care of their adult teeth. Poor babies.
7.) had a 5-year-old tell me I was daisuki (really liked)
8.) got to hold little kids on my lap
9.) got to swing kids around and hold them upside down. (Oh, those crazy Connares!)
10.) really missed my little nieces.
11.) looked forward to having children of my own... someday.
12.) gave in and admitted that there is one kind of mushroom that I can stand eating. But it's really small and not mushy.
13.) entertained an entire room of 5-year-olds by eating my yoghurt alternatingly (is that a word?) fast and slow.
14.) met some cool women doin' their thang at the kindy.
15.) accepted the term "kindy" into my vocabulary (oh, you Brits and Aussies, what have you done to me?).
16.) learned a new little kid playground game, even though I didn't learn the words to the chant.
17.) sweated my butt off in the humidity... and then the sun when it came out.
18.) spent about 5% of my time without holding a little kid's hand.
19.) spent about 95% of my time with at least two kids hanging off my arms and/or legs.
20.) was dubbed "eigo no sensei" by kids who couldn't remember my real name
21.) voluntarily held an ant for the first time ever.
22.) learned to not fear kindergarten! Little babies, they're so cute!

Side note: In Japan, kindergarten, or yochien, includes 3 to 5-year-olds.