This year I submitted what you could call an "application" to become an assistant teacher at my new dance studio. I love kids and thought it would be a lot of fun to assistant teach a class. As soon as I found out that I was put with the 2-3 year old class on Fridays, I was ecstatic! The first few classes, there was a lot of crying which was heartbreaking, but I also saw how fearless these little kids are. Some of them come up to me or Ashley, the teacher, and tell us their life story. Half the time we can't understand them, but that's something we'll dive into soon.
Often times, the kids will come in super excited, talking at 100 miles an hour, and they'll expect you to understand every word. They're at that age where they are starting to use their words to convey their feelings, but aren't quite there yet with the pacing and enunciation portion of it. Sometimes Ashley and I just say, "yeah!" because we have to say something and "yeah" seems like the answer that will answer most questions.
Each little kid already has their own personality. Some are quiet, others are super hyper, but there's this one little girl who always wants to be held. She's too cute and I could almost say she's my favorite. She always holds either me or Ashley's hand and usually wants attention. She won't do any of the jumps or other dance steps the other little girls are attempting unless one of us does it with her. Once she has the security of one of our hands her face lights up with pure joy and she joins the rest of the class with the activity. Last week, I held her for the first time and I kind of felt like a mini mom, the fun parts of being a mom without any of the responsibilities. I also realized that little kids, even two or three year olds, can feel like 100 pounds after you hold them for some time.
There is another little girl who is such a great direction follower. She almost always does what she is told, or as much as a three year old's attention span can remember. Every time Ashley asks a question, she answers and interacts with the activity. Whenever we sit at the wall waiting for each of their turns to jump across whichever obstacle awaits them, she tells me what she did today, her Halloween plans, or anything else on her mind. It shows me how open little kids are and how they will tell anyone anything. Every single kid is adorable, but it's their quirks that make them so fun to spend time with.
I've already learned so much from this experience and it's probably one of my favorite classes, especially because it's on a Friday and who doesn't want to hang out with a bunch of cute little kids to kick off the weekend?! It's somewhat similar to babysitting as both the kid and the "babysitter" don't see each other as often as the parents or close family friends. I can't wait to see what else I learn along the way and am really happy that I decided to take this opportunity.