Adventures in Daycare: The Fingers and the Nose and the Soap

Kid B (I've already forgotten his unusual name, but it started with a B) placed his fingers into his nostrils and felt about with determination. It was my first actual shift on the job, but I recognized this immediately as a moment that required hand-washing. I was operating with two understandings: the kids know how to wash their hands, and we are always to encourage them to do by themselves anything they know how to do on their own.

I followed Kid B to the washroom and he successfully planted his foot against the pedal, instigating the sprinkly flow of water. I think he kind of touched his hand to the soap dispenser but most definitely did not use soap. He took his foot off the pedal and began to make for the hand towels.

"Wait a minute, hold on... did you use soap?"

He silently nodded a Yes. I was quite confident I did not see soap use.

"I'm not so sure. I don't think I saw you use soap. I need to see you use soap. Can you do it again with soap?"

Hesitantly his 3-year-old foot with its black sneaker made its way back to the pedal and he started the hand-wash all over again. He stopped and started a few times, never going for the soap.

"Can you show me how you use the soap?"

He rather blankly stared.

"Show me how you use the soap!" I think I said it a few times, encouragingly.

I walked over, crouched next to him and changed my demeanor from helpful to more insistent.

"...You need to show me how you use the soap now." I said some variation of this about five times and the most I got was a hand being placed at the sprout of the dispenser, but absolutely no action of dispensing. I was pretty sure I was being challenged, and was not sure how to proceed at this point, so I went to quickly ask.

It turns out using soap is something that is a mild challenge for Kid B, but he's done it before. It also turns out English is his second language. He's Chinese. He only started learning 7 months ago. I couldn't tell from my experience with him to that point, he seemed to understand instructions just fine.

I went back and decided to help him. I had him open his palm and dispensed soap into it. "Now rub your hands together!" As I said that, his soaped hand made straight for the water flow and the soap ran quickly off his hand before he'd rubbed it into his other hand.

I had him put his hands under the dispenser again. I had him open one palm, dispensed soap again, and helped him rub it into both his hands. He successfully rinsed off about 75% of the soap, that was good enough for me, and he imitated some approximation of drying them with a paper towel (I noticed drying hands is a step into which many of the kids like the least possible effort).

Mission accomplished, I sent him back into the main room and headed over to the adult sink to wash my own hands.

I peered at him through the window while my hands were getting thoroughly soaked and lathered, just in time to see his fingers go straight into his nostrils.

Hello, Spring! ...Semester

We're in the midst of a deep freeze in Minnesota and the university has cruelly chosen this time as the start of a semester they term "spring" semester. Counting the days but trying to embrace the current.

Fourteen minutes of meditation complete. Sat on my bed in full lotus, legs crossed over each other so each foot was resting on the opposing knee. Thoughts flitted about between things I have to do and by which I feel intimidated, and a few women in my life. Make of that what you will.

The room is a mess and I have to prep it for a move this weekend. I think I will message my sister about that right now.

OK, I did that and then briefly forgot that I was writing this blog entry.

Not a whole lot to say, just would like to get back in the habit of writing regularly.