i alternately love and want to bite the heads off of my kindergarten children. but mostly love. it’s not their fault they have to sit still for two 80-minute classes in a row, even though they’re only five. just look at ‘em!

first comes Natural Class, with alex, stacy, lawrence and kelly. david got here late today, so he’s not in the picture and andy is in the hospital with what looks disturbingly like gangrene.


alex is my favorite. is it wrong to have a crush on a five-year-old? yes? oh well. y’all just don’t understand.

here’s david, king of the Special Stickers.

please note lawrence’s dumbfounded expression in both of the above photos. i have never met a kid like this guy. he’s like a robot with a low battery. one second, he’s reciting where the wild things are for speech competition practice, the next, he’s slumped over in his chair, mouth agape, eyes focused on some indeterminate point in space. he spends 90% of his time totally slackjawed, speaks with an incredible lisp and told me the other day, “teacher, i am angry today because you are not beautiful.” but how could you not love that face!

next comes Adventure Class, totally capable english speakers with deep emotional involvement in trivialities like who has more pillows on his bed.


sally is my favorite. she looks like a doll who came to life and has bad table manners.

stereotype about asians that turns out to be true #1: love of hello kitty.

i told the class i was going to be taking their picture. jack showed up the next day in a bowtie. awesome!

it’s my desk!