You never know what young children will say. Their openness is refreshing – and often entertaining. Unfortunately, they lose some of this as they grow older and more sophisticated. I consider myself blessed to have known so many children during their early years, in preschool and kindergarten. Without doubt they have given me many memories– and a few humorous stories.
I remember one intelligent, assertive kindergartner who always seemed to dominate her friends. About five little girls loved to play school, sitting in a circle while the “teacher” read them a story. I noticed that Jane was always the teacher.
One day I took her aside and suggested it would be kind to let the other children have a turn occasionally. She nodded her head (reluctantly) and I doubted my words would be effective. To my surprise the following day a different child was the teacher.
“Jane,” I said, “I see Ann’s the teacher today. I’m proud of you!”
“That’s okay,” she answered with a smile. “I’m the principal.”
Jane would be in her forties now. I wonder if she is still so assertive. She’s probably an executive in some business. Or maybe she’s a real teacher.
Sometimes the littlest ones can “put you in your place.” Like one little fellow who had just turned three. Short and chubby with the biggest brown eyes you can imagine and thick dark hair, he looked like an ad for baby food. His mother dressed him in those cute romper suits that button on the shoulder and are adorable, but so inconvenient for a youngster just learning to dress himself. He was determined to manage by himself when he needed to use the toilet.
Our sinks in the Montessori classroom were not inside the toilet area, but outside where they could be accessed for many water activities. This also enabled the teachers to monitor hand washing after the use of the toilets. I saw Jack enter the toilet and wondered how he would manage his clothing. After a few moments, I knocked on the door and asked, “Do you need help?”
“No, ma’am.”
Several minutes later, I knocked again and repeated, “Jack, may I help you?”
Again he answered, “No, ma’am.”
When Jack still did not emerge, I knocked again and opened the door a crack. Jack was stark naked, his clothes in a pile on the floor.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“No, ma’am,” he repeated. “All I need is a little privacy.”
I’m sure Jack had heard those words at home when he barged into the bathroom. (He did manage to get his clothes on and only needed help with the buttons on his shoulders.)
We used to joke with the parents and tell them we would not believe everything the children told us about home if they promised not to believe everything the children told them about school.
Once during a class discussion about habits, good and bad, one child repeated a saying heard on TV – “Don’t drink and drive.” Of course I was hoping for such developmental habits as going to bed on time, brushing your teeth, not running in the halls, not hitting others … But I agreed that drinking when driving was a bad habit for adults.
Then Kathy raised her hand and announced, “Well, my daddy drinks and drives! “
I tried to stop her but she babbled on, “I’ve told him that is a bad habit, but he won’t listen. He just holds the steering wheel with one hand and his coffee cup in the other!”
What a relief! In her innocence, she interpreted the saying in relation to her understanding of the word “drink.” Sometimes our instructions are misunderstood for that very reason. When we made our gingerbread men, I apologized because I forgot to bring the soda, and the cookies would be hard. (Of course, they had the option of waiting until the next day but they needed instant gratification so we baked the cookies minus the soda.
One child told his mother the cookies were hard because “Mrs. Shannon left the ginger ale at home.” They were gingerbread men and the soda was missing, so it must have been ginger ale she forgot!
When you’re tired of the babble of the talking heads on TV and need a breath of fresh air, spend an hour or two with young children. And listen … you never know what they will say.
By Mary Jo Shannon [email protected]