INTERVIEW WITH MS. TIFFANI

Then. Ms. Tiffani with her 2018/2019 Preschool Class, Alice pictured bottom centre

Now. Alice is now in Kindergarten with Ms. Baker and doing exceptionally well.

I had the pleasure of teaching Alice Preschool for 2 school years; she recently graduated into Kindergarten. I popped into her class to ask if we could sit and chat about transitioning into Kindergarten, and it was the highlight of my week. She sat with me, dressed as a little green alien from her holiday production, and we caught up, just like old times.

In Preschool, Alice was compassionate, curious and independent (from the moment she started at nearly 3 years of age). In her family, she is the youngest sibling of 3. In the classroom, however, she took on the role of a big sister. She would look out for her classmates and step in if someone needed help putting on their shoes or cleaning up a mess. She loved to express herself through painting and brought laughter to the classroom each and every day.

Ms. Tiffani: Hi Alice, it is SO nice to see you, I sure miss you upstairs in Preschool! How old are you now? Alice: 5. Ms.Tiffani: So that puts you in grade 3 or 4? Alice: Noooo Kindergarten!! Ms. Baker is my teacher, she always teaches us new things. Ms. Tiffani: What does she teach you? Alice: She teaches us about Art, and does stuff on the board... and tests... spelling tests. Oh, writing! I write all the time. I write in the morning, at school and at night, I write sentences. Ms. Tiffani: Wow! That’s impressive, Alice! So if writing is your favourite subject, what is your second favourite? Alice: Playing. Ms. Tiffani: What did you do in Kindergarten today? Alice: We are doing a play. The aliens sing all of the songs AND we had to memorize the lines, lots of lines. I only practiced once and I memorized them. We had recess and PE and centers… but we haven’t had centers yet. We have a kitchen in our class and everyone wants to play in it, it’s fun. Ms. Tiffani: In Preschool you were given an award for your humour, are you still funny? Alice: Yes, kind of. Ms. Tiffani: Can you tell me a joke? Alice: How did the peacock cross the road? Ms. Tiffani: Hmmm, I don’t know, how? Alice: On a silly bus. *Laughter* Ms. Tiffani: What do you remember about Preschool? Alice: I remember when I was crying for mom and you helped me. Ms. Tiffani: It can be tough to start a new chapter in life; did it get easier? Did you end up liking Preschool? Alice: I ended up loving it, and you. I didn’t want to leave. I also remember being picked to go on stage to do magic tricks. Ms. Tiffani: Yes, for the 50th Day of Preschool! That was such a hoot, I was laughing so hard I was crying. Alice: Ya! And I remember working; the primary colours are red, blue and yellow. And on our special day, we got to paint and do the calendar and be the leader. We celebrated birthdays and did the around the world song and ate treats. We had wheels once.

Ms. Tiffani: Wagon Wheels? Alice: Yeah, I didn’t like them.

Ms. Tiffani: Neither do I. I don’t much like marshmallows. Alice: Oh I do! I like them in s’mores... I also remember the leprechauns that left sparkles and messes all over and we tried to trap them but we never caught them, they played tricks on us and left us sparkly cookies on the last day. Ms. Tiffani: Those leprechauns made an awful lot of messes for us to clean up!