Imagine you are a 4-year old. You have a name…Tyler, Drew, Bethany, Olivia. And people better call you by that name because you are 4 and your world is literal.
In my school, my pre-k class is known as the Dinosaur class. You might hear me say, “Good morning Dinosaurs” or “Dinosaurs, it’s time to clean up.” One day, little Drew asked me, “Miss Theresa, why do you keep calling us dinosaurs? We are NOT dinosaurs.” Well…technically, yes. Of course.
Another day, Olivia was at the table doing the work of a 4-year old- cutting and pasting. Ordinarily, Olivia was a reserved child, not too communicative. But as she worked on this particular morning, Olivia continuously chatted with my assistant, Miss Barbara. Olivia talked about her brother, she talked about her dog, she talked about going to the playground
Miss Barbara listened patiently as Olivia ran her non-stop chatter. Finally, Miss Barbara chimed in, “Wow, you are a Chatty Cathy today.” Olivia stopped talking, thought for a second, looked at Miss Barbara and declared indignantly “Miss Barbara, my name is NOT Cathy… AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW!”
And in this lovely profession that brings us many smiles, that was our laugh-out-loud moment of the day.
About the blogger: Theresa Young owns Lenape Kiddie Kollege, a nursery school in Medford, NJ. She has taught 4-5 year olds since 1995. She is married, a mom of 4 grown daughters and a Grammy of 2.
Check out www.lenapekiddiekollege.com or Facebook.com/LenapeKiddieKollege.