Thursday, October 2, 2008

Everything I DIDN'T Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Last month I started helping Adam's kindergarten class every Wednesday afternoon. I help out with the writing center. Not only am I teaching the kids stuff but they are teaching me stuff. It's amazing how much I can pick up just by talking with and watching a student. I can learn about their home life, values, attitudes, etc. I have thought more than once, "please don't say that or act that way around Adam". Here are a few things that I didn't want to learn in Kindergarten during yesterday afternoon.
1. O.....M......G---you know the acronym, right? One little girl started repeating that over and over, and then another boy started saying it. I said, "Let's say 'oh, my gosh', instead." Another girl at the table, who happens to be Mennonite, said "that's a bad word, isn't it?" Then, the girl that had started it all, said, "that's Jesus' name, right?" So, instead of getting into a deep conversation of really who God is, I said, "yes. Let's just say oh my gosh instead." And the kids started doing it. If one of them slipped up the others would correct them. I wasn't sure how much I should say but I felt like if I said something short and to the point, the kids might respond. And they did.
2. Adam and I were talking about what it means to be cool. I said a cool person is someone that is nice to everyone. He looked at me, like 'yeah, right' and said, "No, it's not. A cool person is someone that has cool clothes." Oh, really!? So, I'm sure you can guess the rest of the conversation. "No, you don't have to have cool clothes to be cool." "Yes, you do. I'm cool and I have cool clothes." "Who told you this?" "Everybody knows it." ARRRGH--do they have to pick up on this twisted thinking as early as kindergarten? Can't they just maintain their pure thinking for a little bit longer?
3. The class has been having a 'color of the day'. They've had to flip thru magazines and cut out the color and glue it to a sheet of paper. Some of the kids get real giggly if they see any part of the human body or people hugging. Some of their comments are a bit inappropriate, especially for 5 year olds. I can definitely tell who has older siblings. This is another one of those things that I think, "Please don't let Adam hear these comments. Please don't pick up on these behaviors."
Part of me realizes that I can't shelter Adam from everything but part of me wants to have a say in what he hears and learns. For the most part, all of the students are very sweet and like to give me hugs. Just please don't teach my son bad stuff.

4 comments:

Kim said...

I wonder if families who home school reach that decision by volunteering at kindergarten! Good job handling the OMG situation, Heidi.

Chanda Starr said...

It was a huge eye opener to me when my kids went to school. I thought that the stuff they were going to have to face would come as they got older but it hits right away and now that my oldest is in middle school it just keeps getting harder. Thankfully we have the gospel to show us the way to help our children.

Holly said...

Plus, it really is not their job to teach Adam those things. It is Aunt and Uncle Pottymouths!

Kenningtons said...

I know what you mean!! I would be shocked more than once a day by the things my young kiddos said at school. It makes me an advocate for home-schooling! HA!