It’s hard to believe that I have encountered and enjoyed over 450 children and families. Many of the children who started their preschool days crying for days, weeks and some months, are now entering or graduating from college.

Each and every child has been special to me and they have all touched my life. I love being the site manager at the Bush site preschool because I get the best of both worlds. I work with the After School children in the morning, many of whom are preschool alumni and yes, it’s true, they do listen better when they’re preschoolers. Then I get to interact and supervise the preschool children from 9-10:30am and after attendance I start on the paper work that waits for me upstairs—the forbidden zone for the children.

My first year at NLF was exciting since I had just graduated from college with wide eyes and new ideas. I learned a lot from the NLF teachers and I was amazed at the maturity of these children. My first group was the Lightening Group -- Miles, Kenso, Marissa, Nicole, Samuel, to name a few. Some of these children had already developed pre-reading skills and were on the verge of learning how to read! I remember being terrified of having to do music time all by myself. College didn’t prepare me for dealing with so many eyes staring at me. But to my amazement and joy, the children were very attentive and participated fully. What a relief!

Over the years, I have answered to many variations of my name which is actually pronounced NA-O-MI. The pronunciations varied from Umi sensei (umi means ocean in Japanese and sensei means teacher), Nomi sensei (nomi means flea in Japanese), Niyomi sensei, Omi sensei, Niomi sensei, Nelmi sensei, and the most unusual one was Koko sensei.

These are a few of the children who I remember uniquely and fondly.

Hughie P.
He came to preschool not really exposed to many fresh vegetables so salad was a new experience for him. I remember how we would give him one piece of lettuce, one tiny slice of carrot and celery and hope he would eat it before the other children finished their main course. Everyday he tried and tried until one day, he could eat a regular child-size portion of salad! He actually left preschool liking salad!

Erica O.
She set the record for the longest separation anxiety and crying for mommy when she first started school at age two and a half. I remember she cried daily for about two months. I felt so bad for her mother who didn’t give in and left her with the teacher screaming. Sometimes I think it’s harder for the parents to let go of their babies, especially when they're screaming like we’re torturing them. After those few months however, Erica enjoyed preschool and was one of the best teacher’s helpers we had.

Kei K.
He was a smart Japanese speaking boy who, at age three, was trying to wheel and deal with the teachers. He would tell the teachers to let him use the phone so he could call his mom to pick him up. He said he knew the phone number and he was ready to leave school—this was at 11:00am. One day the teachers gave him the phone to call home and sure enough he dialed the correct home phone number but didn’t know how to turn the phone on. The teachers would also tell him that his mom was at work and she couldn’t pick him up but he would say, "No she’s not. She’s at home watching the baby. Only my dad works." Well, he was right about the job part. After about a month he adjusted to school and didn’t ask to use the phone anymore.

Jaime W.
She was a quiet little girl with long black hair and huge marble like eyes. Her mom would always fix her hair with ribbons and ponytails. Then one day, Jaime came in with a bob cut hair above her shoulders and I had to do a double take because I couldn’t believe it. Her mother told me very sadly that she didn’t have a choice but to cut it that short. The night before, Jaime and her cousin were playing very quietly in the bedroom and when the mom went to check in on them, it was too late. A huge chunk of hair was chopped off and very unevenly also. I’m sure this experience is not only special to Jaime.

It’s funny how many alumni I meet on the street or at events will usually smile to be polite but the bond we had in preschool is no longer present. That’s life–I suppose. I just can’t believe how fast the children grow up and yes–I know I’m getting old but I’m blessed to have so many wonderful NLF memories.

Naomi Shibata is a site manager, and has been with NLF since early 1984. She is fluent in the Japanese language as her mother was born and raised in Japan.

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