Skip to main content

Oh no! A stick!

Yesterday I was able to see Luke's preschool class walk across to a small playground. Luke had his jacket partway in his bag (it was a beautiful day) and was trying to stuff it even more into the bag. It fell out as soon as he stopped stuffing.

Then one of the children who was following Luke called out, "Hey, Luke! Your jacket is on the ground!" The teacher who was leading them (the other teacher was back in the room) called out to Luke to leave it on the ground, but none of the kids following Luke was able to pass it. The kids in front of Luke walked to the playground like nothing happened, the kids behind him watched anxiously as Luke went back to his jacket, managed to stuff it all the way in, and then continued on the way to the playground. Catastrophe adverted!

It reminded me of the scene from the beginning of "A Bug's Life" where a stick (or was it a leaf?) falls in the middle of the train of ants bringing food to the offering. The ant just behind the stick doesn't know what to do---he's so used to just following the ant trail that anything new is stressful. An older, wiser ant leads the confused ant around the stick, and the others follow, finally able to move.

OK, so Luke and the other kids in his class aren't ants. But toddlers/preschoolers are definitely some of the most conservative around when it comes to routines and rituals---you'd better make sure the new routine is for a good reason before you change it!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My hero, Helen Parr

Otherwise known as Elastigirl , a.k.a Mrs. Incredible. She is a stay at home mom ( SAHM ), she clearly feels that what she is doing is important and is willing to give up a lot to do it (remember her comment in the intro: "I'm at the top of my game! Leave saving the world to the guys? I don't think so.") But she is finding fulfillment in leading her family from day to day, in doing a hard job well. She also knows that she is very talented, and that knowledge helps her see beyond the repetitive drudgery of staying home. My favorite scene is from the deleted introduction, where she talks with a "career woman" who is of the opinion that staying home is fine for people who can't do anything else. She responds that taking care of her kid is at least as hard as saving the world, and is valuable contribution to society. The point for me is that someone has to do the job that I'm doing, and it's not something that you could pay someone to do. I see...
8 comments
Read more

Kindergarten Fashions

I was informed the other day that Eleanor wants to get a new thermos. She lost the o-ring from her purple Tinkerbell thermos, and I have so far resisted buying another one for her, on the theory that you shouldn't just replace things that are broken since it doesn't encourage being careful with one's things. I have been sending her with the sippee cups that she has been using since she was a year old, which she has resisted giving up to the point of becoming partly dehydrated when I don't let her use them at home. Here's how the conversation went. Eleanor: Anna and Jane said today at lunch, " Kindergartners don't drink from sippee cups!" Me: That's very interesting. Eleanor: They are supposed to drink from thermoses. Me: Eleanor, would you like a new thermos? Eleanor: Yes! Get the purple one, please. If there is a crayon one, that's the one I want.... Who knew that peer pressure started in kindergarten? The sippee cups are perfectly f...
4 comments
Read more

Girl toys

A friend just had a post about her son's desire to have a pink bejewled play phone (she and the people who comment have great things to say: here it is so you can read it). Thinking about her post made me very glad that for girls 5 and under (which is all I have experienced lately) there is no toy that is off limits as far as I can tell. Amanda's favorite toys are trains (although she doesn't play with them the way some of her boy friends do. I think Chanson's kids would play well with her version of trains). Her favorite movie is Cars. Her favorite TV show is Bob the Builder. No one in her life (relatives, friends, teachers) tells her that she can't enjoy all of these things. On the other hand, she likes to play with all these things while she is dressed as a princess... In Eleanor's class, everyone's favorite thing to do is woodworking, both girls and boys. The only mathematicians she knows are women, so she expects to do well in math as well...
5 comments
Read more