Bad Doggy!

Here's a funny story shared with me by a kindergarten teacher today. A mom of one of her students, who is a shy, sweet-faced little girl, sent the teacher a photo of the family's shaggy white dog. Wearing a woebegone expression and sitting forlornly in his wire crate, the pooch was surrounded by scraps of crunched up paper. The picture was sent to prove that the dog really did eat the child's homework. Adorable and true!

100th Day Planning

Last week, our primary school celebrated the 100th day of school. Many fun activities involving the number 100 were carried out in every classroom. These included making fruit loop necklaces of 100 pieces of cereal, counting 100 steps down the hallway, having snacks of 100 small edibles, and creating very cool pictures with an app that ages children's photos to show what they'll look like at the ripe old age of 100. Many students and staff members dressed up as elderly people, and their disguises were ultra-creative and clever! I saw lots of canes, granny glasses, gray wigs, hats, rolled-down knee-high panty hose, curlers, shawls, and even some purposely smeared lipstick. When I went downstairs to check on a second grade boy that morning, I cackled at his get-up. He had so much baby powder in his hair that it poofed out all over me every time he shook his head, which he took great delight in doing. Creases and wrinkles lined his face, he wore wire-framed glasses and a gray cardigan vest, and he carried a cane and hobbled into the hall. But the funniest part of my brief visit with this little boy was the explanation he offered. "Miss Mimi, do you know why I don't have on those strappy things?" At this point he pulled invisible suspenders out from his chest.. "Suspenders?" I asked. "No,why didn't you wear them today?" With a grin, the child said, "Because if I had them on, I wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom!" Now that's what I call planning ahead!

Wiggles and Jiggles

As I packed up to leave a second grade classroom recently, I head an interesting conversation. The teacher said, "Alright guys, please sit on you bottoms, not your feet. Our bottoms are soft so they'll be more comfortable to sit on." Joking with the teacher, I chimed in, "And some bottoms are softer than others," referring to my middle-aged self. At this point, a high-pitched child's voice piped up, "Yeah, some might be as soft as jello!" Shaking my head and raising one brow, I thought to myself, "Sadly, I think I may resemble that remark!"

Kindergarten Cops

After having kindergartners sit and listen for a while, I always let them stand up and wiggle a bit, which obviously helps them continue to focus and learn.  Today, we had a lesson on calming down strong feelings.  We reviewed some ideas we'd previously learned, practiced using them, and then stood up to bounce as we chanted the main teaching points.  "Breathe, count, click, and boss!"  we said over and over, jumping in rhythm while facing front, then side, then back, then other side, then front, side, back, other side, and front again.  Next, we "panted like a bird dog" to catch our breath before sitting back down for a story.  Well this particular kindergarten class has a new little boy, one who has only had my class one time before today.  Furrowing his brow as we jumped around and around shouting out words, this freckle-faced child walked a few steps over to the active board, pushed a pretend button, and pulled an imaginary lever.  Then he made an X shape with his forearms and used his voice to make a repetitive alarm sound, "Aagh, aagh, aagh, aagh!"  Knowing what he probably meant, I stifled a laugh and looked at him quizzically.  "When things get too wild, " he said, "I have to push a button."  Playing along, I said, "Oh, so you pressed the cuckoo button to get us under control, huh?"  At this point, the other children caught on, crossed their arms in the X shape, and "bonged" me..."Aagh, aagh, aagh,aagh!"  Uh-oh...I better watch my p's and q's with this group!

Healthy Pride

Every morning, I make my rounds, checking on children all around the school and encouraging them to do their best. These students all have a goal to work on, which can focus on work effort, behavior, anxiety level, or anything appropriate for the particular child. The teacher gives the child a 1-10 score on how behavioral goals were met on the previous day, and the student colors in the corresponding number of squares on a vertical bar graph. For example, if a child earns a 7 on work effort, he'll color 7 squares. Obviously, most children start their charts at a low number, or there would have been no need for them to be referred to me. One of the children I check in with is a handsome dark-haired boy. His goal is to use self-control when frustrated, and he started at a 2, often "huffing and puffing" when work became difficult. In recent weeks, this child has been receiving wonderful scores, including many 10's. One morning this week, he happily colored in his squares at a table out in the hallway, and after doing so I expected him to go back to class as usual. Instead, he turned toward the wall, which is lined in cork strips to allow student work to be displayed. Finding a couple of pushpins, the little boy tacked his chart up on the wall. Then he stood tall and turned to look at me with a big old smile and his head held high. He was rightfully proud of his efforts and how they were paying off, and his desire was for others to see how well he was doing. Of course he knew we couldn't leave his chart there, but it meant a lot to me to see this sweet child's delight in his newly improved self-discipline!

Stunderthorms

Since I work in a primary school, I have some puppets that help me teach important lessons on peacemaking, problem-solving, emotion management, dealing with bullying, and study skills. Two of the children's favorites are puppy and snail. Recently, I introduced anger control, with snail teaching puppy how to calm down and stop growling so he could think about a good way to solve his problem. One of the ideas taught was to click off your mad thoughts onto happy or calming ones. Snail said that he liked to picture himself sitting in the sunshine, sucking on an apple, because he loved apple juice and the feel of sunbeams on his shell. He asked Puppy for an example of what made him happy and was met by "red-faced" giggles. Following a bit of prodding and after extracting a promise from Snail not to laugh, Puppy informed Snail that he was in love. When the shock had passed, Snail asked for details and found that Puppy had fallen for a pretty pink poodle named Priscilla who had moved in across the street. She had soft pale pink curls and wore bows in her hair and smelled good and liked to laugh and play chase, and she was sweet and a good sport, and just beau---ti---ful! After the puppet show was over, the children wanted to meet Priscilla, of course. I brought her out, she had a mini-conversation with the students in her feminine Southern drawl, and they were utterly charmed. When it came time to give out the puppets for the kids to hold during story time, I stressed the importance of taking good care of Priscilla so that she'd stay pretty and clean for Puppy. I asked the class to make sure they spread sunshine, not thunderstorms, by doing the right thing with Priscilla. "Don't rub her on the floor, pull out her bows, pull on her curls, spit on her, or blow your nose on her." Now that last part was just to get a giggle, as surely to goodness nobody would do such a thing! Anyway, one little boy with an adorable cowlick stuck his index finger up in the air, flashed a grin, and blurted, "Now THAT would be spreading STUNDERTHORMS!" Everybody cracked up!

On Second Thought...

My kindergarten students are learning about how to calm down strong feelings. So far, we've learned four ideas that we can use anytime, anyplace: breathe, count, click, and boss. We've learned to take slow deep breaths, to count backwards, to click onto happy thoughts instead of stormy ones, and to boss ourselves around and tell ourselves what to do. As we practiced these in class yesterday, I asked the children to tell me some nice thoughts they might click onto when they need to calm down. Hands shot up, and I heard such pleasant thoughts as playing with puppies, snuggling with Mom, watching Sponge Bob, playing video games, and building sand castles on the beach. Then I called on a pretty chubby-cheeked girl, and this is what she smilingly said. "I can think about playing with my paint by number kit!" But then her smile dropped, and with a bedraggled look on her little face, she said, "But I can't do that until I'm 60 or 70."  "60 or 70?" I asked. "So you really want to paint, but your mom says you're not old enough?" "Yes," the child moped. "She says I'll make a mess so I have to wait until I'm 60 or 70." Poor pitiful child! That might not be such a cheery thought to click onto after all!

Girls Rule, Boys Drool??

In first and second grade guidance classes, we're having a long unit on dealing with bothering and bullying. So far, we've covered the ideas of ignoring and walking away, and this week we're focusing on asking the troublemaker to stop. Today, we had a puppet show about Tommy and Susie, who had a conflict in music class and solved it by using I-messages. Later, they met on the playground to practice endurance on the monkey bars. In the puppet show, Susie had been working on her arm strength and was counting how many times she could go back and forth on the bars without taking a break. Tommy thought he could easily beat her because, in his words, he was a big strong boy and she was a wimpy little girl. However, as you can probably guess, Susie beat him because she'd been practicing and he hadn't. The puppet show ended happily, of course, with good sportsmanship and the promise of a continuing friendly competition. After the puppet show was over, a cute blonde girl wearing stylish purple glasses raised her hand and said with a smirk, "That was pretty insulting, calling Susie a wimpy little girl." I laughed and agreed with her but pointed out that Tommy had had to "eat his words" when Susie beat him. At this point in the lesson, we had a short story about asking bothersome people to leave us alone and then we had an informal test about the lesson. At the end of the quiz, I asked the children to tell me what they'd learned. One boy said he'd learned to ignore and walk away when people were being mean. Another said he'd learned to tell people to stop when they gossiped or spread rumors. Noticing the little blonde girl's hand in the air, I asked what she'd learned. With a big old grin, she said, "I learned that girls are better on monkey bars than boys are!" I cracked up. Now this is one little girl who has confidence and gumption galore and doesn't intend to let her gender hold her back!

New Year's Tears

Last Tuesday I walked into a second grade classroom with my arms full of teaching materials and was swarmed by a group of children coming up to greet and hug me. You see, we hadn't seen each other since before Christmas. Excitedly, they talked over each other about their holiday fun. One little boy with silky blond hair stood out. Throwing his arms around my waist, he looked up at me with a big smile and said, "Miss Mimi, I watched the ball drop on New Year's Eve, and I cried my eyes out when it fell." Curious, I asked, "Why did you cry?" Waving his hands around in an effort to express just how much he meant what he was saying, the child tilted his head, thought a moment, and explained, "Well...because I just had so many happy memories in 2014, and I hated to see that year end." What a blessing to be so content, and how wonderful that this little boy is aware of and grateful for the joys of his second grade year. I believe I could take a lesson from him!

Makes Sense To Me!

While having our first post-Christmas conversation last week, I asked a brother and sister about how their holidays went. Excitedly, they told me all about the presents they'd received...giant stuffed animals, games, craft kits, and nerf guns. Then they began classifying gifts into those received from Mommy, from Daddy, and from Santa. "Wow!", I exclaimed. "That's quite a haul! It's a shame grown-ups don't get gifts from Santa!" Looking up from their Lego and play-doh activities, they appeared to contemplate what I'd said. "Grown-ups can't get gifts from Santa," said the curly-haired little girl, "because they don't play with toys and Santa only has a TOY workshop." "Yeah," said her freckle-faced brother, "grown-ups are too big for Santa's lap." And that, my friends, is that!