NATCHEZ &8212; Teli Walker cares for things. She cares for her gardens &8212; trying to get grass to grow at her new house at 4 Spanish Court. She cares for animals &8212; recently adopting two kittens rescued from the engine of her car.

And in a few days, she will again be caring for children.

&8220;I always love the beginning of school,&8221; Walker said.

She teaches kindergarten at Vidalia Lower Elementary School and said she thought she was probably as excited as her students to start back Wednesday.

&8220;It&8217;s a tie,&8221; she said, grinning.

She taught junior high for 12 years and changed to kindergarten when the job opened up.

&8220;I started off wanting to teach kindergarten, but there weren&8217;t any openings,&8221; she said. &8220;When this came up, I said, I&8217;m still young enough to do it, I&8217;ll give it a try.&8221;

Walker has lived in Natchez her whole life, which made teaching language and reading in junior high tricky sometimes.

&8220;They would try to catch me using double negatives, like &8216;ain&8217;t none,&8217;&8221; she said. &8220;We made a game out of it. If they could catch me so many times using double negatives, they would get a free homework pass. We had fun in junior high.&8221;

Walker said kindergarten is very different, and she loves her new pupils, too.

&8220;In kindergarten, they love you no matter what,&8221; she said. &8220;The best part is the hugs you get. They really love you. And it&8217;s great watching them learn, watching the light bulb go on.&8221;

The learning is more difficult for some students than others. She has a number of &8220;inclusion&8221; students, students who would traditionally be in special education classes but who join other students in the classroom.

Walker said she has always cared for the inclusion students, but her views toward them changed even more recently, after a family member was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

&8220;It gave me a whole new perspective,&8221; she said. &8220;I saw the personal aspect of it. It definitely changed the way I looked at children with (attention deficit disorder) and other things.

&8220;I won&8217;t ever look at a child again and think, &8216;that&8217;s just an excuse.&8217; It&8217;s real.&8221;