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!