Cast of characters

me — also known as Kiri, or Mrs. X to the children

2011-2012

The Princess — the principal

Little One — my special friend (every teacher has one), with difficulty holding her temper in, or expressing her feelings appropriately

Crow — a sweet, sometimes confused boy with some issues with communication and abstraction, problem-solving and planning

Blue — a small boy who loves learning, has sparkly eyes, and loves practicing his English

Partridge — our new child, who is sweet, active, wiggly, and outspoken

Quail — a boy who is very much like Partridge, only with better control over the wiggling and interruptions

2010-2011

The Princess — our new principal

Roo — a bouncy, beautiful boy

Starling — a very serious girl who speaks no English

Wren — a small, serious girl

Monkey — a little boy with some extra needs

Squirrel — a sharp little boy who used to pretend he didn’t speak English (he does — quite well)

Deer — a girl who has trouble communicating, and is reluctant to talk

Fox — a girl who speaks both English and Spanish and is smart in both

2009-2010

Miss Slinger — my assistant teacher

the Prince — our principal

Pumpkin — a sweet boy who is very young for his age

Cherry — a smart girl with loads of knowledge and almost as much attitude

Chutney — Cherry’s friend, also very smart, also occasionally a handful

Plum — a sweet girl who thinks it’s important to follow the rules

Zucchini — a boy who likes to play in the same center every day

Raspberry — a child who likes to do what she wants to do, when she wants to do it

Squash — an adorable little boy who is all impulse and no impulse-control, but is so cute it’s hard to get mad at him

Apple — our enigma, a sweet girl who appears to know no English

2008-2009

Miss Nelson — the special ed teacher who works in my room a few days a week

Nan & Amelia Bedelia — special ed assistants

David — really bright boy who hits as a way of communicating (“Hi! [pow!] Let’s be friends!”).  David has moved on to a more appropriate setting.

Ferdinand — a sweetie pie who speaks English as a second language and has some special needs

Leo — my late bloomer, very sweet, and a little out of it

Lola — a girl who doesn’t yet speak any English, but can write her name and all the letters, and has an imaginary friend

Lola 2 — a girl who speaks a lot of English, but doesn’t yet have many academic skills, and seems like a sharp, sassy, cool teenager in the making (at the age of 4)

Max — an angelic boy who hasn’t yet learned not to hit, and has, like David, moved to a more appropriate setting

Ruby — a smart, confident, serious, and somewhat goofy girl

Caterpillar — a former student who throws her arms around me every single time she sees me

Edward — our new boy, a little fragile.

Chester and Wilson — cute as can be, don’t speak English, hang out together all morning (they are not brothers, however)

Princess — not named for any children’s book character, but for how her mother sees her.  Princess is cute and funny and loud and immature and happy and everyone loves her.  Except when she’s whining.

Harold — has hipster parents and is himself quite hip at the age of 4.  He’s also very serious and very smart.

Swimmy — a smart, confident boy who loves morning meeting.  He’s always perfect at morning meeting.  Sometimes the rest of the morning can be hard for him….He’s very impulsive and active and has nearly been suspended from the bus for his behavior.

Duck — a boy who cannot sit still to save his life.  Very sweet, but restless and impulsive.  Currently driving me crazy.

Titch — a boy with at least one helicopter parent.  Subsequently, not as independent or resilient or mature as I’d like to see.  Very cute, though.

Owen — a totally normal boy who occasionally seems depressed.

Russell — very sweet, started the year with us in January, may have a little developmental delay

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