Communication

Having no voice and working at a preschool aren’t necessarily the best combination, especially on so-called “wacky Wednesday.” That’s right, when I woke up this morning, my voice was practically gone and really scratchy. Pair this with two preschool classes (one of which is incredibly excited for their upcoming Tea which, after spending weeks preparing for, is in a matter of hours) who are sharing a room, and you have a recipe for a loud morning. As it turns out, everything went fine. The early morning was the hardest, because other teaching aids came in later during the day, so there were enough people to help keep the students on track.

The hardest part for me was the lack of the voice, but I was able to work things out. I just had to go over to each child I needed to talk with, sit down right next to them, and talk to them. As it turns out, my lack of voice probably caught their attention a little more, because I got many a question about it. “What happened to your talk?” one kid asked me. Overall, going and talking/whispering to the kids worked well, the only downfall was if I was across the room and saw someone running, for example. Normally I’d be able to say, “Name, walk please” and continue working with another child, but not today. If I wanted to say something I had to go up to them individually, since my voice didn’t carry. Today though, was pretty calm, and the other teachers were able to take care of situations like that. Overall, though, I realized the importance of being able to effectively communicate; I guess that’s why we stress to the preschoolers just how important it is to be able to use their words and explain what they’re feeling. Communication is key.