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!