Preschool: Wash My Hands (Back and Forth)

Say what you will about this song, but this is just about my favorite music video of all time.



It's the perfect combination of catchy, bright, and adorable, and I love its confident message.

Here's my health lesson remix:

I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (just wash em)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (wash em real good)
I wash my hands back and forth x4

Hop up out the bed turn my swag on
Pay no attention to the germies
Because we wash em off
And we ain’t doin nothin wrong
So don’t tell me nothin
I’m just trying to have lunch
So keep the pasta coming
So whats up? (yeah)
And now they don't know what to do
We turn the knob and wash our hands (and just)
Shake em off (x4)

Don’t let germies get me all a-grime
Wash my hands, I know I’ll be fine
Keep scrubbin until I get there
When I’m down and I feel like cleaning up

(chorus x3)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (just wash em)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (wash em real good)
I wash my hands back and forth x4

Imma get more shine in a little bit
Soon as I hit the stage
Applause I’m hearing it
Whether it’s soap bars, soap jars, I’m feeling it

But can’t none of them wash em like I do (I)
I get to them mm-yeah go hard
When they see me pull up
I wash em real hard x2
Real hard
I wash em real hard

Don’t let germies get me all a-grime
Wash my hands, I know I’ll be fine
Keep scrubbin until I get there
When I’m down and I feel like cleaning up

(chorus x2)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (just wash em)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (wash em real good)
I wash my hands back and forth x4

(x2)
All my kiddos if you feel me
Gone and do it, do it
Wash your hands (wash your hands)
Don’t matter if they look clean,
Do it, do it wash your hands
Your hands, your hands!

(chorus x3)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (just wash em)
I wash my hands back and forth
I wash my hands back and forth (wash em real good)
I wash my hands back and forth x4

Summer Activites: Self-Education

Here's what I have been up to lately. . . .

I have been fortunate enough to travel a lot this summer.  I visited friends in Spain and a friend in Costa Rica to look at possible Spanish-immersion locations for the future, and even got to spend a week at the beach with my family.  All this travel has really re-sparked my natural curiosity.  I have learned a lot of Spanish, explored rainforest and cloud forest, and spotted several different types of monkeys.  Being out of my element has made me more aware of my surroundings, especially the natural ones.  And of course, I brought back plenty of props and pictures to share at Circle Time and in my tutoring sessions. 

It has really been a summer of self-education.

In particular, I have had time during my vacation to complete my TESOL course.  I am excited to have this certification under my belt, especially since it will allow me to apply for jobs teaching English abroad when I'm ready.  I also view it as a step in the direction of a full-time career in teaching ESOL students, which is the career choice I am leaning toward now.

Next in my self-education this summer is a Child Development Associates.  I am participating in a program at my preschool center to complete my CDA online by the end of this year.  I am really looking forward to getting more standardized knowledge of child development and finding more ways to formalize our preschool classroom and pre-kindergarten program. 


Here's a Kid Quote about a popular summertime activity:

Three-year-old: "I don't want to watch a lot of TV because I will get a mush brain!"

Four-year-old: "I love to watch a lot of TV.  It's my favorite thing to do."

Oh no!  Don't watch too much; you'll get a mush brain!

Four-year-old: "No I didn't."

Happy Summer!

Here's a rainbow of mermaids to brighten your day!

The artist was my seven-year-old tutoring student, who moved back to Korea this summer.  I miss this family, but I'm looking forward to working more regularly with the other clients this family introduced me to.

And here is a summertime Kid Quote:

Four-year-old: "When I was at the beach I found a turtle egg and it was a baby one and I picked it up and it was still in there and I carried it as carefully as I could and then it started to hatch."

Really?  What happened then?  Did you put him in the water?

Four-year-old: "No I put him in a pot of water with my fish."

Oh!  What did you name him?

Four-year-old: "I named him Frances!  I fed him peas.  That's why I named him Frances.  And I gave him some gummy bears and some jellybeans because he ate all his dinner."

Saying Goodbye

One of the toughest parts of being a teacher is saying goodbye to your students. Naturally, your relationship with every child is different and the way each one contributes to the classroom dynamic is unique, so you miss them in different ways and for different reasons, but you miss them all anyway.

I have said goodbye to a lot of students this year, both at preschool and in my tutoring. Some students moved, and lots of them graduated into more specialized programs or kindergarten. I like to imagine them in their new schools, showing off what they've learned here. I hope it's enough. I hope it's more than enough.

This year at preschool, we've even had to say goodbye to a classroom teacher. One of my beloved co-teachers is moving her family across the country, so for now my other co-teacher and myself will have the classroom to ourselves.

The only comfort as I let go of my little friends is that we will soon have a whole new batch of friends to play with and teach. My remaining co-teacher and I have formulated our curriculum for the following year, including going back through the alphabet with a letter of the week and using a weekly unconventional painting tool to shake up our art program. We're excited to have a solid routine worked out for our new, mainly younger group, and we're playing with the idea of creating a second, parallel Circle Time for our handful of pre-k friends.  As bittersweet as it all is, I'm really looking forward to the new educational year.

Here is a heart-warming Kid Quote that I can certainly relate to:

Four-year-old, eating lunch: "Miss Frances, my heart is full!"

It's full?  Is it full of love?

Four-year-old: "Yeah!  No, actually, it's not full. . . . It's still hungry."