Like Wildfire

6 year olds are the funniest people in the world.

One thing that comes with teaching K-5 students is an abundance of hilarious kid stories. The weird, unexpected comments that come out of these kids mouths and imaginations is one of the best parts of this job, and it happens pretty much every day. I could ask a simple question, such as "What is your favorite ice cream flavor?" 10 hands shoot up, and at least 6 of them are stories about their cat, brother, or friend who "had ice cream once."

There's no way of knowing when one of these tangents will arise, and once it does, it's like wildfire.

"I like chocolate ice cream!"

*hand raises*

"I have a chocolate lab, his name is Gary."

*hand raises*

"I have an Uncle Gary, his name is Gary!"

*hand raises*

"I have a dog. He pooped on our floor once."

*ALL hands raise*
*Teacher face-palm*


Normally, tangents can be traced back to the original idea (i.e. dog, Gary, chocolate lab, chocolate ice cream). This implies that these kiddos think on a linear, connecting path leading to "my dog pooped on the floor," which is not always the case. Sometimes, it takes no provocation at all. I could be in the middle of my lesson, engaging the students and keeping the plates spinning, when suddenly...

"I want to go to Disneyland!"

*ALL hands raise*
*Teacher face-palm*

 _________________________

As detrimental as it is to learning, I can't help but start a soft slow clap to their ability to make it through the day with all of this going on in their heads. I can only imagine what runs through their mind, even in just a span of a half-hour class. Focusing on anything for more than a minute is a dream come true, which is why you must keep the kids moving as FAST as possible at all times. My elementary mentor teacher taught me an awesome trick, which has proven itself to be useful almost every day so far.

"Stand up! Look at the ceiling! touch your nose! touch your ear! look at the floor! close your eyes! open them! Sing this song!"

If you're one step ahead of them, they're always playing catch-up. That's how it should be, not the other way around.

Mrs. J, you're a genius.  :-)
 _________________________

When you hang around people your own age or older for so long (college), you tend to forget what goes on in the fun and imagination-driven minds of small kiddos at any given time.

As an elementary music teacher, I get to see their creativity blossom at an all time high every time they walk in. Not a lot of people get to experience this on a daily basis. For that, I hardly see it as detrimental. We may momentarily lose momentum in the lesson, but it's a small price to pay for laughter, and more importantly, a reminder to be zany, creative, and open-minded.


Amazing what the kids can teach us sometimes...

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Fellow teachers that may be reading my blog (all 2 of you), if YOU have a favorite kid tangent story, go ahead a leave a comment telling your experience. Until next time...


♩♩for now,

Mr. E