Today, at school when I walked into the first class I was informed that there was a singing competition and I could go along. Okay… Let's go. I won't argue with not having to teach. (internal victory dance).
We go down stairs to this large room. There are chairs for all the kids and teachers and in front of them is a stage. The teachers settle the kids as best as they can. Keep in mind that this room is filled with about 100 four year olds (all my kids) and an additional 20 or so three year olds. Quiet isn't really an option here. I take a few pics of the group because this is the first chance I've had to take pics of all my kids. Then I sit down to watch the proceedings. The concept is that each child goes on stage and sings a song. Not in groups or pairs, but individually. Some of the kids did just fine. Others were silent and could not be prompted to sing, and some just shouted into the mic what ever they wanted. The microphone is not a hand held device, its' the kind that is meant to go around your head, sit on your ears and the mic extends along your cheek. The kind that pop singers in the 90s used because they danced and sang. And the mic is connected to a small speaker, like what a tour guide would hang on their belt. You needed to know this so the next comment makes sense. The mic would squeal, you know that high pitched sound that happens when the mic gets too close to the speaker. Yes, that sound. (feel free to shiver) Well, the mic was making this sound and the teachers kept trying to move the speaker farther away from the mic…. needless of it being attached. (eye roll) Also, when ever the mic would squeal it was because the kid was either holding their hand around the mic, or eating it. Imagine for a moment what the ABC's sounds like when the mic is inside the kids mouth. Mhmm… cute went out the window about 20 minutes ago. Remember there are about 120 kids each singing individually. So, not all of them ate it. Only like 15.
As the morning progressed, kids began to lose interest. Not that they had much to begin with. To make this easier, I'll just list the activities going on besides singing.
- Shouting
- Screaming
- Playing on teeter-totters; this room doubles as an indoor activity room so there are plastic teeter totter things like what Play-Skol would make.
- Teacher's taking video and pictures of each kid.
- Kids running around
- Crying… And let me tell you, crying is highly contagious. One kid started and within 2 minutes three more took queue and decided crying was the thing to do. Which only added to the aforementioned screaming.
- Snack time; one class had their watermelon slices sitting in this room. Not only does juicy watermelon make a mess, but they didn't give me one!
- Leaving and returning; the other classes left to go have snack and then came back. Or small groups left to go potty or wash hands. It's a lot of movement.
I was going into sensory overload. Even with three teachers per class it was nuts. 15 adults for 120 kids doesn't exactly add up to a lot of control.
However, there was one little thing that happened that made the whole experience awesome. This little girl named Lily was sitting in front of me. When she realized I was behind her she would turn around slowly and look at me, then whip back to the front. She wears glasses, so she had to turn almost all the way around to see me. And the glasses are pretty strong so they make her eyes look pretty big. So adorable!!! Then, after a bit I moved my chair back a bit because I was getting overtaken by kids moving their chairs. Well, after she had snack, she returned to her chair and saw me moved so she moved her chair back right in front of me again. AH! There is a picture above of her playing peek with me. But I also got another picture when she moved by me. If there was a chance of taking one of these little Chinese people home with me, it would be Lily.
Until next time.
She's adorable.
This picture doesn't do her justice.
I sorta love her.
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