Nurse Connie to the Rescue!

While hurrying down the school hallway one morning the week before Christmas vacation, I came upon two second grade girls leaning against the wall chatting. I stopped to speak, and they informed me that they were both on their way to see Nurse Connie. One said she had a sprained ankle, and it was hurting more than usual because she had stumbled while getting out of the car that morning. The other said that she'd hit her leg on a bus seat, causing pain. At this point they started walking toward the nurse's office, but not just regular old walking, mind you. The girl with the sprained ankle hobbled, and the other swooped her unbent leg out to the side in a circular motion. "She's having surgery," said the shorter girl with the ankle pain, nodding in her friend's direction. "I'm just going to the doctor, but she's having surgery." The funny part of this story is that there was no surgery scheduled, nor any NEED for such a thing. These two little characters were just ready for Christmas break to hurry up and get here and were seizing any excuse to liven up their monotonous last week of school routine. I do believe I just encountered two drama queens in the making!

Lost!

During our recent problem-solving unit, I taught the kindergartners a series of questions to ask themselves when they're deciding what to do. I also made sure they learned about how a conscience and a brain can help us and are aware of the comforting fact that they're always with us, even when grown-ups aren't around to tell us what to do. We talked about how we can't run away from our conscience and our brain. If we go to New York City, they go with us. If we go flying high above the clouds, they go with us. If we go scuba diving in the deep blue sea, they go with us, etc. Well this morning, we reviewed those teachings before starting a new unit. Seeing a raised hand, I called on a small dark-eyed boy sitting in a child's rocking chair. Without cracking a smile, he said, "Miss Mimi, I didn't bring my conscience to school today."
Realizing that this was gonna be fun, I said in a serious tone, "Well where is it?"
He replied, "I think I lost it."
"Where do you think it might be?" I asked.
"I don't know. Probably in the garbage," he said.
"So if you see a twenty dollar bill lying on the floor, you're just gonna steal it?" I asked, referring to an example we had talked about in our previous lesson.
Giving me a quizzical look, the child answered, "Why no!"
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because stealing's wrong," he replied.
Grinning, I said, "So your conscience IS at school with you, because that's why you wouldn't take the money!"
Today I passed this same elfin child in the hallway and asked, "Hey, is your conscience at school today?"
Flashing a smile, he said, "No!"
"Where is it?" I said.
"Still in the garbage!" he answered.
What a character. I'm sure we'll enjoy coming back to this conversation again and again as the school year goes on!

Clever Christmas Card

Clever card from a first grade boy: Lip balm along with the message "Have a Merry Kissmas and a Chappy New Year!"

Run That By Me One More Time??

I got a little overjoyed in kindergarten guidance class today. Maybe it was the Christmas spirit, but I found myself acting way too silly. I did a cheer for the class when they did something I was proud of, got them all laughing, and then realized I really needed to stop clowning around and start teaching. Pointing my bossing finger at myself, I said, "Mimi, calm down this instant. Stop acting silly and start teaching these children immediately! You are getting them entirely too riled up, and no learning whatsoever is occurring!" In the midst of the giggles, one fair-skinned girl's comment stood out. In a squeaky voice, I heard her call out, "What the HELL??" I might have second-guessed my ears and wondered if she'd really uttered those exact words, but a chubby child behind her reached up, grabbed her arm to pull her back a bit, looked her in the face, and said, "Don't say that bad word!" This confirmed what I thought I'd heard, but fortunately, the other students were so busy laughing that they didn't notice a thing out of the ordinary. To that, I say, "Whew!"

Witty Girl!

In kindergarten guidance class yesterday, we had a story called Ruthie and the Not So Teeny Tiny Lie, which was about using your conscience to help you do the right thing. Before reading the book, I handed out several puppets that corresponded with the animal characters in the story. Selected students chose a pig, a gray tabby cat, a fox, an aardvark, a duck, a bear, a lamb, and a little white rabbit. Refocusing the children's attention before I began to read, I reminded them that we were learning about using our consciences to help make decisions. Repeating the book's title, I said that it gave us evidence of what the book would be about. "Do you think it will it be about good or bad behavior?" I asked. As children began to respond in chorus, one particular answer stood out. A golden-haired child in the back row held her lamb puppet high and enthusiastically belted out, "Baa-aaa-d!" Bleating like a lamb...how quick and clever!

Thanks For the Help, Bro!

The other day, I was meeting with a couple of siblings, a boy and a girl. The freckle-faced girl came into my room carrying her snack in a zip-lock bag. Noticing that her brother didn't have one, she offered to share hers with him. "No thanks," he said. "I just had mine...pirate's booty." Giggling, his sister said, "That's popcorn, Miss Mimi." Repeating the name and snickering, she continued, "Booty...that's funny!" "Well booty can actually have two meanings," I said. The snack means pirate's TREASURE, and then there's that other meaning, the one you're laughing about. Shaking her head and laughing up a storm, the little girl kept repeating, "Booty, that's funny!" With an exasperated look on his handsome face, her spikey-haired brother looked at her and said, "Now Sissy, would you say that in front of MOMMY?" Grinning, I said, "Good point, Brother! And if she wouldn't say it in front of MOMMY, she probably shouldn't be saying it in front of MIMI, either!"

MYOB!

Kindergartners are notorious for tattling, so this week's lesson taught them the difference in tattling just to get someone in trouble and reporting serious things. The general rule of thumb I taught the children was to report pain, danger, and damage to property. To make it easy to memorize, I had them learn the pattern of letters PDP, standing for pain, danger, property. Then I taught the chant, "PDP, PDP, tell the teacher when it's PDP!" We stood up and bounced to that until they got it got it got it, and then we read a story and responded to some practice scenarios. Well Friday afternoon, children were deciding whether they should report certain situations or try to solve the problem themselves. Given the example of starting a fire, they knew to report. For having someone stick their tongue out at them, they knew to solve that problem themselves. When we got to the question of whether to tell the teacher that a peer was doing messy work, I asked, "Is that pain?" "It's NOT pain!" the children responded. "Is it danger?" "It's NOT danger," they chorused. "Is property being hurt or stolen?" "It's NOT hurting property!", they replied. Then from the middle of the group, a blond-haired boy piped up, "And it's not your BUSINESS, either!" I think he got it got it got it!

My Kind of Girl!

Now anybody who knew me as a child knows that I grew up country and I grew up Southern in Darlington, Alabama. So I'm certainly not making fun of this child's accent... I have a similar one myself! However, hers does stand out among most of the children at my school, and that's what made this story so cute. We've been having lessons on learning to be good problem-solvers in kindergarten guidance classes. To help show why we need this skill, I use a puppet called Ossie the Ostrich. Since he has such a tiny little brain, he freaks out whenever he has a problem, and instead of thinking about how to solve it, he hides his head in the sand. We have fun whining a little chant when Ossie comes to class: "Poor little me, poor little me, I've got a problem, poor little me! Poor little me, poor little me, I've got a problem, poor little me," which we accompany with lots of hand-wringing. Today, we prepared to read a story in class, and as I always do, I passed out some puppets for the children to hold as they listened. The last puppet to be chosen was Ossie, and as a pretty girl with shiny long hair claimed him, I said to her, "Now don't let him freak...give him some extra love." Exuberantly walking back with Ossie to her spot on the carpet, the child said in a serious tone of voice and with her very distinctive accent, "Don't worry, Miss Mimi. I will NOT let him freak. That's just not my THANG!" Adorable...I cracked up!

Your Nose is Growing!

After reading a story to some first graders today, we were summarizing what we could learn from the story. Noticing that one good point hadn't been mentioned yet, I asked the children what we could learn from Jason, a story character who had given a little girl a second chance to be his friend after she'd been ostracized by most of her classmates for lying to them. A handsome boy raised his hand and said, "Forgive people when they're really sorry for being bad." Expanding on his good answer, I replied, "Yes, Jason understood about lying because he used to do it, too." All of a sudden a chorus of voices from all around the room said, "Me, too. I used to lie, too." Kids were nodding and agreeing with those around them that lying is something they could understand and relate to, and they seemed to be happy that Kim, the main story character, had been given a fresh start by Jason. Seeing a raised hand, I called on a curly haired snaggle-toothed boy. With an angelic face and a devilish smile, he said, "I've NEVER told a lie, not ever." Seeing the unbelieving faces turned toward him, he protested, "Really, I'm not joking, I've NEVER told a lie." I laughed and said that telling lies is just something that most of us do when we're little, especially when we're trying to keep from getting in trouble, but that hopefully we learn to be honest as we get older. As I prepared to leave, his teacher and I shook our heads and giggled at this little boy's protestations, and she murmured, "I think he just told his first one." Amen, Sister, amen!

Good Point, Child!

Kids say the cutest things! This morning, I walked down the hall with scores of first graders heading to class. One adorable little girl, who had a stylish short haircut adorned with pink barrettes, bubbled with excitement about the upcoming weekend. I'm pretty sure she was trying to say that there was only one more day of school before Saturday arrived, but that's not exactly what came out of her mouth. Hurrying up to walk with me, she blurted with joy, "Miss Mimi, Miss Mimi, this is the last day before tomorrow!" Yes indeedy, I think she was right!

Run That By Me One More Time???

Although this isn't the most dignified story I've ever posted, it's too funny not to share. As I walked down the hallway at 7:30 this morning, a tousle-haired second grade boy said something to me in a flat voice. Thinking I had misunderstood, I said, "What did you say, Sweetie?" Looking at me through sleepy eyes, he mumbled matter-of-factly, "I just farted in the hallway," and continued sluggishly on his way to class. "Thanks for sharing!" I called to his back. You just never know what you'll hear in the hallways of a primary school!

Hitchin' A Ride

As I met with an adorable wide-eyed first grader today, I followed my standard getting-to-know-you interview format. When we talked about her family, she told me about her pets...3 cats and a dog. The fair-skinned child told me their names and admitted that one cat had recently run away, causing her to cry. Empathizing with her sadness easily since I'm a huge animal lover too, I said, "I understand why you cried, and I agree that losing a pet can be one of the very saddest parts of life." Brightening up a bit, she looked up from the picture she was drawing and said, "But Tootsie went to the animal shelter. She got a ride on the cat bus and went there." Now in case you're not from Knoxville, let me explain that our community buses are called KAT buses, an acronym for Knox Area Transit. Whether someone in this sweet little girl's family told her that story, or whether she saw the KAT buses and put that explanation together on her own, I don't know. However, it seemed to bring her comfort, and although sad, it brought an unexpressed giggle to our conversation!

Who CARES What I Look Like?

As I walked down the hallway toward my office on Friday, I met a kindergarten class on their way to the restroom. My eyes were drawn to what initially looked like a scarecrow in their line. One of the cutest red-headed boys ever had a wide black vertical stripe on the tip of his nose, which from afar made his nose look hollow (hence the scarecrow likeness). Since this adorable child has very poor impulse control, he blurted out, "Hey Miss Mimi!" and hopped out of line to grab me around the waist. "Hey! What's on your nose?" I said. Furrowing his eyebrows and looking perplexed, he answered, "I don't know," and touched the area in question. One of his buddies said, "It's from a marker." Breaking into a wide grin, the freckle-faced scarecrow said, "Oh yeah, that's 'cause it smells good!" I guess appearance takes a back seat to the short-term thrill of a scented marker!

Peace and Love!

A beautiful thing happened at school yesterday. Let me start from the beginning. Thursday afternoon, just as I prepared to leave for the day, my phone rang. A concerned mom was calling about a friendship problem her second grader had come home crying about. Apparently, her little girl had been bothered by another child for the last two years. The two girls had been in kindergarten together and shared a playground for the succeeding couple of years. This mother had coached her child through all the upsetting experiences, and I hadn't been aware of any of this. Well, on Thursday things took a turn in a new direction. The mom on the phone said that her daughter lost her temper on the playground and said, "Let's start an 'I Hate ______ Club' ". Immediately, her child knew that what she had done was wrong, and she regretted those words exceedingly, but of course she couldn't take them back. When she got into the car to go home, her mom said she was sobbing with remorse. Since the mom was afraid her daughter would be afraid to come see me about what had happened, I offered to meet with the mother and child together at 7:10 the next morning to see how I could help.

When she entered my room the next morning, the pretty blonde second grader widened her eyes in an obviously nervous way. I was friendly and warm, and she quickly relaxed. After listening to all the history of the two girls' relationship, I suggested that I set up a peacemaking talk for them. I explained in detail how it would work, and the little girl agreed that it would probably be helpful. Due to the greatly appreciated cooperation and understanding of both girls' teachers, I was able to schedule the peace talk for later that morning.

First I went to the other little girl, the one whose feelings had been hurt on the playground the previous day. Knowing her personality, I felt like she'd be a willing and enthusiastic participant, and she didn't disappoint me! I took her into the hall for privacy and explained that I knew what had happened and that the other child wanted to apologize for hurting her feelings. I asked if meeting together would be okay with her. Breaking into a quick grin that lit up her freckled face, she nodded her head firmly and said, "Yes, that's VERY okay. And I forgive her. Sometimes I get mad and say things I don't really mean, too." Well, my eyes were already brimming because of the speedy forgiveness and genuine understanding, and we walked on down the hallway to collect the other child. When she walked into the hall, her arms were straight down at her sides, and her hands were balled into a fist. her eyes were huge, and her eyebrows were lifted. (Her mom later described this as her "scared look".) Putting her at ease, I said that the other child did want to have a peacemaking talk and that she was willing to forgive what had happened. As the first girl said she was sorry, the "wronged child" threw her arms around her friend's waist and smiled.

Feeling relieved that everything was working out so well, I joked around with the girls as we made our way to my office. "Promise you're not gonna pull each other's hair and claw each other's eyeballs out? No black eyes? No bloodshed?" They rolled their eyes and laughed.

The peacemaking talk went well, and both girls were able to say what was bothering them about the other. They listened, didn't interrupt, and stayed respectful. As we brought up the "I Hate____ Club", the ashamed little girl covered her ears, closed her eyes, shook her head, and said, "No, don't say it!" Sensing her guilt and regret, her friend threw her head onto the other's shoulder, grinned, and said, "Everybody has meltdowns, Honey!" Precious and adorable! They cheerfully wrote out peacemaking plans and committed to try their best to stick to them. Afterwards, the two chums put on a puppet show for me, as silly and giggly as any two second grade girls you've ever seen.

Hopefully this will help, although there may be bumps along the road. However, I was just so impressed with the strong conscience of the first child, with the empathy and mercy of the second, and with the maturity and respect of both! These heartwarming experiences are what keep me going in this beloved career of mine!

Yes Ma'am, Teacher!

Here's a funny hall happening from earlier in the school year. Since our primary school has fifteen kindergarten classes, teachers must spend lots of time teaching these young students to use appropriate behavior in classrooms, hallways, the lunchroom, playgrounds, and all around the school. My room is centrally located, so I overhear lots of behavioral coaching in the hallway outside my door, especially as lines of students leave the cafeteria after lunch. Well one day I witnessed a kindergarten teacher reminding her children to be quiet and calm on their way back to class. She demonstrated the "peace and quiet" sign she wanted them to practice, which entailed children putting a finger on their lips with one hand and showing a peace sign with the other. As she modeled what to do, she stood at the front of her line and faced her class, saying, "Watch me and do exactly what I do," Although most of the teacher's students followed her directions appropriately, a couple made their "peace and quiet" sign and began walking down the hallway BACKWARDS, which is what the TEACHER was doing as she monitored her children. These innocent little souls were doing their very best to please their teacher by following her directions to the letter, but of course I couldn't help but crack up at the natural tendency of five year olds to take things so very literally!

Thanks, Kid!

As I checked on a student outside her classroom early this morning, a harried mom rounded the corner with her auburn-haired first grader in tow. With a smile of recognition, her little girl said in a bubbly voice, "Oh hi, Miss Mimi! This is my mom. She's not wearing any make-up!" Her mother appeared to be too rushed to see the humor in that introduction and hurried on into her daughter's classroom, but I cracked up! After the mom came back into the hallway to leave the school, I said jokingly, " It was nice to meet you. Now go put on some make-up!" Rolling her eyes with a grin, she said, "Yeah, apparently I need to!" I guess there's just no guaranteed dignity when you have a child!

Watch Those Teeth!

Today I was summoned by a substitute teacher to come help her with a boy having a meltdown. According to the girl who came to get me, the angry boy was beet red and yelling across the room continually. When I talked with the boy, he animatedly widened his big brown eyes, shook his head back and forth, and loudly carried on about how everybody was trying to tell him what to do, and how HE DIDN'T NEED ANY HELP. HE COULD DO IT HIMSELF!!! As I let him vent about a variety of stressors, he made a unique analogy. Attempting to describe just how very put out he was with his classmates, he said, "It's like I'm a sandwich, and they're trying to take a bite out of me. They've reached the hamburger patty, WHICH IS MY LAST NERVE!" Happily, the child calmed down within a few minutes and was able to go back to class. While I didn't enjoy his outburst, I loved the creative language he used while getting his frustration out of his system!

Substitute Mimi

I've had lots of heart-warming experiences at school this week! Yesterday, I had a freckle-faced first grade girl eating lunch with me in my room. It was her counseling time, and we'd just finished our conversation and were setting up a board game to play. Before we got started, a substitute teacher tapped on the door with a plea for help. She was subbing in a difficult class, and behind her stood a shame-faced kindergartner clasping his hands in front of his body and wearing an uh-oh expression. The sub asked if I could let the little boy stay in my room for 5 minutes to calm down. She said he could join his class on the playground if he was ready to participate appropriately after that time. I agreed and asked him to have a seat in a comfy green chair behind our counseling table. He complied contritely, and I prepared to go ahead with the game.

However, the first grader I was with had other ideas. Whispering, she said, "Miss Mimi, I think I can help him." Thinking that she probably spoke the truth, I said, "Okay," and sat back to observe. The little girl walked over to the kindergartner, sat down on the floor in front of his chair, and said gently, "Hey, it's never too late to switch it around. I used to get in trouble when I was in kindergarten, but I switched it around." The boy said in a similarly respectful tone of voice, "Well, there's this new student, and he hasn't quite figured out how to get along with people, and he just won't leave me alone."

"Hey, when people bothered me in kindergarten, I would push and shove, but then I switched it around and just ignored them," said the girl. "But I can't ignore him because he follows me around and won't leave me alone," the boy responded. "Well, just ask your teacher for help, okay? Don't fight with him because then you'll get in trouble."

"I'll try," said the kindergartner, sounding calm but not too sure about that suggestion. "Do you think you're ready to go to the playground now?" asked the first grader. "Well yea, I think I am," said the boy.

Since five minutes had passed, I walked the boy outside, where another kindergarten teacher had a pep talk with him. He then went to play. Since I never heard from him for the remainder of the day, I don't know how he behaved. I also know that what he said about the new student is indeed true and that the two of them in the same class is a volatile combination. This little boy has his work cut out for him in the self-control department. The point of this story, though, is how precious it was to sit in the background and listen to two small children empathizing and encouraging each other about the stressors of everyday life at school. I told the little girl that next time I'm absent, I'll suggest that she become MY substitute!

Pure Goodness!

I saw the sweetest thing happen today! Our PTA is having a clothing drive for the Knox County Clothing Center, which provides clothes for needy children in our school system. To hold the donations, HUGE cardboard boxes, probably 4 feet tall, sit beside each front entrance to our building. The boxes have been nicely decorated to advertise the clothing drive and are eye-catching due to their size. In fact, I've thought all week how fun it would be to hide inside a box and jump up like a jack-in-the box when classes walked down the hall. After all, it IS almost Halloween! Anyway, I'll move on to the touching scene I witnessed early this morning. As I made my rounds through the building around 7:40, I saw a petite kindergartner standing on tiptoe, stretching her arms up as far as possible, and trying with all her might to get a new-looking hot pink polka-dotted coat into the very tall box. Noticing that she didn't have on a jacket and knowing that the temperature was very chilly, I wondered if the coat had just recently come off her body. "Hey Sweetie!" I said. "Is that your coat you're giving away?" Turning her head to see who was speaking to her, she said softly, "I thought some other kids might need a coat." "That is just one of the most precious things I've ever heard," I said, "but I don't think your mom would want you to give away your very own coat. It looks brand new! I can tell that you have a good kind heart and care about others' feelings, and you've made my day for having such a sweet thought, but I think you better keep your coat for the winter! Nodding her head, she said, "Oh, okay," gave me a hug, and moved on down the hall to her classroom. This little girl comes from one of the largest families in our school, and she doesn't have lots of extras. What a pure heart she has, and oh how we need more people like her in this world of ours!

Gasp!

In a second grade class yesterday, we were discussing using positive self-talk to calm down strong feelings of anxiety. We had learned the difference in negative thinking, which makes us even more nervous, and positive thinking, which gives us hope and a fighting spirit. Well, one of the scenarios we thought about was what to tell ourselves when we're nervous about presenting a science project in front of our class, specifically getting a volcano to erupt. We noted that thinking thoughts such as "This isn't going to work, and my friends will laugh at me" would make us feel more worried and that we probably wouldn't give the experiment our best shot. I asked the children to come up with some helpful, hopeful self-talk to use in this situation, and I got several good responses. Students said such things as "I worked hard on this, and it'll be fine"; "If it doesn't work, my friends will understand"; "I can handle this", etc. but when a small dark-haired boy sitting on the front row offered a suggestion, I cackled with glee. With widened eyes and enthusiasm in his voice, the child said, "When the volcano erupts, my friends will GASP!" What an unexpected word, and what positive thinking this expressive little guy used! Later, his teacher explained that gasp had been a recent vocabulary word, and she was thrilled that her smart little student had used it in everyday conversation. Oh the joys of watching children learn!

The Best She Had

Here's one of the most precious stories ever! Last week was Thank a Teacher week. Since I'm a school counselor and not a classroom teacher, I usually don't receive many affirmations, which I completely understand. I don't mention this in a whiney way, but just to show how meaningful the events in this story were to me. The first hour of the day is always my most busy and stressful, as I'm hurrying all over the building to encourage and monitor children. Well, as I dashed into the busy hallway while students were going to their classrooms around 7:30 on Thursday, a child touched my arm and called my name softly. A petite first grader with a shiny waist-length pony tail looked up at me and said, "I have something for you, Miss Mimi." Even though I was in a hurry, I stopped, and we backed up against the wall so the other children could pass. Taking off her backpack and setting it on the floor, the little girl opened it up and laboriously searched through several zipped pockets in search of her gift. Finding what she was looking for, she beamed as she handed me a highly decorated white envelope, which I need to describe. On the front was a big yellow smiley face wearing a blue-green hat. On the envelope's back were 56 brightly 
colored stars. "Is this for ME?", I asked in anticipation. Smiling, she nodded and stood back to watch me open her offering. As I pulled out a card, I saw a pink-striped invitation with a picture of a heart. It really looked like a valentine, and when I noticed the words "You're Invited", I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed, thinking that it wasn't a thank you card after all. However, when I opened the "invitation", I felt a rush of such love for this little child. On the left side of the card, where the page was white, she had completely covered it with art work. There was a big yellow sunshine with a smiley face, as I teach our kids to spread sunshine. The sun was surrounded by 26 orange stars, and the picture was complete with blue skies and bright green grass. On the right hand side of the card, she had written her own sweet message on the lines which were really meant for time, date, place, and other invitation details. Her words, in three different colors, said, "Mes Memi yu or the bist tehr." I've already mentioned that it's rare for me to receive cards during teacher appreciation week, but the sweetest part of the story is that this little girl is one of the most underprivileged children in our school. We have mostly white-collar, educated, middle to upper middle class families as our demographic. Therefore, the fact that this angel girl had used whatever card she could find around her house, had decorated it in such minute detail, had personalized it just for me, and had tracked me down to hand-deliver it, just absolutely touched my heart and was the highlight of my week! Hers was the only thank you I received, and although I saw children bringing beautiful flowers to their teachers every single day, I wouldn't have traded this little girl's heartfelt expression of love for the most extravagant of those bouquets! This story really reminds me of the tale of the Widow's Mite in the Bible, in which the poor widow gave what she could. Although her offering was a tiny amount, it was sacrificial and given with great love. Her motives were pure and meaningful, as were this tiny little girl's!

Now That's What I Call a Tome!

As I knelt at a gap-toothed first grader's desk and encouraged him to do his best in school today, he reached into his backpack, pulled out a book, and said in all seriousness, " Here, Miss Mimi. I thought you might like to read this to us in guidance class." Hiding a grin, I checked and discovered that the book had 1096 pages. Now that would be one 
l-o-o-o-o-n-g guidance lesson!

Now Where Did THAT Come From??

Friday afternoon, I heard a tiny knock on my office door. Opening it, I was thrilled to see one of my favorite boys from last school year, who has moved on to third grade at our sister school. He was just stopping by with his grandparents, who were picking up his younger brother from school. We both jumped for joy, squealing and flapping our hands with glee! Since I had just that moment finished eating lunch in my room and was in the process of cleaning up after myself, I reached for the hand sanitizer. " My hands smell like dill pickles," I said. Grinning and shaking his head, my freckle-faced friend said, "I'm not a pickle fan. I'd rather smell a camel than eat a pickle." This popped out of his mouth without a second's forethought, and THAT, my friends, is an example of why this child had the title of last year's second grade Mr. Personality, and why I miss him so much this year!

Mini-Chairs

Thursday morning, I went by to check on a little kindergarten girl before the bell rang. She and I walked out into the hall to chit chat and fill out a chart. There was a table right outside her classroom that I thought we'd sit at. The child said in a dismayed tone of voice, "Oh no! Let's don't sit at this table. The chairs are mini!" I glanced down at the chairs, and yes indeed, their seats were about 8 inches off the floor! I just love the way kids describe things!

A Double Giggle!

Two funny stories from my shaggy haired second grade friend, whom I write about often because he's always cracking me up:

He came in to see me while I was busy talking to a little girl. Settling down in his favorite chair anyway, he said that he'd learned something new from Charlie Brown. This child is a huge Peanuts fan and has learned all sorts of interesting trivia from reading compilations of this comic strip. Anyway, he went on to say that he knew how many ozzies were in a lib. We said, "Say what? Are you speaking English or Greek?" He repeated it a few times, and since you're being given the advantage of seeing this in writing, you've probably figured out that he was talking about 16 ounces in a pound! With purely verbal hints to go by, it took me a while!

Funny #2: His grandma lives on a farm with lots of animals, and my friend told me a tale of a boy dog and a girl dog who licked each other and somehow had puppies.

What a scream this little boy is! There's rarely a dull moment when he's around, for sure!

Hello-o-o-o-o, THAT'S Not Nice!

Let me set the stage by giving you a picture of the "star" of this story. When I entered his kindergarten
classroom at 1:00 Friday, all the children were sitting on the carpet anticipating my entrance. Since they'd just returned to class from the playground, they were hot and sweaty and tired. This was obvious in the children's appearance, as their faces were red, their hair looked damp and tousled, and some of them looked "slam worn out"! One short orange-haired boy stood out. His freckled face had vertical streaks of dirt down both sides. As she greeted me, his teacher noticed his filthy face, grinned, and asked him to go wash it. She later explained that the little boy had been crying on the playground and had wiped his eyes, evidently with very dirty hands! Now fast-forward to later in my guidance lesson. We were learning about making I-Messages, which are statements that help us express feelings respectfully and assertively, even when we're upset. After practicing making a few, we read a book called STAND TALL, MOLLY LOU MELON! Molly Lou kept getting mistreated by another story character, Ronald Durkin, and my students came up with I-Messages that Molly Lou could have used to deal with Ronald's meanness. Well my red-haired buddy, who was calm and happy by this point in the lesson, was very familiar with this book. He was bouncing with excitement because we were reading it and could predict that we'd be deciding how to help Molly Lou stand up for herself when Ronald Durkin struck. When I read about the first incident, which depicted Ronald calling Molly "shrimpo" due to her small size, the little boy pointed to the ceiling with an upraised hand and blurted, "Hello-o-o-o, THAT'S not nice!" Next, Ronald called Molly Lou "bucky-tooth beaver", making fun of her teeth. Again, my friend threw up a hand and said, "Hello-o-o-o, THAT'S not nice!" When Ronald made fun of Molly's unusual voice, "Hello-o-o-o, THAT'S not nice!" When he told Molly she'd made her snowflake all wrong, "Hello-o-o-o, THAT'S not nice!", all accompanied by that upraised finger. Seriously, I was so tickled I could hardly read. I have about 8 more kindergarten classes to teach this lesson to, and if it was possible, I'd take my "assistant" with me to all of them. I can guarantee he'd liven up the lesson and have a fan club by the time he left the rooms. He's already got a fan in me!

AKA Cindy Smith

Although I don't use children's names on the posts I write, I have to use a fake one so this story will make sense. You see, it's all about names! In kindergarten guidance classes, I always give out puppets for children to hold while I read them a story. Since I can't carry 20-something puppets to every class, we have to take turns. As I go down the class list and call students' names to come choose a puppet, I rhyme their names the way they're done in the "Name Game" song. For example, Jimmy's name would be "Jimmy Jimmy Bo Bimmy Banana Fanna Fo Fimmy, Fee Fi Mo MImmy, Jimmy!" Sandy's would be "Sandy Sandy Bo Bandy Banana Fanna Fo Fandy, Fee Fi Mo Mandy, Sandy!" I know this is silly, but it's fun! Well one day last week I called a little girl's name, which I'll change to Cindy Smith. "Cindy Cindy Bo Bindy Banana Fanna Fo Findy, Fee Fi Mo MIndy, Cindy," I chimed. With a big smile, the petite child jumped up to select the puppet she wanted. As she headed back to her spot on the carpet, she glanced at me in all seriousness and said, "Actually, my last name's Smith." As I've said in several recent stories, can you say LITERAL?? The teacher and I looked at each other and shared a giggle!

Natural-Born Peacemaker!

We've been learning to be peacemakers in kindergarten guidance classes and to show that we care. As part of this process, we're learning to tell how people feel by picking up on clues given by their faces, bodies, and what's going on around them. Understanding their feelings will help us be a good friend by treating them the way they need to be treated. Today, I showed large photographs to a class, and they figured out how the people shown in the pictures felt. Afterwards, they told me what the person might need, an action that a peacemaker might take based on someone's feelings. For example, a happy boy wouldn't necessarily need us to do anything except be happy with him. A sad girl might need us to ask what was wrong or try to cheer her up. Well, we came to a picture of a furious little boy. He had sqinched up eyes, a furrowed brow, a beet red face, a tight little mouth, and arms bent and held tightly against his torso. After the children correctly labeled the feeling of anger, I told them that when someone is THAT mad, we usually need to stay away from him until he calms down because he might yell at us for trying to help. As I gave this explanation, a blue-eyed boy on the front row softly said, "You could tell him that God is always with him." His teacher and I glanced at each other in mutual admiration of this little child's love and faith, and my heart began to melt. I don't think that this particular peacemaker needs much help learning about empathy
!

No Barbies For Me!

Today, we had a birthday boy in one of my kindergarten guidance classes. Our lesson included looking at pictures of children exhibiting a variety of feelings, labeling those feelings, and classifying each as comfortable or uncomfortable . Our clues were to notice the pictured child's face, his body language, and what was going on around him, the context. Coming to a picture of a girl opening a present and showing big wide eyes and an open mouth, the children correctly figured out that she felt surprised. "Is this a comfortable surprise or an uncomfortable one?" I asked. "Comfortable," the children said. "Yes, this is a comfortable surprise, but sometimes surprises can be uncomfortable, such as when a field trip to the zoo gets rained out at the last minute." Immediately, the excited birthday boy piped up from the back of the group, "Or when somebody gives you a Barbie doll for your birthday!" I cracked up as the other boys moaned and groaned at the horror of such a thing happening. Let's just hope that this is one uncomfortable surprise our birthday boy didn't have to deal with today!

They Aim to Please!

At the beginning of the school year, I try to give kindergartners immediate success experiences in guidance class. Not only do I want them to be active participants in my lessons, but I want them to feel good about their ability to listen, follow directions, and learn learn learn! During our very first lesson, I teach students 5 ways to be peacemakers, and one of those ways is to listen to each other. Onto that thought, I add the fact that good students need to listen AND follow directions. In guidance class, we usually stand up a couple of times and bounce as we chant teaching points of that day's particular lesson. A couple of days ago, I introduced the lesson concept and said, "Okay, we're gonna bounce. Please stand up." To make a game of it, I said, "I'm hiding my eyes, and when I get to zero, I hope everybody will be listening and following directions. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero!" As I prepared to open my eyes, I hoped to see all twenty-something students standing. If that happened to be the case, I intended to clap and jump up and down and say, "Yea! You were ALL listening and following directions!" Peeking at the children from between my fingers, I realized that my hopes had been surpassed. With big smiles and quiet feet, every single child was silently bouncing up and down as if on invisible pogo sticks! They had not only heard the stand up instruction, but they'd also gone ahead and started bouncing, not waiting for me to tell them what words we were bouncing to. Adorable! These sweet little children REALLY want to please, and on that day, they succeeded!

Learning Rocks!

When I begin teaching kindergarten classes in the fall, I have LOTS to teach them. In our first lesson, they learn that peacemakers spread sunshine, along with ways to do that. Next, they learn ways to tell how people feel. When we can understand how others feel, we can be a friend to them, which is a part of peacemaking. The clues we look for are face, body, and what's going on around the person. In order to make this easy to remember, I teach a rhythmic chant that we stand up and bounce to: "Face, Body, What's going on!" We discuss how facial expressions change with different feelings, along with how bodies change. For example, mad eyes are squinchy, teeth might me clenching, face might turn red, heart might beat faster, arms might be on hips, etc. Then we look at pictures and detect how people feel. Well yesterday, in preparation for having a kindergarten class stand up and bounce to "face, body, what's going on" for the first time, I asked the children to practice SAYING the chant while they were still sitting criss-cross on the floor. I wanted to make sure they'd be able to repeat the words while they were bouncing, as opposed to simply bouncing and laughing and not learning a thing! I was prepared to model the chant, then have them join me in repeating it several times, and then see if they could do it without my help. At that point, we'd stand, bounce, and chant together. As I began modeling the words we'd be bouncing to, an adorable freckle-faced boy who was sitting attentively on the floor began gyrating from the waist up, pushing out his shoulders along with my rhythm, grinning from ear to ear, and belting out confidently, "Face, smile, spread sunshine!" His teacher and I shared a sneaky sideways glance, tickled to pieces at his enthusiasm. Obviously this little child had paid attention to his first 2 guidance lessons, and although he mixed up a few messages, he made up for it in spirit! Oh the joys of teaching excited little souls!

AKA Phlegm

As I do every morning, I stopped by to check on a very emotional first grade boy. Unfortunately, the minute I walked into his room he realized that his desk had been moved out of the group in order to keep him from becoming so distracted during work time, and he burst into tears. We walked into the hall and sat at a table to talk, which helped him calm down rather quickly. The handsome little boy, who was smiling by this point, tried to clear his throat and asked to run get a paper towel in the bathroom. Half a minute later, he returned, grinning from ear to ear. "Miss Mimi, do you have any children?" he asked. "No, I have ZERO children," I answered. "Well if you GET some children, I hope they don't get woogies in their throat like I just did," he went on. "I call them oysters, and yeah, they can be pretty gross," I said. Two thoughts crossed my mind: What interesting conversations primary school educators are accustomed to, and at my age, how thrilling to hear that my first grade friend thought I might still "get" some children of my own!

Whatever You Say, Miss Mimi!

While introducing my Care Cat puppet to kindergartners for the very first time, I pointed out the heart-shaped pin on his chest. Since Care Cat is a staple of my program and my ambassador for peacemaking, I made sure that the children understood that the heart shape stood for love. Then I read the pin's message, which said "I Care", and asked the students to repeat it. "Say 'I Care' for me," I requested. All together, in obedient little voices, the children said, "I Care for me." Can you say LITERAL??!

New (School) Year's Resolution

After recently teaching a kindergarten class for the first time, I was powerfully reminded of an important lesson. A little blond boy had been extremely high maintenance throughout the 40 minutes I'd spent in his room. Instead of sitting and listening, he stood up several times and then sprawled flat on the floor sideways, drawing impatient reminders from his classmates. Since I knew nothing about this child except what I was seeing before me, the teacher, who was privy to his background information, discreetly beckoned him to a comfy stool at the back of the group. While the child did stay on the stool, he lay on his stomach and spun around frequently. Since he was behind the other children and not bothering them, I was able to ignore this behavior. About halfway through the class, the time came for me to give out puppets, which I always do before the story we read. Choosing 7 names from the class roll, I made sure to give this little fellow a turn. Because he was having such a hard time attending, I didn't want him to see me as a mean old witch and forevermore dread the thought of guidance class. In other words, I was attempting to balance the negatives with something fun for him to do. As I read the story, his teacher tiptoed over and took the puppet away from the boy because he was slinging it around. I heard her tell him softly that he could have it back when he was able to keep it still, and within a minute or so, he earned the puppet back. During our song and dance time, the wiggly child stood and sang and danced appropriately, although his puppet had some wild and crazy moves! As I was packing up to leave, the little boy came up and gave me a big hug around the waist, which I appreciated, as I wanted our first lesson to end on a happy note. Because this class occurred at the very end of the day, I was able to talk with the child's teacher soon afterwards. Her story was heartbreaking. This little fair-skinned boy had been hit in the head by a relative while he was very young, and the perpetrator is in jail because of the abuse. Upon hearing this tragic tale, my eyes instantly filled with tears, and of course I fell in love with the child immediately. The lesson I was beneficially reminded of is that children will usually behave when they can. If there's a stand-out misbehavior occurring repeatedly, there's a reason for it. I need to have more empathy and less judgment with everyone with whom I come in contact, not just children. Not too long ago, I read a quote that fits this story well: "There isn't a person you wouldn't love if you could read their story." My resolution is to take this lesson to heart and be more aware of and interested in people's motives, which I hope will make me a better counselor and friend!

Thank You, Lord!

Can you say WARDROBE MALFUNCTION? Well I nearly had a DOOZY of one yesterday! I was visiting a first grade classroom to check on a little blond spitfire who is working on following first request and showing respect. Each day I drop by early, his teacher gives him a 1-10 score on each of his two goals, and he colors in that many squares on a bar graph, which we call a rainbow chart. As he stood beside me and colored his chart, I stood up to straighten my skirt, which had turned itself around so that the zipper wasn't in the back, where it was supposed to be. As I fumbled to find the wayward zipper, my eyes flew open as round as possible, I probably turned white with fear, and I gasped in horror. Miss Maner, the teacher, said, "What's wrong, Miss Mimi?" "Oh my goodness," I said. "My skirt is all the way unzipped, and I was too lazy to fasten the hook and eye this morning! It is a MIRACLE that it didn't fall off right here in front of your whole class!" The little boy beside me jerked his head around to look at me, quickly turned it away again, grinned, and slapped both hands over his eyes. "I wouldn't have looked, Miss Mimi," he said. Miss Maner chimed in, "No, Miss Mimi, we wouldn't have looked." "Yeah right," I giggled. I sat back down, still almost hyperventilating with the aftereffects of sheer fright, and continued to chuckle about my near mishap. The child put down his crayon, turned to me with a bright smile, slapped me playfully on the chest, and said, "Here, let me put your heart back in!" All day long I cringed every time I considered what might have happened if my skirt had fallen to my feet in front of MISS MANER and her crew. WHAT a nightmare that would have been! Lesson learned? No matter how tedious it may be, ALWAYS fasten hooks and eyes on skirts!

Love Your Brother

I still have a touching image of brotherly love in my mind, and it's based on an incident that occurred at bus duty early this morning. Since our children begin arriving about 7:00 and school doesn't begin until 7:45, they wait in either the cafeteria or the gym until 7:30, when they're dismissed to go to class. Teachers take turns overseeing students as they wait. This week is stressful for the staff at our school because it's the first week that all 300 plus kindergarten students come to school for the entire day. During the initial 2 weeks of school, kindergartners have staggered attendance, coming only one day per week. This allows their teachers to have small groups of 4 or 5 children in order to teach them the rules and routines of school in a more intimate, comfortable setting. This week, morning bus duty has scads of tiny, hesitant 5 year olds coming to the door of the lunchroom and just standing still as they look around the crowded area. Many staff members are on hand to gently guide them to the correct waiting area. Well this morning two little dark-haired boys slowly walked in together, one half a head taller than the other. They were both handsome and looked very much alike, telling me that they were most likely brothers. Seeing that they were proceeding timidly through the crowded cafeteria, I checked to see whether they needed help. In a shy voice, the older boy asked if he could stay with his kindergarten brother, who was obviously anxious about being left alone in the unfamiliar setting. I told Big Brother that he could walk his little brother over to the kindergarten section, but that he'd have to go to the gym with the other second graders afterwards because we were out of seats in the kindergarten area. Although the boys didn't argue, they quietly turned to each other and gently put their hands on each other's shoulders. The big brother placed a tender kiss on his young sibling's head as the little one fought back tears, and they just stood there in that position. I gave them a few seconds to gather their courage, and then I put my hand on the kindergartner's back and led him to a table. Looking back across the lunchroom, I noticed that his older brother was still in the very same spot, checking to make sure the little one was safe and settled. Only when I went back and reported that all was well did the older boy leave the room to walk down to the gym where the other second graders were. My heart was warmed because these little fellows so obviously had a tight bond of family loyalty, and Big Brother played his role of protector to the hilt!

DUCK!

As I power-walked down the hall around 1:00 today, I passed a pretty blonde second grader who was rubbing her head with a perturbed expression on her face. "Hello!" I said as we met. "Miss Mimi, I got hit in the head by a juice box", she said. "Ouch!" I responded. "That must have hurt." At this point, she flashed me a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I was just sitting there minding my own business when a juicebox flew by." "Well whoever threw it was using his hands for hurting," I said, referring to one of our peacemaking rules. "Did you throw it back at him?" Screwing her face up as if that was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard, the little girl said, "Why no!" "Good!" I said. "YOU were spreading sunshine, and HE was spreading thunderstorms!" Nodding firmly with self-satisfaction, the child smiled and continued on her way to class. Just an example of an everyday conversation in the halls of a primary school!

Too Sleepy To Be Silly!

Don't you just love to mess with kids? To joke around and carry on in a teasing manner? Well I do, but sometimes they're just not in the mood, as we grown-ups can relate to! The other morning, I had early morning bus duty at 7:10, and kids were trickling in in all stages of wakefulness. One ginger-haired first grader with a rare sober expression on his face sat down near me. I noticed that he had stylish new glasses, so I complimented him on them. Since they were black lined with white around the lenses, I said, "I love your new glasses! Those are ZEBRA glasses!" He jerked his head up and looked at me without smiling and shook his head. "Oh, they're not zebra glasses? Well they must be PIANO glasses." Again, he shook his head without a smile. "SOCCER BALL glasses?" I queried. "OREO glasses? NEWSPAPER glasses?" At this point the little fellow was all but rolling his eyes at me, which I would have understood under the circumstances. "They're not any kind of glasses," he said. "They're just plain glasses." "Okay," I said. "I get it. You're sleepy and really aren't in the mood to be silly, right?" Nodding his head, still without a glimmer of a smile, he said, "Right. I just want to be quiet right now." Well I guess there's bad news and good news in this tale. The bad news is that I apparently got on my little friend's very last nerve first thing in the morning, but the good news is that he stayed calm and polite and used an I-Message to tell me what he needed. This is something I stress with the students every year, so I guess it was good to see him put his knowledge to use!

No Self-Control Required!

We educators LOVE to see children applying what they've learned! Of course knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things, and even grown-ups (at least THIS grown-up) struggle with that distinction. Well, the other day I was teaching first graders about the all-important discipline of self-control, which can be a struggle all through life. We talked about the difference in FEELING like doing something wrong, such as going back to sleep when the alarm goes off, and actually DOING it. One way causes trouble, and the other just makes us stronger. After reading a story about a classroom of animals who choose to practice self-control for a whole week, we danced to a zippy self-control song. At that point, I encouraged the children to stop, think, and do the right thing, even when they don't want to, and I hustled    them back to class, as it was 2:30 and the bell was about to ring. One freckle-faced girl with a cute pageboy haircut stopped me and said, "Miss Mimi, I know we're in a hurry, but I just wanted to tell you that I really didn't FEEL like standing up to dance, but I did it anyway." And she shot me a wide snaggle-toothed grin. "Well hallelujah, bless your soul, you were using self-control!" I enthused. And I gave her a big hug, since self-control wasn't required at that moment!

She Loves Her Mama!

As I talked with a blue-eyed first grader this morning, I felt my heart begin to melt. She comes to see me because her mom has serious health problems, and Mom wants her little girl to have some support at school. The child adores her mother and wants to do everything she can to help her. Well, at one point in the conversation, the child told me about their house having ants in the kitchen, which is something I can relate to, as it happens from time to time. Then, with her tiny little girl voice, she looked at me with her beautiful eyes, pointed to her front teeth, and said, "When this tooth and this tooth and this tooth and this tooth come out, I'm gonna get some money from the tooth fairy and help my mama pay somebody to get rid of those ants." What a sweet heart of gold this little girl has!

Care Bear to the Rescue

I had a sweet experience with an anxious little kindergarten boy this morning. When he came for his first staggered half day last week, he was distraught about leaving his mom. Although she did the right thing and turned him over to us as quickly as possible, he sobbed and begged for her for hours. This child didn't have to come back to school for another week, as kindergartners have staggered attendance for the first two weeks of school. This means that they come in groups of 4 or 5 children in order to learn the routines of school in a more relaxed setting. Unfortunately this little boy worried about coming back for most of the past week. Yesterday, his mom called and made a plan with the principal to help make today as positive as possible. She brought him to school about 30 minutes early, I met her at the entrance, and even though he clung to her for dear life, begging her not to go, she bravely gave him a kiss and moved on. As we walked down the hall toward the unhappy child's classroom, I carried a teddy bear. The boy and I went into the teacher's office, which is just off her classroom, and closed the door in order to have some privacy. Sitting on the floor together, I waited out the sobs, snuggling my bear, whom I named Care Bear. I told the sweet boy about how Care Bear used to be sad about kindergarten, too, because he wasn't used to it yet. He didn't know anybody in his class and was afraid the teacher might not be nice and that the work might be too hard and that he wouldn't have any friends. However, as Care Bear forced himself to be brave and made himself go to school one day and the next day and the next, he got used to it and started to be happy. I explained that now I use Care Bear to help other children who aren't used to school yet. At this point, the child had calmed down enough to listen and talk. Innocently, he looked up at me and asked, "Are you his mom?" "No," I said, "I'm not his mom, I'm just his friend. He helps me help children like you who are nervous about kindergarten." The little boy told me about the members of his family and how he felt about them, including his bossy big sister, and he explained the history of the pets he'd had, taking pains to educate me on the ins and outs of caring for hermit crabs. Then I helped him to see that he had 2 sides to himself: both a scared little boy and a big brave boy. He could choose which to be. After a while, he said he was ready to go join his class. Since he was still catching his breath in an effort not to cry, I asked him to wait until he could take 3 slow deep belly breaths. Then I took him in to talk with his teacher, who welcomed him warmly. Care Bear stayed around in case he was needed, and he did come in handy from time to time during the morning. Just before lunch time, which was the end of the kindergarten day today, I went and got my brave little friend. As promised, I took him to see a couple of staff members he wanted to visit, and they rejoiced with him over his efforts and more successful day. We moved on to my room, where we looked at all the toys I have and decided to play "Don't Wake Daddy" together. Then I took the little boy to lunch with his class, and afterwards he was able to be happily reunited with his mom. Helping anxious children adjust to school is never easy. Each case is different, and I walk on eggshells every single time, knowing I don't have a magic wand. Next Tuesday, this little man will have to come back full time. I anticipate tears and fears, but hopefully today's success has started a foundation of security for this child as he begins his educational experience.

My Helper

In my second grade classes, I'm beginning a unit on emotion management. As I started teaching a lesson last week, I reviewed what we had learned about problem-solving and anger management in first grade. We discussed taking belly breaths, counting backward, clicking off our stormy thoughts and onto sunny ones, and bossing ourselves around. At this point, I was ready to introduce the new lesson. Now as all primary grade educators know, young children often raise their hands way too often, frequently introducing a point that has nothing to do with the lesson in progress. Therefore, when I saw a hand fly up just as I was getting into the meat of our current lesson, I almost ignored it. Yet, this particular little curly-haired boy was one of my "frequent flyers" last year, and I felt a nudge to let him speak. What a helpful instinct! The freckle-faced child grinningly said, "Miss Mimi, I bossed myself around today!" "Great!" I said. "Tell us about it!" "Well," he continued. "I was about to drink more water from my bottle, but I said to myself, 'No! It'll make you have to go to the bathroom all day!' " And he wagged his bossing finger at himself as he said it! Hooray! Children always love hearing first-person stories from their peers, and we educators LOVE the fact that our lessons are being applied in our students' everyday lives.  What a great way to kick off the lesson! 

A Helping Hand

I encountered a distraught child in an early morning kindergarten class about a month ago. She spoke absolutely no English and had just been enrolled at our school. Although her teacher sat beside her and did her best to comfort the weeping child, even going so far as to get help from another Korean-speaking child from a different classroom, the little girl was inconsolable for the half hour that I was there. Putting myself in her place, I could certainly understand how afraid and alone she must feel.

Fast forward to the same class this morning. The child is happy, attentive, cooperative, and well-loved by her classmates. 

Each week, the students take turns getting to hold puppets in guidance class while I read them a story. Today was the new girl's first turn, she wasn't sure of the procedure of coming up and choosing her puppet, and I didn't know how best to communicate this information to her. Seeing my uncertainty, a long-haired, petite little girl in her class asked if she could help, and I gratefully said yes.

Taking her hand, the helper led the Korean child up to the front of the room to help her select a puppet from about 10 different choices. One by one, the "assistant" held the puppets up for the new girl to see. Looking at the shark, the new girl shook her head, looking somber. She did the same with the leopard, tiger, buffalo, alligator, brown bear, and polar bear. Just as I was beginning to think I'd made a mistake by putting this little girl on the spot in front of all her peers, she saw the Care Cat puppet. With a big old grin, she grabbed the cat, squeezed him to her chest, and walked back to her spot on the carpet, smiling all the way.

                                      . 

I looked at the teacher, she looked at me, and we both had tears in our eyes. Kindergarten children almost always have the kindest little hearts and are pros at showing unconditional love, regardless of race, looks, ability level, wealth, or anything else! What important lessons they teach me on a daily basis, and I'm ever so grateful!