Focus

So, these pre-school kids that I've got are a riot. Here are a few stories for you all. Obviously, all of the names are changed.

1. My five year old friend Eliza might possibly be the creepiest girl on the face of the earth. At first, she was kind of cute; turning around and staring at me while she was supposed to be listening, hugging me in the morning, and smiling strangely...until that became all she did. Seriously, Eliza is obsessed with me. She hugs me when she walks in the door, when we're singing, after centers, before she uses the restroom, after she uses the restroom. Literally. Every second she can, she sneaks a hug.

I've been deemed by my teacher as the official go-to man for tying shoes. So Monday, My other friend Kayla is across the library and screams, "MR. SETH. MY SHOE IS UNTIED!" So, naturally she runs over, I tie her shoe, and she runs back. I turned back to keep perusing the books, but suddenly felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Eliza, smiling creepily. She looks kinda like this.

Without saying a word, she signaled to her shoes. They were both untied.

And I don't mean, "Oh Mr. Seth! I was walking and I stepped on my own shoelace and it came untied on accident," or "My friend thought it would be funny to pull one string and pull the bow out," kind of untied. Nope. They were perfectly untied, laces neatly pulled apart and even unlaced through the topmost hole.

I looked at her and said, "Eliza, did you untie your shoes so that I would have to tie them?" He lip quivered and tears welled in her eyes. "I'm not mad at you! I just want to know." She sniffled and quivered some more, but never let a tear drop. When her shoes were tied, I stood up. She started to walk away, then thought better of it, turned around and hugged me.

Touche.

2. There are always those really bright students. In my class, his name is Jay. Jay's best friend is the animatronic dinosaur from the "Dinosaur Dance," and they both definitely know how to boogie. My first impression of Jay was him correcting me. "Oh Jay, that's really neat. Good job. Write your name on it and put it in your box."

"Its called a cubby, Mr. Seth."

Ah. Ah-ha.

Well, the other day we were talking about /b/ /b/ B words. Words like, ball, bat, bag, big, brown, butter, boat, bottom, and many others were mentioned. Jay mentioned "boy," which I extended to boyfriend. The kids, with attention spans like those of chihuahuas on speed, quickly switched it to "girlfriend" and started giggling and laughing. Jay immediately spoke up.

"I have a girlfriend. Her name is Katie, and she's very pretty."

My teacher was gone doing testing, so I filled her in on this tidbit of information. Today in class, she said, "Jay, I hear that you have a girlfriend."

Jay looked straight down and colored beautifully within the lines: something that he's actually really bad at.

"I know her," she said, "and she is very, very pretty." She continued to look at him.

Jay dropped is crayon, look her in the eyes and said, "Miss. I need to focus on my work right now."

He's so grown up already. Separating work and personal life. Makes me so proud.

Peace, Love and Kites, ya'll.

*Speaking of Kites, buy one for my students. They'll fly them and then take them home. They will LOVE it.