Contents of a Teacher's Pocket

This little project was inspired by the work of San Francisco photographer Melissa Kaseman who documented the content of her preschool son’s pockets. If you haven’t seen the photo series, I highly recommend you check it out. I may not be four-years-old but as a kindergarten teacher I could relate to the random pocketful of treasures at the end of the school day and decided to give this a teacher spin over the past 10 days.

 How do these little goodies end up in my pockets? No, I promise I’m not stealing my student’s possessions. A majority of these find their way home with me when one of my little ones randomly drops it in my lap mid-lesson or frantically brings attention to an item left out from another lesson.

Occasionally, it’s an item that’s been distracting a little friend at carpet as they experiment with biting and chewing. These are the items I am less excited to receive. Palm out, signaling to the student to handover the trinket, silently hoping it’s not something disgusting.

My most prized items though are the small gifts given to me by my kindergarteners, the little ornaments plucked from the ground, the flowers carried in from recess, and their tiny creations presented to me with a gleeful and sweet, “This is for you!”