A Week In The Life: The Kindergarten Teacher Turning “Kasha” Into Cash

May 2, 2026
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Age: 20-something

Gender: Female

Location: Moscow

Nationality: Ghanaian

You know, after you graduate from university in Russia, your parents have some certain gran expectations of you.

For me, however, my day doesn’t start with a boardroom meeting or even an Excel sheet, for now at least, and that’s okay. It starts with liquid kasha and prayers of course.

To those who have not yet been initiated, kasha (porridge) is the typical Russian breakfast. Whether it’s mannaya, risovaya, or grechnevaya, I am there for it because let’s be honest, you need energy for what is about to hit you on the usual dreary Monday mornings.

Once the bowls are cleared at the small kindergarten where I teach, it’s time for the mini-dance lesson. If you haven’t tried to do a synchronized dance in English with a room full of energetic 5-year-olds at 9:00 AM, have you even lived at all?

The best part of my job isn’t the curriculum, but the eavesdropping. I can be sitting on my own jejely during playtime, minding my business, and then I hear, “Я с тобой не дружу! Я не буду пригласить тебя на мой день рождения!” (I’m not your friend! I’m not inviting you to my birthday!)

If you understand Russian, you know this is the peak of playground politics. It’s the highest form of banter among these kids. One minute, they are ready to go to war over a plastic truck, the next minute, they are sharing their snacks and plotting their next adventure together. It reminds me that life is lowkey simple, even when it feels complicated.

I often move between groups, grades and subjects. One hour I’m teaching English phonics, the next I’m trying to explain the solar system (Integrated Science) or basic addition (Math) to kids who are still figuring out which shoe to put on the right foot.

It is serious mental workout. You have to be on 100% of the time.

There are days when I want to pull my hair out because the noise has hit a frequency that is almost impossible to think (I may just be growing old). But then, a kid finally pronounces a word correctly or looks at a science experiment with genuine wonder, and I feel like so privileged witness to their growth.

Let’s address the African mind for a second. We’ve been conditioned to think that if you aren’t an engineer, a lawyer, or a doctor in a high-rise building, you aren’t being productive or useful to society.

We look at teaching English abroad as a stop-gap or something small. And honestly, for some it might be, but for me, I am loving it so far. Teaching is rewarding both in mind and in cash (especially in this Moscow).

When lunchtime hits, it’s back to the Russian food I’ve now grown to love. Then it’s more fun, sports, sometimes birthday parties and general chaos.

When I finally head home after a long day, my legs are tired, my ears are ringing with “Teacher! Teacher!” even when those little ones are no longer around, and my stress level is through the roof but my soul is sincerely full.

So, this is to say whatever you’re doing, do it with your whole heart. Even if it’s “just” teaching. Because at the end of the day, those kids won’t remember the English grammar as much as they’ll remember the teacher who danced with them and loved their kasha just as much as they did.

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