On the teaching front: I have received great feedback–largely due to the addition of a class I’ve began with 2 1/2 year old students. This includes parents saying they really liked how I handled their child. What I’m finding with this age group (which is greatly avoided at all costs by many teachers due to its challenging nature) is one needs more patience then ever imagined was possible. This involves me saying things over and over: “Please, sit on the purple mat and wait your turn,” “touch your nose if you’re listening to me,” and “no, no, I didn’t ask you to go yet, please sit down.” I say these three sentences probably twelve million times during this painfully long forty-five minute class. I ask an incredible amount from these two-year-olds for the first half an hour. Then the last fifteen minutes is a struggle. This is also the first class I’ve taught with chattering parents in the wings. The moms all come with a baby in tow or a very pregnant belly in addition to their squaking two-year-old. They are thrilled, relieved, exhausted, and stimulated by the company of other mothers. I am happy to provide them with a place to simultaneously talk and watch their burgeoning child. However, this makes the class EXHAUSTING.

What I’ve learned about this age group is that they are on stimulus overload. Their world has blown wide open and their little brains are receiving tons of new signals. For some they respond by running all over the place without a hint of restraint or understanding of the ‘rules.’ Others have many meltdowns which require parental support before ‘getting back out there’ and rejoining the class. (I had one little girl who was so enthusiastic she  peed on the purple mat…which was actually a compliment to me since it indicated her level of commitment overrided going to the toilet).  Some kids will be fine one moment and then a ghost of terror will cross their face and I can tell they are overwhelmed. Touching these kids is fine, and I find that I constantly put a hand gently between their shoulder blades to steady them. Usually I’ll squat next to each kid and say, “See Janey going through the tunnel? We’re going to wait until she goes through before it’s your turn…ready? One…two…three…GO!” And the kid, fully prepared, will roar through the tunnel like the lions we just pretended to be.