YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD

You are never too old to have a babysitter.  Am I right?  I think yes.  This past week my mom went out of town so her old teaching partner, Magen, came and watched us.  We've known Magen for a long time, and there are always new adventures.

Rubie and Magen.
Photo Courtesy of Mama Claire 

My family's dog, Rubie, always gets very depressed when my mom leaves because my mom and Rubie are best friends.  Rubie gets so delusional that she even lets ME hold her.  Usually she bites me.

Anyway, there are many responsibilities that my mom has.  Magen does her best to do the following:

• Clean-up after meals
• Feed and take out the pets (Rubie-dog, Henry-dog, Max-dog, and Willie-cat) 
• Make dinner
• Make sure I get up in the morning
• Drive me to the bus stop
• Keep the peace between Mimi and me
• And much, much more

The cutest little Henry
Photo Courtesy of Mama Claire

This week wasn't too busy in regards to my lacrosse schedule, so Magen's responsibilities were even less than usual.  The most odd job she has is to make sure that the little dogs sleep on her bed (Rubie and Henry).  My family coddles our animals a tad too much, but they are just so cute it 

is hard not too.  On Wednesday, I came upstairs after showering and getting ready for school, and Henry was sleeping on the coach.  All alone.  I went and picked him up and noticed that his "spot" was very warm and it indicated that he had slept there all night.  It made me so sad to think that Henry was alone upstairs.  To be honest, Henry is not the sharpest tool in the shed.  He is partly deaf and really can't understand anything.  

After that incident, everything else went smoothly.  Magen is super fun, and I was sad to see her go.  But, it is always nice to have my mom back home!

"A Day for Hot Coke (Cocoa) "

Today, I had the best babysitting job EVER.  And I mean EVER.  I have been dying to babysit the cutest kids, L and L2 (code names).  Back at the beginning of January, I gave my number to their mom and hadn't heard from her until this morning when she needed a babysitter after school.  I, of course, said yes even though I had a lacrosse scrimmage around the same time.  Nonetheless, it was so fun.  I already knew L because I was a TA in her preschool class last year and this year (mentioned in "A Teacher in Training.")  However, I didn't know her younger sister, L2, and boy did I have fun getting to know her.

Their mom picked me up after school and we drove to their home where I played with them while she worked.  First, I read "The Velveteen Rabbit" to them, which is a great book and I highly recommend it for everyone.  Then, we snacked and I made hot chocolate for the L2, who told me afterward that she doesn't like hot cocoa.  Don't you love when kids claim to like something and then you waste your time to make it for them and in then, they don't even want it?  Yeah, I do too. *Sarcasm*

My favorite event of all was when L did my hair and told me it looked, "SOOOO beautiful."  It certainly was quite the hairdo.

Please pardon the poor quality, it was taken by a five year
old who claimed to know how to work and iPhone camera.
Photo Courtesy of Mana Claire

Later on, I really wanted to go on a walk, so we voyaged on the road to visit my friend, Samantha, at her house.  I thought the walk would be short, but it took about 20 minutes to get to her house... Mostly because I was carrying L2 on my hip and holding L's hand.  

All I heard the whole time from L was, "Are we there yet?"  "When will we be there?" "This sure is a long walk."  "Claire!  My hands are cold!"  "It sure is a day for hot coke (cocoa)."  

We made the best of it, and Samantha was so excited to see us and even brought us cupcakes :).

We made it back home just in the nick of time and off we went to drop me off at my scrimmage.  L was so interested in my uniform that exactly what I was wearing, and I had a great time attempting to explain it. 

Overall, it was the most fun I've had babysitting in a long, long time.  Mostly because I LOVE these kids and they are so nice and sweet.  If you can't tell how excited I was to babysit them, just as my friends.  It's all I could talk about today. 

Until next time. 

A Teacher in Training

This week, I wanted to write a post about my dream/hope for my future.

Not a day goes by that I don't want to be a teacher.  Ever since childhood, I've wanted to be in the field of education.  I guess you could say it runs in the family as my grammie, my uncle, and my mom are all teachers.  I appreciate my personal teachers because they put so much work into their jobs.  Not only is it one of the most rewarding jobs, but it requires so much energy and love.

A common remark I get when expressing this is that I won't make any money.  To me, this is so stupid to say.  I don't care about money as much as I care about making a difference.  With this being said, I do think that teachers are extremely underpaid for all of the work they do.  After all, they're the ones who supply the workforce with knowledgeable, well-rounded, hard-working workers.  Money may make some people happy, but it is not what makes my world go round.

On another note, I am so lucky to know Kathy Anderson.  She is the Park City School District Preschool Coordinator and also teaches three year old preschool at McPolin Elementary.  In eighth grade, I was able to be her "TA" (teacher aid).  I spent 130 minutes on every white day in her classroom, and I would eat lunch during their snack; it was the best time I can remember.  

It was practically project based learning because I was able to have a look on what it's like to be a real teacher.  Kathy taught me so much about patience, differentiating, and most importantly love.  She loves her job so much, and it's so obvious because the kids adore her.  During my elementary years, I had Kathy as a reading teacher and to this day I remember how much fun it was.

McPolin 3 yr. old class '11-'12
Photo Courtesy of Kathy Anderson

Myself and "L" during recess
Photo Courtesy of Kathy Anderson

As you can see above, I LOVE these children.  I invested my whole heart in their wellbeing and understanding of the lessons, games, etc.  This led me to take online PE this year so I could have an open period...  You can already guess what I did with that; TA for Kathy!!  Unfortunately, I am there for fifteen minutes of the morning class and twenty-five minutes with the afternoon.  Yet, I have decided to look on the bright side and remember how much I want this to be my future job.

Overall, I cannot wait until the day that I can make a difference in the lives of children.  What more is there to life?

10/10

This past week I babysat for a new family.  I'm always excited to get a new family because it means more jobs, new kids, and of course a little more money.  Although I love my "job," getting paid the big bucks is a nice perk.  What teenager doesn't love that?

Me in second grade
Photo by my mom

Anyway, this family has two kids, Ski Bunny (girl, seven years old) and Sniffles (boy, three years old).  Ski Bunny is in my mom's second grade class this year, and is the sweetest little thing.  For now I will be referring to their mom as Fancy because she works for a jewelry company.

I went over for the first time on Thursday, and I had been looking forward to it all week.  Right when I got into the mom's car that evening, Ski Bunny said, "Oh my gosh, Claire!!!!! I am going to teach you how to play Wii. We are going to have so much fun!!!!"  That pretty much says it all.  I never stopped moving until Ski Bunny "taught" me how to play Wii.

Before my Wii experience, I played with Sniffles (he had a cold at the time) and Ski Bunny tagged along.  I put him to bed right after dinner which was quite nice.  Immediately after I was taken downstairs to play Wii.  I sat on the couch watching her play this game called "Vancouver 2010."  Honestly, I thought I was going to pass out from fatigue.

I almost dozed off, but she looked at me and asked, "Claire?  Are you falling asleep on the couch?"

"Oh my goodness... Of course not!" I murmured back although I almost did.

I was watching my cellphone the entire time, and right when 8:15 appeared on the homescreen I told her it was, unfortunately, time for bed.  From there I put her into bed after reading a few chapters from an awful children's chapter book.

Home at 10:30 on a school night.  AWESOME.  You can probably imagine me the next morning.

Fancy saw my mom the next day and told her what Ski Bunny had said about her experience.  Ski Bunny rated me a ten out of ten.  Woooooohoooooooo!!!!  Fancy said that they haven't had a ten since they lived in New Hampshire. Aren't I cool?  Also, I went over on Saturday night.  When I went through the front doors, she came screaming and running at me while saying, "CLAIRE!!!!!!!!!!"  A huge hug was followed by my grand entrance.

This pretty much sums up why I even bother babysitting.  Little kids don't judge you for your faults, but the things that they recognize as interesting and unique.  If you're ever looking for an honest critique or heartfelt compliment, find a little kid.