Deutschland Round Two! : Week 5!

August 18^th-22^nd, 2014

Monday began splendidly because we only had 31 kids! It seemed sooo quiet and mellow and none of us had to shout the whole day, which is a first! We had a handful of returning kids, but some new ones as well. I definitely felt more rested today primarily due to a relaxed and sleep-filled weekend :)

Because of the smaller numbers, I was able to participate more in the activities and spend more quality time with the kiddos. I love being back in my element and feeling more comfortable in a role I’m confident in!

It’s Sports Week this week, so we are having the kids make their own mini jerseys and stick them up on a football (soccer) field we painted last week. It looks really good actually! Although a little late, I came up with the idea that us counselors draw the shape of our state on a large piece of paper and write fun facts about the state we’re from. It’s kind of a fun idea because the kids have something else to look at that gives them a visual and more information on where their counselors are from!

Ms. Kiwi (Emilie) and I are leading Comic Book Club this week and our group of kids really seems to enjoy it. We went over what comic books are, gave an example of what they look like, and asked the kids for comics they have heard of or read before. The most popular ones with these kiddos were Garfield and any superhero comic. It was fun to see them create their own comic and show me the sequence of events :) Our other two clubs: Dance Club (led by Ms. Mango and Ms. Berry), and Yoga Club (led by Ms. Grape and Ms. Honeydew) were successful as well. Dance Club is learning the ‘Cupid Shuffle’ and another cool dance that the kids can learn rather easily over a couple of days. Yoga club went surprisingly well and I think the kids enjoyed doing a calmer exercise and taking off their shoes haha :)We only have 30 kids this week, which is our lowest number so far, but what a nice break that is. Never did I think having 30 kids would be “easy” but this week is very mellow so far and we have some awesome kids :)

Let me just start out by saying that our decorations are fabulous and we knocked it out of the park this week. Next week is Harry Potter week and those are pretty awesome too. Not to brag or anything…(:

We had a pretty great start to our week with Janise being gone and Champagne Tuesday, that’s right…Champagne Tuesday ;) and it was veryyy much needed. Jenna, Emilie, and I decided to partake in this annual event and had the best time. We met some other officers who are super nice and we had the best time having all sorts of conversations. My favorite part was when we all took turns playing American music and then British music and making up dances to them. So much fun! It was nice to unwind from work and hang out with other people around our age!

Wednesday we had our annual firefighter visit and the kids loved it again. Their favorite part is spraying the hose of course. One of our girls threw a fit because she didn’t get to try on the helmet though, so that was a not so fun part of my day. But compared to the American kids I’ve had in the past, these little Brits are angels…and I’m not kidding. Unfortunately little Elsie fell again. She decided it’d be a good idea to put her jumper (jacket) over her head and walk. And walk she did, straight into the fence, losing her balance and flopped on the pavement. It was rather heartbreaking to see her little cry though :/ even though we’ve told her many a time not to cover her face with her jumper. Oh Elsie…

Bradley also took a tumble today. He already has a broken arm by the way. He decided to climb on the walk adjacent to the stairs after being told by Ms. Grape (Alma) not too. And crash! He went rolling down the stairs. We felt so horrible though. Thankfully he was okay and mom wasn’t mad at us. He’s such a sweetie, but walking along the cement stairs was definitely not his shining moment. More accident reports for me!

One of our favorite kids to joke about is Lizzie. Now Lizzie is known for her genuine, but backhanded compliments. For example, she told me today, “Ms. Cherry, I prefer you more fresh-faced and not with those black lines on your eyelids.” Why, thank you, Lizzie, not sure what you meant there…Constructive criticism maybe? Lol. She also told Ms. Mango (Jenna) that, “I like that you’re not super tiny and fit like Ms. Kiwi (Emilie), it makes us more similar.” Uh what? lol. Sometimes you just gotta laugh at the blunt delivery.

Thursday we went on our first and only off-base field trip to the “Walking Path.” Let me tell you…the walking path is not very…shall we say…’walkable.’ There are lots of sharp stones, cold water, and then there’s a smalllll stretch of soft mud and sand in there somewhere. But the kids seemed to enjoy it despite a couple that are our youngest 5-year-olds. Poor Elsie and Gabby had a bit of a rough time, and Ms. Berry (Erika) had to carry Elsie at one point because she was crying so hard. Of course Janise was there to complain and made Erika put her down. Hmm, do we want a child crying in pain the whole way, or to carry her and break a very small Camp A rule? Stupid.

Thank goodness for Charlie! She works for Steve at AWS and was such a great support on our fieldtrip. She’s definitely more relaxed like my counselors and myself and helped counter Janise’s unnecessary stress. I couldn’t tell you how many times I counted to 29 today for head counts. Good lord! But it was great to get the kids off base and to explore some new place in Germany. Fun for the counselors as well!

Have I mentioned how quick the 45 minute bus ride was?! These kids are awesome! Not a single scream or complaint the way there or on the way back. When I took my 9 Kinders last year on weekly fieldtrips, there were screaming fits or excessive tantrums ALL the time. I loved my kids last year, but boy were they the toughest kids I’ve ever dealt with. My Little Brits are blessings.

“Are we allowed a drink?” is my new favorite saying by these kiddos. It’s just so polite and nice in how they say it. How could I say possibly say ‘no??’ Sometimes though, I am tempted to say ‘no,’ especially with the amount of juice Elsie drinks. Every 15 minutes I am asked in the littlest British accent, “Ms. Cherry, may I go the toilet?” To which I reply, “Are you sure you have to go, Els? Can you wait five minutes?” :) Love that child though!

Will write about Friday later :) As the Brits often say…Cheers!