Walking the "OSHCIES" - Part two

Sometimes I walk at the front of the group, sometimes the middle but often at the rear; with the younger tired children.

Walking in the rear, I am holding the hands of 2 younger girls; who spend the whole time that we are walking, chattering to me about their day. I feel bad because in the noisy chatter of the other 33 children and with me concentrating on everything I have to; to keep the children safe, I often don't hear their stories. I catch glimmers of how the tooth fairy came that night from Annabel who has lost one tooth and has 3 more really loose teeth that she insists on showing me how much she can wiggle and push with her tongue. I also become aware of the story that Cecelia is telling me about when she had a turn on the biscuit (towed behind a speed boat on Lake Argyle) last weekend with her brother John; and how John caught a giant Barra that was this big (holding out her hands proudly) while still holding my hands while walking. In the heat of the afternoon, my hands are slippery and so are Annabel and Cecelia's. It occurs to me what other delightful things might be on those hands after a day at school and I cant wait to wash them when I get to OSHC.

At the front of the group I often have with me 2 boys who are best buddies. Lets just call them George and Brad. They are affectionately known to me privately as "ratbag scallywags". Boys who play fight, are usually smelly and grubby, boys who love playing football and who cant stand girls. They are "The Lookers". They have the great responsibility of looking (on my behalf) for any traffic that might be coming as we cross the roads. They call out in their loudest voices "Look to the left. Look to the right. Look forward. Look back. Is it safe to cross? If I say "yes", then we all cross the road. We do this 3 times during the walk and the role of The Looker is a privileged one indeed and if George or Brad misbehave, they lose the privilege of being a looker. (on a side note, I am the back up ultimate looker who is the walking traffic controller and without my go ahead, we do not walk anywhere)

Despite the heat and the children being tired from a hard days work at school, we enjoy the walk to OSHC. It is a time for children to wind down, to chat about their day and to connect with other people in the community like Mr Marley; like waving to Ms Sandra and Ms Judith who drive the school bus; like all the TAFE people who give way to us while walking across their driveway. All the kids call out to the little ones who are playing outside in the nearby childcare centre and when we arrive at OSHC, the children from one school connect with their friends from another school.
I really enjoy that time of the day.