Mrs. La-Ree gets a black eye

I have a three year old named Alex who just cannot seem to understand the concept of keeping his hands to himself. Everyday, without fail, Alex is in time-out AT LEAST five times for hitting his peers or a teacher. And everyday I rack my brain trying to crack the code that would make him stop hitting. This isn't a new occurence, nor a waning one. He has hit on a daily basis since he began at Eton House in September.

Today's attempt at stilling his hands involved feigning a fight in which I received a black eye, compliments of body tatoo markers. Miss Mikel's smack sent me crying out of the room. While I was in the bathroom creating the appearance of a black eye, the other teachers explained that it's not nice to hit and sent Miss Mikel to time-out. I came back in, shocking the students with my black eye, and they listened intently for the rest of the lesson. I thought the trick had worked.

Little did I know a few hours later not only would my skit backfire, but it would give Mr. Alex a new idea. During the afternoon recess he hit Miss Anna (he has hit other teachers, just not her until today). When asksed why he hit Miss Anna he responded, "Well Miss Mikel hit Miss LaRee!" Needless to say, I'll keep looking for the key that locks Alex's hands.

All of that aside, it was a great day. It's been great being back with my boys. A lot of the children ran to me yesterday morning. We all missed each other a bit I think.

I gave Leo chewing gum for the first time today. It was precious. He chewed it with his mouth open while smiling. I asked him, "Hao bu hao?" which means good not good? He didn't respond for a few seconds but kept smiling. Eventually he shook his head. He wouldn't stop chewing he liked it so much. He giggled and giggled after a bit. It was wonderful. I can't imagine what being a mother will be like. I wouldn't trade moments like these for anything in the world and they aren't even my own children. It is deeply rewarding to be teaching these children.