Job Belongs in This Title

I started my new job today! I went in at noon, which is an hour earlier than I will every day other than today, and it actually went very well.



The lowdown:

Our kids are ages 12-18 months, and there are 21 kids in our room. However, not all of them come every day. We are only allowed to have 18 in our room at one time, so if more than that come we have to shift a couple older kids into the next room up (18-24 months). The ratio of caregiver to infant is 1:6. Yes, I do have 6 kids to care for at any one time. Literally, I have a group of six kids assigned to me. In the six hours I was in the room, each one was changed three times, was given two snacks, and had a nap. One broke out in a rash, and one gained a fever over 101.

Also, 6 kids x 3 diaper changes = 18 hand washings. Note to self: carry lotion everywhere.

There is very little downtime, and it went by very quickly. It's really kind of difficult to shift into this form of work from my job at the bookstore mostly because of the rules. At the bookstore, you can wear whatever you want, eat whenever/whatever you want, drink whatever you want, etc. etc. It's very lax. Here, I can't:

-carry my cellphone (literally, it cannot be in the building, has to stay in the car)
-eat anything except whatever snack the kids are getting, and can't bring food in for lunch (...do I even get a lunch? hmm. I was there 7 hours today, and did not..I wonder)
-wear a shirt with writing on it, no matter what the writing is (this I can't understand, it's not like they can read. And even if they could, who cares if they read the word "baseball" or whatever random thing your tee shirt says?)
-take pictures
-drink anything other than water, in a clear bottle
-wear any shoes without backs
-wear jeans with slightly fraying edges (which is difficult, because I'm like a short and a half jean length...and I refuse to wear the shorts 99% of the time)



It's very strict. I was so kindly offered a 3XL smock to wear today, however. That was nice. At least three children got caught in it as I attempted to put them down somewhere.

So far so good, though! I seem to be the youngest one there--not just my classroom, but the entire building, 6 weeks to 12 years old rooms. And possibly the only one without kids. I'm actually impressed that she hired me for these two reasons.

I have to go get a physical, though, in the next 30 days (they wait 90 days to fingerprint you and have you take a drug test....I guess it's okay to be a sex offender and a druggy for the first 89 days). I'll probably just find some random place around here that will do it for cheap, rather than going to the doctor....since I don't have one.

I know I said I'd update update tonight or tomorrow, but I think it's going to have to wait. Sorry! I promise, eventually, it will happen :]