Being a firefighter and a father is truly a unique experience. The schedule allows you to become an integral part of your children’s lives; if you choose to do it! Our schedule is a typical 24/48 schedule where we are on for a 24 hour period and then off for 48. While I dislike the loss of those 24 hours, I do try to take advantage of the 48 while I am at home.
One of the ways that I try to give back to my daughters is trying to participate in different school functions. School functions that I have participated with include different field trips, family nights out and school centers. Each one of these activities provides me the attachment to the girls that I adore.
Today was centers in Mia’s class. Not only do I get to interact with Mia but also with all of her classmates. I think that this is important as I get to see her with kids her age and how she interacts with them. When I show up, I sit at table awaiting for one of the three groups to join me. While the table is made for someone a lot smaller than 6′ 3″, it is still enjoyable. Because I have built a small rapport with all of the kids, I usually get smiles and a lot of waves from the kids.
I have to give it to the teacher’s as they come up with some fun educational games. Today was a game called Syllable Snowmen. There are about 40 flashcards which each contained a word. There were equal amounts of 1, 2 and 3 syllable words. The goal is to have the Head (one syllable word), Body (two syllable word) and legs (three syllable word). All the kids did great with the game as I made it a competition between them with an interesting twist. I wanted them to work as a team; similar to what I am familiar with as a firefighter.
I told the kids that they were going to be timed to find and put together their snowman. The team building came in that they turned the card over and worked together to figure out the word and the number of syllables. Some of the kids are good with words and some not so good but to my surprise, they worked together to get the job done. I told the kids that you might be the “best” individually but the team would always be stronger and faster as a group than even the best individual. For the most part, the kids seemed to embrace the idea and made me proud of the group.
At the tail end of the center, the kids were starting to say they were hungry and started to lose a little interest in the game. The hour and 15 minutes ended too quickly as it was 11am. The kids all lined up for lunch carrying their lunchboxes. I got numerous high fives from some of the kids. More importantly, I got a big hug from Mia. I told her that I loved her and would see her in a few hours when she arrived home. I hope that some of the ideas that I provided the kids have at least a little impact on their lives. I look forward to my next center day with the kids.