We've Got It Covered

I believe that all children want to contribute, and here's a tale of two boys to help illustrate that point.  One of my first grade classes includes a couple of little boys who have hearts of gold but lots of trouble focusing on schoolwork.  To help with attending, I've given one of these children, a freckle-faced cutie, a special job to do when I teach his guidance class.  He listens carefully and tallies under a smiley face all the positive phrases he hears me say.  Likewise, he records any negatives or reminders I give the group under a sad face.  At the end of class, he reports the score, and we all hope the "good side" defeats the "bad".  This has worked well, and in fact, several other children have decided independently to keep their own scores and compare them to my helper's at the end of class.  Well the last time I taught this class, the second boy who has trouble paying attention, a handsome brunette, walked determinedly up to me as I unpacked my materials.  He beckoned me to bend my head so he could whisper in my ear and then said in a business-like voice, "We shouldn't count the new boy's talking.  He doesn't understand."  He looked me in the eyes, nodded his head as if we had an agreement, and walked on back to his seat.  Gazing around to find the new boy, I understood.  This newcomer is autistic and talks to himself quite a bit.  Since I'd never officially met the new classmate, my little messenger just wanted to make sure I understood the situation and would be kind and fair.  Widening my eyes and nodding my head to signify comprehension and agreement, I walked discreetly over to my red-haired recorder and let him know not to tally the new boy's talking during class.  Catching on quickly, he glanced at the new child, nodded and winked, and gave me a thumbs up sign. In no time at all, these two compassionate little boys had apprised me of a very important change in class structure and of the need to be flexible and encouraging.  Since they have classroom struggles of their own, they are able to empathize with their new friend, and they want him to be happy and to feel supported in his new setting.  We all have difficulties to deal with in our everyday lives, and it's important to learn from our struggles and then to use our strengths and insights to help others going through similar situations.  Children have so much to teach us! Happy New Year, Everyone!

Christmas Love

Today I'm remembering a sweet, tear-jerking incident that happened at school one December. As I was trying to get my materials packed and leave a classroom, I was swarmed by children who had things to tell me. Since the teacher was frantically trying to get the class to lunch on time, I shooed them back to their seats. One determined little boy, however, wasn't to be stopped so easily. He hung back as I exited the room and then followed me out into the hall. Now this little child was one of my frequent visitors, and also one of my all-time favorites due to his angelic heart (seriously!). In a soft, urgent tone of voice, he said, "Miss Mimi, I need to tell you something. You know that holiday shop in the library?" Knowing that he was referring to a PTA-sponsored shopping experience aimed at helping children buy inexpensive gifts for their families, I nodded. With earnest eyes, he leaned back against the wall and continued. "Well if I had had five more dollars, I would have bought you something. I just had to buy for my family first." Seeing his genuine dejection, I took his little fair-skinned face in my hands and said, "Sweetie, you NEVER have to buy me a present. I know you need to get gifts for your family first, and that's how it's supposed to be. All I want you to do for me is give me a hug and tell me you like talking with me." Nodding his head in understanding, the child said, "Actually I LOVE talking with you, and I think I'm gonna get to see you in 3 more days." Well obviously that was ALL the present I needed. What really makes this story so meaningful is that this precious little boy was one of our children who was considered homeless since he and his family lived in a motel room. It's moments like these that make a career and a life fulfilling and keep me going when things get a little too humdrum. Merry Christmas, Everyone!

His Favorite Food is Pickles!

Say what?? In second grade guidance classes, we're discussing differences in appearance. "We all look different, but we're all good kids!" is the teaching focus, and we talk about the importance of two things: making the best of our own looks, smiling, and accepting ourselves, but we also discuss the importance of respecting other people, no matter what they look like. I've been letting the children vote on story books to read because I have so many good ones on this topic. Several classes have wanted to hear Little Sweet Potato, and as you would predict, the story characters are plants. The little sweet potato gets plowed out of its field by a tractor and ends up lost and lonely. As it courageously wanders on its way in search of home, it meets lots of fruits, vegetables, and flowers that are thriving in their own garden patches. Trying to find a place where it can belong, it asks over and over to join other neighborhoods, only to be rejected because of its bumpy lumpy looks. The plants are described by appearance rather than labeled, so the children have fun guessing what type of plant is being read about. Examples are flowers with velvety purple and yellow faces, fruits that look like shiny green marbles, sweet-smelling red flowers with soft petals and thorny branches, big shiny purple vegetables with satiny skin, and leafy bunches of green with thin orange spikes peeking out of the ground. Most have been easy for the students to figure out, although eggplants have only been known by a few. In one class, when we came to a page describing long green and white striped veggies with yellow flowers, I heard an eager voice call out, "Pickles!" Well since the plants in question were cucumbers, the cow-licked boy was definitely on the right track, and I had to give him points for knowing where pickles originate!

He's Got It, Got It, Got It!

I think he got the point! I'm teaching a unit on self-control and on understanding misbehaviors to our school's 17 first grade classes. During the opening lesson, I explain that FEELING like doing something bad doesn't get us in trouble, but actually DOING it does. We go over lots of examples, and I stress the fact that WE are responsible for what WE say and do. If we've done the wrong thing, we can always turn it around. We don't have to keep on doing it. After discussing these points, I read the children a story about a class of critters who decide to stop squabbling and have peace week. On most pages of the story, a character uses self-control, either by doing something good that he DOESN'T want to do or by NOT doing something bad hat he DOES want to do. When the animal character uses self control, we do a cheer: "Hallelujah, bless your soul. You were using self-control!" To get our wiggles out, we stand up and dance to "I Like to Move it Move it" from one of the Madagascar movies, and the children have to show self-control by freezing their bodies every time I stop the music. It's really fun, and I know from experience that it's hard to do! Well one day recently we danced and had a good old time. As class dismissed and I was packing up to leave, a sandy-haired boy with kind eyes tapped me on the arm to get my attention. "Miss Mimi, I was dancing when I saw Joanna's watch on the floor. I didn't want to stop dancing, but I knew it would get stomped on, so I picked it up and gave it back to her." I was so thrilled that I jumped up and down with tears in my eyes. "Halleluia, bless your soul, you were using self-control," I squealed. Since this child was assigned to a neighboring classroom, I accompanied him back to class, told his teacher and friends what he had done, and the whole class spontaneously gave him a standing ovation. It's always such a feel-good moment when educators see children applying what they're learning, and this incident made my day!

Lesson in a Nutshell

While teaching a kindergarten class a lesson on understanding feelings and why that's important, a "fortuitous accident" occurred, and it summed up the lesson nicely. I had just finished teaching the children 3 clues for understanding how others feel. Look at face, body, what's going on. We discussed reading facial expressions, body language, and the events happening around us. We also discussed how understanding feelings helps us be a good friend. Since the students had been listening and focusing impressively for a while, we all stood up and bounced around to get our wiggles out. The rhythmic chant we repeated over and over as we jumped was, "Face, Body, What's going on!" Well while I was hopping around, a couple of charms fell off my bracelet. Immediately kindergartners of all shapes and sizes dropped to their knees in an effort to retrieve the runaway baubles. As soon as this mission was accomplished, they crowded around me, passing out hugs and condolences. Realizing that this was exactly what we'd been learning about, I squealed with excitement.
"Hey Y'all!" I exclaimed. "Look what's going on! This is what our lesson is teaching us!"
A tawny haired girl blurted, "Yea! We looked at face, body, what's going on, and we could tell you were sad.
"And what did you do?" I asked.
"We helped you find your charms and gave you a hug."
"And why did you do that?" I continued.
"Because we wanted to be a good friend!" they enthused.
And that, my friends, was our lesson in a nutshell! I'd say that the charm bracelet mishap had perfect timing!

His Heart Was in the Right Place Anyway!

The other morning, I was setting up to teach a second grade guidance class as the children were returning from art. The teacher was getting some papers ready to grade and was preparing to leave the room while I taught her class. Beside me, I noticed a little boy with a cowlick walk politely up to the teacher and put something in her hand. Although he said something to her, I couldn't hear his words. With a grin, the teacher said to the child, "Why thank you! I'll enjoy this while I work!" Since it was obvious from my expression that I was curious, the child sedately explained that he had just given his teacher a salted caramel cookie (which happened to be invisible, by the way!). Playing along, I responded, "How SWEET!" With a nod, the boy started back to his seat, made a U-turn, walked back to me and said, "Here, I have another one." And he placed an invisible soft, warm cookie in my hand as well. What a cutie, and how my mouth watered and tummy grumbled as I began to teach the class!

Foxy Loxy

Puppets are a huge hit with most primary schoolers, so I bring a bag of them to my kindergarten guidance classes.  If I have animal puppets that match the characters in the story we'll be reading that day, I bring those. Otherwise, I bring "visitor" puppets who want a chance to get out of the blasted toy box and be loved by real children!  The other day, I had a story called Nobody Likes Me to read to the class.  It was full of animal characters, so I brought a big dog, little dog, cat, rabbit, lamb, and mouse. The hero of the story is a fox, so I was dismayed when I realized that he was missing from the puppet bag.  "Oh no!" I cried.  "Where's the fox?  I KNOW I took him out of the toy box because  I remember that he was the easiest one to find!  What happened to him over the weekend?  He must have run away!"  Then I heard the most clever words escape the mouth of a pig-tailed girl wearing rainbow stripes.  To the tune of the Baha Men's song, she  sang, "Who let the fox out... who, who, who, who?"  (Think "Who Let the Dogs Out?")  Now that's one little girl who was paying attention, making connections, and is one funny, smart cookie!

Awkward!!

We all know that kindergarten children don't always have the most highly developed filters, and that can make what they say and do surprising, embarrassing, precious, and / or hilarious. Well, yesterday a little boy asked a question that covers three of those four adjectives! As I was unpacking my teaching materials in preparation for a classroom guidance lesson, I picked up my ever-present Care Cat puppet. A sweet little girl piped up, "Miss Mimi, I cheered up my friend when she was crying."
"You were caring about her feelings," I responded. "That makes Care Cat so happy that he's purring!" And I reached over and had the puppet give the child a hug as I made a purring sound. In a split second, a handsome dark-haired boy sitting on the front row blurted out, "Did you just make that cat fart?" Thinking I'd heard him correctly but hoping I HADN'T, I ignored the comment and just kept unpacking. Of course this wasn't good enough, so he once again said, "Miss Mimi, did you just make that cat fart?" At this point his teacher, trying to keep a straight face, said, "The cat was PURRING, Sweetie." And then she ducked her head and pretended to be really busy with paperwork. I saw her giggle trying to escape, though, and that made it even harder to carry on maturely. However, I did my best, and without letting myself belly laugh, I started the lesson with no more embarrassing comments and questions popping up. You just never know what you'll hear when you work with kindergartners, and I'm sure that holds true for students of ALL ages! By the way, the answer I WANTED to give to the little boy's question was, "As IF!!"

Thanks for Sharing...

Kids can say the sweetest things, the funniest things, and yes indeedy, sometimes they say the GROSSEST things! Be forewarned if you decide to continue reading this story.... During a kindergarten guidance class today, a little girl with a beautiful braid stood up and walked away from the group while I was reading a story. Since I don't like for children to leave without permission, I asked her where she was going. Looking down at her finger, she said nonchalantly, "I'm going to wash my hands. This booger is stuck to my finger and won't come off." And to that I said, "By all means, Ladybug, go right ahead!"

Penny For Your Thoughts!

Any Big Bang fans out there? If so, this story will make sense. While teaching a first grade class this week, I was introduced to a new student named Penny. "Oh I just love that name!" I exclaimed. A brown-haired spitfire sitting at the table beside me raised his hand as if he urgently needed to say something. When I called on him, he knocked on the table in staccato rhythm...Knock knock knock "Penny!", knock knock knock "Penny!", knock knock knock, "Penny!" I hee-hawed! In case you aren't familiar with this tv show, that's exactly how Sheldon knocks every time he visits his across-the-hall neighbor Penny's apartment. Now that's what I call quick thinking on this little mischievous boy's part. He just needed to hear the name Penny and instantly made this connection!

Love is in the Air!

Children with a good sense of humor are such fun to joke around with! One of my favorites is a freckle-faced blond first grader who has an adorable cowlick and reminds me of my brother Robert. Each time he visits me, we review what we talked about the last time he came in order to refresh our memories. We have an ongoing light-hearted conversation that we usually get to, which is the little boy's crush on a curly-haired brunette in his class. He always claims that she loves him but that he doesn't love her back, but his ear-to-ear grin causes me to HIGHLY doubt his denial! To begin our session, we talk about good news and bad news from the previous week, covering the areas of school, family, and friends. I typically draw a happy face and a sad face on a paper and write the child's news under the corresponding expression. This particular child often takes my pen and draws a third face, one with a straight mouth, to depict "okay" news. One day this week, he came into my office talking about his girlfriend. Once again, he smilingly said that she still loved him but that he didn't feel the same way about her. As I always do, I teased him about the big grin that kept me from believing him and then sent him to my mirror to see what I was talking about. While he giggled and blushed, I said playfully, "I see your face, and I KNOW how you feel about her. You've got pink and red hearts floating in the air around your head. Oh look, I see a PURPLE one, and it's throbbing with love!" Ducking his head and laughingly protesting, he came and sat down, and we got down to the business of discussing his current good news and bad news. After talking about several topics, the little boy took my pen, saying that he wanted to draw one more face. Expecting it to be the straight-mouth face, I cracked up with surprise when I saw what he had drawn. Near the bottom of the paper, this little imp had drawn a face with a huge smile and a mass of HEARTS in the air above it. Ha ha! The boy has been bitten by the love bug big-time!

Fear and Trembling?

Apparently I entered a first grade classroom very quietly the other day. I say this because a couple of children jumped and gasped when they noticed me setting up to teach, and one little boy said, "Miss Mimi, you SCARED me!" Playing along, I grimaced and growled, "Good! I'm MONSTER Mimi today." Clawing the air and looking as ugly and ferocious as I could, I burst out laughing. As I gazed across the smiling upturned faces of the students, one elfin boy grinned and said in a small voice, "Can I have a hug?" Opening my arms and walking across the room to meet him halfway, a group of other boys and girls jumped up and joined in to form a big group hug. "Well rats!" I said. "So much for being scary and mean. I reckon I couldn't scare a FLEA!" And on that note, we settled down for a guidance lesson. What fun I have with our silly children every day!

Helpful Advice?

We all know that kindergarten students often take things quite literally. Well I've been teaching their classes (all 16 of them!) how to be peacemakers. I've read them a story about a peacemaking cat and a troublemaking cat, and we've been looking at the differences in the two cats' treatment of their friend, as well as the effects of their behavior. During the story, Coco, the troublemaking cat, makes fun of her friend Lilly's paws because Lilly has a thumb. (Think Ernest Hemingway's 5-toed cats in Key West.) Since Coco has "straight paws" instead of the thumb, she tells Lilly she's weird and questions why her gentleman caller Joey would want to hold her hand. (Visions of Mean Girls!) For the first time Lilly sees herself as different and ugly and feels embarrassed. Before Joey comes over to take her on a walk that evening, Lilly tries several ways to hide her paws. Among her ideas are to wrap them in yarn, tie blue rags around them, put socks on her paws, and bind them with bandages. Of course the point of the story is to teach the kindergarten children that we all look different but we all have feelings that can be hurt. Because of this, we need to be respectful and kind, even though we may not like the way someone looks. However, one tiny boy, who had a fresh crew cut, blurted with passion, "Duct tape, Lilly! Try the duct tape...it fixes everything." Although he may have needed some help in seeing the bigger message of the story, he was intently listening and thinking, and yes, he provided me with one of my daily doses of kid cuteness!

The Girl With the Hello Kitty Backpack

Inside the walls of our primary school, crowded hallways are the norm at 7:30 a.m. as hundreds of little children make their way to class. Walking those hallways is always a fun experience for me, and I always hear interesting conversations. Recently, I was chit-chatting and greeting students as I headed toward the first grade area. Hearing a gaggle of giggling girls right behind me, I turned my head to see what was so amusing. Walking down the hall in their midst was a dark-haired little boy ducking his head and smiling shyly. "Miss Mimi, I have a girlfriend," he said. "Oh REALLY, do I get to know who she is, or is that private information?" I asked. At this point in the conversation, a fair-skinned little girl with long blonde hair who was walking in front of us turned her head and glanced in our direction. She rolled her eyes slightly and gave the little boy a coy smile as he answered me in a whisper, "The girl with the Hello Kitty backpack." As both children blushed, they turned the corner and went in separate directions to their classrooms. I was left with a smile on my face and joy in my heart as I realized that I'd just seen a glimpse of an innocent first crush!

Lo Siento, No Comprende

How helpless I felt this morning, although I sincerely WANTED to do the right thing! I was on bus duty, and this is the busiest, most stressful week to have that job. The reason is that our 16 kindergarten classes are coming to school all together for the very first time. During the first two weeks of school, kindergarten students have staggered enrollment, which means that each child only comes to school one time a week. Each kindergarten teacher has around 5 children each day, which allows her to teach the routines and expectations in a more relaxed setting. So during this particular week, our kindergarten enrollment quadruples over the previous two. Add to this the fact that school is a brand new experience for these young children, which means that they're often feeling insecure and anxious, and maybe you can imagine a bit of the chaotic nature of getting hundreds of little students to their classrooms in an efficient manner and with a minimum of tears! Anyway, back to my helplessness. Mrs. Wells, our trusty bus duty leader, delivered a tiny, troubled kindergarten girl to me. The child spoke no English at all and was tearfully holding her stomach as if in pain. I figured that she, like many others, was unsure about where to go, where her teacher was, when she"d see Mommy again, and that these fears were causing her to have butterflies in her tummy. Fortunately, I had taught the little girl's class yesterday and recognized her. Since I knew who her teacher was, I led her over to the correct table, where she was supposed to sit and wait until time for class. She shook her head and cried softly but harder, and she seemed to be very hesitant to sit down. Knowing virtually no Spanish, I asked, "Bano?" which I hoped meant bathroom. She nodded her head vehemently, so I put my hand on her shoulder and walked toward the girls' room. As soon as we entered the hallway, she threw up. Bless her little heart. We all know what a horrible feeling it is to be that nauseated, and I felt terrible about not having understood. After helping her wash her face and hands, I took her to the office so someone could call her mom. After finding her a seat, I placed a trash can beside her just in case. My next challenge was to find someone who knew how to use the intercom so we could call our ESL teachers to make the call home in Spanish. It was still very early, and the office staff wasn't there yet. Just as I sent our curriculum coach to find the ESL teachers (since nobody in the office knew how to use the intercom), Carrie Arana, one of the people I was looking for, rounded the corner. Right behind her came Claudia Sanchez, who is our other ESL teacher. Together these two compassionate and helpful ladies took charge of the situation, consoling, getting the phone number, and calling home. I patted the sweet little invalid on the shoulder, gave her a smile, and said "Lo siento," which I hoped meant that I was sorry. After bus duty was over, I had time to empathize more deeply with the little girl. Like most of the other children, she was probably anxious about entering the crowded, noisy lunchroom to find a seat, wait, and get to the right classroom. Add to that the fact that she felt so sick, and then the fact that she didn't have anyone who understood her language, and it just seems like an almost traumatic way to start her second day of all-day kindergarten. I certainly could benefit by knowing some basic Spanish! I'm very grateful for our staff who works together so well, and I don't know what we'd do without Carrie's and Claudia's trustworthy assistance. In the future, I want to reach out to this sweet child, and when she learns more English (which she will quickly do), I plan to apologize to her for my lack of the kind of speedy help she needed this morning!

Honest Abe?

Have you ever impulsively said something to incriminate yourself? Well a mischievous little boy did that very thing while talking with me in my office recently. He was telling me about a classmate of whom he's not very fond and was getting all worked up. "I mean he blames me for EVERYTHING, even things HE actually did...not ME! I'm telling you that boy can LIE! He lies better than I do, and I LOVE to lie." The funny thing was that my visitor was intensely passionate about that last statement and was staring at me with wide eyes and an ultra serious stare when the lightbulb came on and he realized what he'd just said. "Busted!" I said with a grin. The child blushed, shook his head, and joined in the laughter, and afterwards we had a productive conversation about getting along with peers. To this I can relate very well, as sometimes my big mouth gets me into hot water, too!

Gee Thanks, Kid!

Some children just keep me in stitches, including a freckle-faced sandy-haired boy who comes to mind. During our very first visit together, we discussed his school, his friends, and his family as I began getting to know him. HIs parents are divorced, so he told me about his dad and step-mom and siblings. At this point, I asked whether his mom was remarried or dating someone special, and he looked taken aback. Throwing back his head, screwing up his mouth, and raising one eyebrow, he said in an amused tone of voice, "I don't really think she would DO that." "Why's that?" I asked. Bursting out into a snort, he said, "Have you SEEN her?" Although I probably shouldn't have, I cracked up. "Well that's not very nice! What do you mean by that?" I replied. "I HAVE seen your mom, and she's very cute!" Realizing that he had possibly insulted his mother, the little boy said, "Well, she's not bad, but she's just not in that good shape." My my my! I think this little guy might be just a little bit TOO honest!

Short-Term Shyness

As I walked down the hallway this morning welcoming students to their first day of a new school year, I noticed a solemn second grade boy heading my way. "Hey Miss Mimi. I'm kinda nervous," he said. "That's okay, I think lots of people are nervous today because it's the very FIRST day and they're not used to it yet," I replied. " But it'll get better fast. You'll probably be totally happy by the end of the day!" "Yeah," he agreed, flashing his trademark grin. "And then I'll turn into a WILD CHILD!" Knowing this little mischievous boy as I do, I think he's right on the money, so to his teacher, I send my very best wishes!

Rules Are Cool!

Being a greeter at our school's Meet Your Teacher day was such fun yesterday! The children were beaming and dressed in their very cutest new school clothes. Some even brought in their squeaky clean backpacks because they just couldn't wait until Monday! One of my favorite conversations happened in our school foyer with a family group including Mom, Grandma, 2 golden haired second grade girls, and their kindergarten brother, who was visiting our school as a student for the very first time. As I hugged the girls and asked about their summer, their little brother raised his hand high in the air and stood there waiting to be called on. As I turned my attention to him, he said enthusiastically, "My teacher has Legos!" His sisters joined in to explain how excited their brother was about his new kindergarten classroom. Raising his hand high again, the little boy said, "I have lots of boy Legos at home. My sissy has 100 girl Legos, but my other sissy only has 2." Grinning, Mom said, "You can tell that I deprive them terribly, can't you?" Laughing, I reassured her how obvious it is that her children are loved and nurtured. Again, the little brother raised his hand and stared at me, waiting to be called on. "I have 99 Legos, so I only need one more to have 100!" After sharing in his joy, I told his sisters how cute his hand raising was. In their adorable little girl voices, they widened their eyes, nodded their heads, and said proudly, "He went to pre-school, and they taught him to always raise his hand before he speaks." Well his teacher is certainly going to appreciate his efforts at rule following, along with his exuberant personality. Now let's just hope he continues to remember to WAIT to be called on after that hand reaches toward the ceiling!

'Fess Up, Sister!

About a week before school was out, I talked with a first grader who has a fun personality and great sense of humor. She had been seriously slacking on her work, and according to two of her teachers, she was doing basically nothing. In other words, the child had let herself start summer vacation early! After catching up on how things were going in her life, I brought up the subject of schoolwork. Furrowing her brow and looking innocent, the child shook her head and claimed not to know what I was talking about. "Well," I said. "Maybe I didn't understand your teachers correctly. Would you like for us to go down and talk to them?" Jerking her head up and widening her big blue eyes, she shook her head and said, "No." She looked back down at her play-doh for a moment and then, realizing that she was "busted", looked back up at me, grinned widely and said with enthusiasm, "HECK to the no!" After laughing together for a minute, which relieved some of the pressure of an uncomfortable topic, we were able to have a productive conversation. This little girl will be MISSED by me this summer, and I'll look forward to enjoying her again next school year!

Extra Pants Needed??

I had the pleasure of talking with an adorable kindergartner recently. He had a light spray of freckles, curly hair, and the cutest little personality! As we conversed and got to know each other, I asked about his best friends. He mentioned his best guy friend, who is his BFF at this point, and then started laughing as he brought up a girl in his class. Obviously he loved her company and wanted to describe his reasons, so he asked in his precious five year old voice, "Is it okay if I use a pwivacy wud?" Realizing that he was trying to get permission to say something that might get him in trouble, i said it was fine, and that I appreciated his asking. Continuing his endorsement of his female friend, he said, "She's so funny that when she tells a joke, it makes me pee my pants!" And he rolled with hilarity. I giggled right along with him and felt grateful to have had the chance to get to know this little child a little bit better before the school year comes to an end.

Duck!!

When I went to check on a handsome second grader yesterday morning, he walked into the hallway wearing sunglasses. "Wow!" I said. I love the way your black shades are lined with red. That's really cool!" With a sober expression, he said, "They're bulletproof." "Good to know," I responded, "just in case you get shot at on the playground today!" He grinned, and I rejoiced silently at the funny things kids say every day!

Please Don't Leave!

Well, just before our second graders move on to Farragut Intermediate School, I've discovered a treasure. He's a comedian-in-the-making, for sure! One day last week, I was teaching the Repeat Technique to his class. We've been having a unit of dealing with teasing, bothering, and bullying, and this lesson taught kids to calmly respond to name-calling and insults with the same words over and over, such as "I'm glad you finally noticed!", "I'm glad you finally noticed!", "I'm glad you finally noticed!" Children always enjoy coming up with their own phrases, and I was listening to their suggestions. At this point, a standout comic emerged. When I called on a dark-haired boy with a cowlick, he stood up wearing a big grin, put one hand on a hip and the other on the back of his head in a super-model pose, and said in an exaggerated Southern drawl, "If somebody says 'You're u-u-u-u-gly', I'd just say, (swinging his hips) 'Why I think you're r-i-i-i-i-ight! I must have gone into my mama's closet this morning! My goodness...I'm wearing a dress!' " His friends and I cracked up. Oh man! Why oh why didn't I get to know this little card before he gets ready to leave us for another school? I know we would have bonded big-time!

Whatever You Do, Don't Post!

As we do at the end of most guidance lessons, a class of kindergartners and I prepared to dance to a song that went with the topic we'd been discussing. This one was a rollicking tune called "B A Good Student", and it was enhanced by a jazzy brass section. When the teacher heard me announce the song, she said, "Wait! I want to make a video to show my husband." As she found her phone and got ready to record us, the kids buzzed with excitement. Some rolled their eyes and shook their heads with a grin on their faces, some nudged each other and giggled, some slapped their foreheads and said "Oh brother!". But the funniest reaction came from a little boy with a head full of golden curls. Using his OUTSIDE voice, he belted out, "DON'T PUT IT ON FACEBOOK!" I guess you could call that a sign of the times!

E-e-e-e-e-k!

I can't really remember exactly how we got onto this topic, but yesterday a petite kindergarten girl and I were discussing throwing up. Someone in her class had been sick, so I guess that's how our conversation meandered in this direction. We were both telling our most icky stories and giggling up a storm when she said something adorable. "I threw up 20 times one day." Screwing up her face, she drew a line in the air from her mouth to her chest and said, "You know....one of those bugs crawled down my throat and made me really sick." Yes, I did keep a straight face and explain the difference between a bug bug and a contagious illness, but this child's little literal self certainly did add a big scoop of joy to my Friday!

Sunny Side Up!

Have you ever noticed that some people just naturally spread sunshine and that others gravitate in their direction? Well this holds true in classrooms, too, and I have just such a child in mind. Since it's close to the end of the year, I'm doing a survey with my classes just to see what the children like and don't like about guidance class. This will help me plan for next year. One of the 8 statements says, "Miss Mimi is nice," and the students are supposed to show me thumbs up or thumbs down, as they are instructed to do for all the survey items. Of course I tell the students it's okay to be honest and that I won't say a word, but simply count the responses. After reading this statement the other day, I noticed a chubby-cheeked kindergartner rolling with laughter. "What's so funny?" I asked. Continuing to laugh, the little boy said, "That's silly. EVERYBODY knows Miss Mimi's nice!" Thanking him, I moved on to other questions, which had to do with all the different types of activities and materials I use in class. When the survey was over, I said, "Thanks for doing that. I know it was boring, but we only have to do it once a year, and it'll help make first grade guidance class better next year." Grinning broadly, my same jolly friend said, "It wasn't boring, Miss Mimi, it was FUN!" Then others followed his lead, saying, "Yeah, it was FUN!" Children like this are just ringleaders of positivity, if that's even a word, and I SO appreciate them! We adults can learn a lesson from this little man's attitude, as people of all ages in all settings can benefit from being around a human sunbeam!

Shake it Out!

I'm enjoying getting to know a new first grade girl who has big blue eyes and an infectious personality. While talking with her yesterday, I asked what she liked to do with her mother. She responded that they watch tv and play games and that sometimes her mom takes her to the park because "you KNOW mamas don't like kids with too much energy!" Yep, I understand, Mama, and my teacher friends feel the same way when they have a run of "indoor recess" days. Bring on the sunshine!

Daydream Believer?

Today I was administering a questionnaire of school problems to a handsome blond first grader. He was supposed to listen to each sentence and then tell me whether the problem was big, middle-sized, or small in his life. Things were going well, and I got the feeling that the child was being honest about his responses. When we got to the problem of daydreaming during work time, I had to repeat the question, as the mischievous little boy was staring into space. "I daydream too much in class," I read for the second time. Jerking his head as if to wake himself up, the child grinned and said, "Oh...sorry. I was thinking about a marshmallow marrying a monkey!" At this point, I wasn't sure whether the child was really daydreaming during a daydreaming question or just pulling my leg with his precocious sense of humor, so I laughingly asked him about it. "No, really!" he said. "I was thinking about a marshmallow marrying a monkey." And then he tried to convince me that daydreaming was not a problem for him! Okay, either he was teasing me AGAIN, or daydreaming is INDEED an issue for him. He simply can't have it both ways! Either way, this little boy has a zany personality and is very fun to talk with!

Giggles and Gratitude

As people my age know, growing older has both pros and cons. Physically, the issues are mostly cons! I believe in taking good care of myself and wearing a smile and making the best of what God gave me to work with, but still, aging can be a bit depressing! Well, three little second grade girls helped perk me up yesterday as I was leaving school. I walked out of my room into the hallway, and a beautiful child with white-blonde hair bounced from her knees, held both hands to her sides dramatically, and said, "I like your outfit, AGAIN! You always look like a fashionista, which is what I'm gonna be when I grow up!" Thanking her, I told her she didn't have to wait, that I adored her polka-dot capris. Meanwhile, two of her classmates chimed in to remind me that one of their second grade friends was moving to Los Angeles this weekend. As the girls oohed and aahed over the fact that she'd be close to Disneyland and beaches, I mentioned that she'd also be near Hollywood and might even see movie stars walking down the street. "Well she's gonna see YOU then, 'cause YOU'RE a movie star!" said one of the children. Giggling with gratitude and good cheer, I wished the students a happy weekend and moseyed on. The point of this story is that being surrounded by sweet, loving, good-hearted children surely does help what ails me, and THAT will keep my young!

Polly Puritan

During a lesson in our unit on dealing with teasing, bothering, and bullying, I presented another idea for the children to put in their "treasure chests". This was called The Repeat Technique, which simply means saying the same thing over and over again in a calm voice after being given a put-down. For example, they might choose to repeat, "I'm sorry you feel that way", "Thank you!", or "You could be right!" As we prepared to practice using this strategy, I stressed to the kids that although I would be insulting them, I wouldn't really mean it, that it would be just for practice so they'd be ready if name-calling should actually happen. One red-haired boy raised his hand and said,"We know you won't really mean it, 'cause you're so pure." Looking at his face, I could tell that he was earnest and meant this sincerely. However, I was taken aback, because that's not a compliment I typically (if ever) receive! Just as I prepared to ask the little boy if he knew what pure meant, he continued, "You're really nice. You'd never do anything to hurt anybody." Mixed feelings rushed in, as I was very touched by the child's words and demeanor. However, three teachers were standing directly behind him, and being called pure in front of my peers was embarrassing and funny, too! Fortunately, I just made a joke to cover the giggles I felt coming on. "Why thank you so much. That's a very kind thing to say, and I appreciate it. From now on, y'all can just call me Polly Puritan!" The teachers and I used this opportunity to crack up, the sweet little children joined right in, and we moved on with the lesson! (And now I need to go tell my husband my new nickname!)

Make Somebody's Day!

While checking out a library book at school one day last week, I gave my name to a lovely petite lady who was volunteering at the desk. "Are you Miss Mimi?" she asked. Then she proceeded to tell me that she'd been meaning to write me a letter letting me know how much my lessons on getting along with people had helped her daughter. Apparently her little girl has had some ongoing peer dilemmas this school year and used to be highly distressed by them. However, her mom said that the child listens very intently to my lessons on dealing with teasing, bothering, and bullying and is able to come home and teach her mom what new ideas she's learned. Not only does she have the head knowledge, but her little girl applies what she's learned and has become much more confident in dealing with friendship problems. All people want to know that their efforts are making a difference, and often we don't know for sure, we just have HOPE that what we do matters. The very kind words and affirmation I received from this cordial lady in the library not only encouraged me but also reminded me to take the time to share my appreciation and thanks with those people who touch my life in positive ways. I told a cashier on Saturday how helpful, pleasant, and conscientious she had been about checking me out and packaging my purchases. I told a kindergarten teacher how much I appreciated her flexibility and willingness to help me every single time I ask. Expressing specific gratitude can flat out make somebody's day, or even their WEEK, and it's a habit I really want to hone. Heaven knows this old world needs more courtesy and kindness, and I hope to do a better job of spreading sunshine!

Birthday Girl

Throwing her arms around me one morning this week, a cherubic kindergartner wearing a collection of bracelets and a dress decorated with bows said exuberantly, "Miss Mimi, Miss Mimi, my birthday will be here in four sleeps!" Children's expressions are just the CUTEST!

Cup of Joe

Recently, I was in a second grade classroom teaching about how kindness can help keep us out of conflicts and can also turn "enemies" into friends. Before reading a story on this topic, we discussed how feelings can change, not only about people but about foods, sports, hobbies, school subjects, and more. Just because we don't like something or someone at FIRST doesn't mean we'll ALWAYS feel that way. Giving things and people a chance can improve our feelings about them. After asking the children to tell me about times this had been true in their own lives, I heard examples such as changing their minds about broccoli, basketball, gymnastics, kids on the bus, karate, and more. But I was surprised to hear one blond-haired boy say matter-of-factly, "I used to not like coffee, but now I do." Wow! That boy's starting YOUNG! I know his teacher will be thrilled to hear about that!

Daddy's Got My Back

Not too long ago, I talked with a mischievous freckle-faced boy about some family changes he was going through. At one point I asked if he'd talked with his parents about how he was feeling. "Oh yes," he replied. "My dad is my advocate." Surprised to hear such a big word coming out of the mouth of such a little tyke, I asked, "Do you know what an advocate is?" Nodding his head vigorously, the child said, "Yeah, it means that my dad has my back and always will, no matter what happens." Wow! I was so impressed by the relationship that these two obviously have, and consequently, I felt like everything would be alright during the transitions in this little boy's life.

Speak for YourSELF!

Each morning, I visit a couple of teachers' classrooms to check on how their students behaved the previous day. Each class has two specific goals, such as to use kind words and to follow first request. After receiving a 1-10 score for each goal from the teacher, I choose a child to color in vertical bar graphs on a rainbow chart. For example, if the score is 7, the child colors 7 boxes on the graph. Well today I asked a handsome dark-haired boy to color in two fantastic scores...a 10 and a 10. As he pondered which crayons to use, a fair-skinned girl at his table predicted that he'd choose pink. "Yeah, he colors everything pink," said a tawny-haired neighbor. Curious, I asked the boy who was about to color, "So do you like the color pink?" Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he said, "Yeah, for PIGS." I snorted with laughter!

Sweet as Pie

Hearing an interesting conversation during the early morning rush to classes one day last week, I looked behind me and saw three smiling first grade boys good-naturedly shoving each other around. "I call the fastest!" said a dark-eyed boy. "I call the smartest!" said a blond. Before the third could get in a word, I laughingly said, "Who calls the SWEETEST?" All together, the three musketeers groaned, "Ewwww!" They shook their heads, rolled their eyes at me, and sauntered on into class. Hee hee...there's always someone around to tease!

Fair Trade??

As I trotted down the hall today with my arms full of teaching materials, I heard a squeaky voice shout from afar, "Miss Mimi! Miss Mimi, I wanna show you my t-shirt!" Turning around, I watched a freckle-faced kindergartner with a new haircut hustle my way. Putting his hands on his hips and thrusting out his tummy to better show off his shirt, he stood still for me to read the following: "Let's Trade. You give me $100 (arrow pointing to a hundred dollar bill) and I give you PEACE AND QUIET! " I giggled, especially since this little boy is exuberant but quite well behaved, and he turned around and skipped on down to the library. Primary school hallways can be such fun!

Yeah, RIGHT...!

Here's a cute story that occurred in a kindergarten class yesterday. I've been teaching about calming down strong feelings and doing the right thing. Yesterday, I focused on talking to someone you trust about your worries, fears, and problems. To make the point that people can't read our minds and may not know what's bothering us unless we tell them, we played a game. I told a secret to an adorable red-haired boy, and the class tried to either guess what I'd told him or read our minds. As children raised their hands, my accomplice called on them. Guesses varied and included: "You're giving us a party!" "You're getting a puppy." "Always brush your teeth." "Care about each others' feelings." "Uhh....I forgot!" Anyway, nobody guessed correctly and nobody read our minds, so I asked my helper to tell the class the secret I'd told him. In a shy voice and with a sly grin, he said, "She said her husband has big muscles." As the teachers laughed and many children sighed and shook their heads, one petite girl blurted out, "I was gonna SAY that!"' Another yelled, "Yeah, me TOO!" The teachers and I raised our eyebrows, shook our heads with a giggle, and said, "Ahhhh...SURE you were!"

Take Them Back!

Today I read an adorable story to a couple of kindergarten classes. It's called Darcy and Gran Don't Like Babies, and the point I make is that it helps to talk to someone you trust when you have a problem. Darcy, the main character, is disgusted with her new baby brother, and she doesn't hesitate to announce this fact to everyone she sees. "I don't like the new baby," she attests to her mom, her dad, a neighbor, and the doctor. Each of these characters tries to convince her that she really does like the baby, and this annoys Darcy. She wants someone to listen and UNDERSTAND! Finally she finds an ally when she talks to her gran. Gran says matter-of-factly, "Neither do I. Never did like babies." Darcy and Gran go on to list the things they dislike: Babies can be smelly, they cry a lot, and they get all the attention. Then the two allies go on an adventure to the park, where babies aren't in their way on the jungle gym, swing, see-saw, or slide. Of course Darcy's mood mellows at the end of the story, in large part because she's been listened to and supported in her feelings about this new addition to the family. Well the kindergartners laughed all throughout the book, as it really was funny. At one point a little girl with long blond hair raised her hand and said, "I know just what she means. My baby has bad smells, too." A minute later she commented, "Yea, my baby gets all the attention, too," and she nodded her head with empathy for Darcy. Looking around the classroom, I noticed lots of bobbing heads and expressions ranging from wistful to grossed out. Judging from the way the children related to this story, it appears that our kindergarten families have had a bumper crop of babies born lately!

Shades of Blue

There's a sweet fair-skinned kindergarten boy at our school, one I check on each morning. His goal is to use self-control when he's angry. Each day, his teacher gives him a 1-10 score based on how well he controlled his emotions the previous day, and the child colors in the corresponding number of boxes on a vertical bar graph. For instance, if he did really well and earned a score of 8, he'd color 8 boxes stacked on top of each other. We call this a rainbow chart because each day's stripe is usually a different color, and the page ends up looking pretty and bright like a rainbow. Well one day last week, I mentioned to the little boy that his chart had all blue stripes, differing SHADES of blue, but all blue nonetheless. It was really kind of peaceful looking! I pointed out that my favorite was the blue-green stripe because it reminded me of the Caribbean Sea. At the time I made this comment, my friend was in the process of coloring that day's stripe. He said, "I think I like THIS blue the best." Reading the label, we discovered that he had chosen plain old blue, which was the color of faded denim. Although the boy had already begun coloring his chart, he stopped, put his crayon down, and held up the ziplock bag of crayons. Running his hands through the bag, he picked up each blue he found to see if it appeared to be blue-green. There were several shades of blue in the bag...blue violet, cerulean, and sky blue, to name a few. Poring through the bag's contents, the child was intent on finding that elusive blue-green crayon. Several times, because he couldn't read some of the labels, he made a mark on the back of the chart to check out the hue. Although I was in a hurry and had lots of children to see in a short amount of time, I sensed that it was important for me to be patient and wait. Finally, the child and I discovered that my elusive blue-green crayon actually looked black until it was used, and then the vibrant color became evident. With a relieved grin, my kindergarten friend proceeded to color over the blue he'd started with and to make that day's stripe my favorite blue-green. Since this little boy wanted to honor me by choosing the color I liked best, I know that the extra time I spent with him that morning was worthwhile, and my heart was warmed by his affection.

Move It, Move It

My kindergarten students have been learning about calming down strong feelings and doing the right thing. As part of this unit, I've taught ways to calm down that we can ALWAYS use, such as belly breaths, and strategies that we can SOMETIMES use. The latter include talking to someone about your feelings, resting, exercising, and playing to cheer yourself up. To help children memorize these ideas, we often stand up, bounce, and chant, "Talk, rest, exercise, play!" until we're good and tired. One of the most popular songs I play for kids to dance to is "I Like to Move It, Move It" from one of the Madagascar movies, and I use this song because it ties in with the strategy of EXERCISE. The children are familiar with it, and many of them beg for it when they see me coming! Well the other day, I played this song in a class for the very first time. Before turning it on, I gave my usual spiel about how this song makes children go wild sometimes. They LOSE their self-control and DON'T handle their strong feelings of silliness in the right way, so we have to follow some rules while dancing. We have to find a spot and stay there instead of running around the room, we have to keep our hands to ourselves, we have to keep our feet and only our feet on the floor (as opposed to break dancing, doing push-ups and cartwheels, etc.), and we can sing but can't talk and chit-chat. (Did I mention that sometimes kids go BANANAS during this song??!) We stood up, I turned on the music, and high-speed boogying ensued. Girls were slinging their hair, children were doing the robot, disco dancing, jumping and waving their arms in the air, doing the swim, and amusing the fire out of their teacher and me. One freckle-faced smiling girl appeared to have rubber bands in her feet as she turned them this way and that at supersonic speed. Yes, I did have to turn off the music for a momentary reminder, but we got to finish the song afterward. When it was over, a slow, peaceful melody came on my iPod. "Now here comes a RESTING song, " I said, since rest was one of our calming down ideas. Immediately, children started flopping down on the floor for a rest, as they'd indeed worked up a sweat while dancing. The little girl with the fast feet said exhaustedly, "Miss Mimi, I NEED a rest," and lay down in a ball. "I'm sure you DO," I laughed. "Your FEET had the BEAT!" She rolled her eyes at me good-naturedly and sank back down on her imaginary bed. Oh, the fun I have teaching kindergarten classes!