This time of year is challenging for all of us, but those of us in the trenches of this glittery, crafty, emotional Christmas tornado are wearing suits of armor to school. (And a packing a full bottle of Tylenol.)
Many of us like to call the month "When even the GOOD go bad" as we watch the little ones shake each day with uncontrollable anticipation. We see the children who have potential for challenging behavior become unglued, and the ones we've already wrapped in our arms are even more, um, entertaining.
It's the children that provide unexpected things that really surprise us.
Take Mollie, for example.
Mollie is a thirty-year old college professor cleverly disguised as an adorable fiveyear old. Sure, she laughs and jokes and plays Barbie's with the the other little people; but when no one's looking she's reading The Magic School Bus Chapter Books, discussing chemistry and doing square roots in her head. (I can tell.)
Today she came up to me with a shy, almost embarrassed look. "Mrs. Smythe, when I was in the bathroom I kind of had a tiny, tiny accident and leaked a teeny tiny bit on my pants. I'm going to go change, okay?" (We keep the box of extra clothes right in the nook by the bathrooms. We're brilliant sometimes.)
"Sure, Mollie. We all know accidents happen, and they happen to everyone, everyday, right?"
"Right!" She smiled a bit, and turned to walk back to the bathroom.
That's when I heard it.
Squish. Squish.
Walking away from me was someone who was DRIPPING from her completely SOAKED pants. My mouth dropped open.
SQUISH, squish, squish.
Her feet were floating in little boats filled with, um, something that was NOT water.
Teeny tiny???? Perhaps she's not as gifted as I thought.
