Children's Conversations

Sorry for the delay in posting this week. J and I had a wonderful and exhausting weekend of snowboarding, and I confess that I completely forgot to do anything but sleep when we got home.

Today's post is not particularly unique to NZ (with a couple exceptions). Lately, I have been even more impressed than usual over how wonderful it is to have lots of conversations with children every day. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are confusing, sometimes they are heartwarming, and they are always interesting! I thought I'd give you some examples from my time in NZ that I've found particularly great.

E will be me, and C will be child.

(C, who has recently had a few accidents due to waiting too long to do wees, comes into the bathroom and sits on the toilet)
C: I didn't have to run!
E: That's great! You didn't wait so long that you had to rush to the toilet.
C: Yeah, I just did wees on the floor a little bit, but that's okay, eh?
E: Um, if you did wees on the floor, we need to clean it up. Where are the wees?
C: Right there. (Points to a dry spot on the bathroom floor)
E: They're not there. Where are they?
C: Somebody did wees over there (different dry spot) but I don't know who it was.
E: But what about your wees? Where are they?
C: Right there (different dry spot on linoleum floor). They're on the carpet but you can't even see it.
E: You did wees on the carpet? (outside the bathroom)
C: Somebody did wees on the floor but I don't know.
E: .... Okay... did you do wees on the floor?
C: No! (indignantly)
(cue E's head exploding)

(A child is trying to climb over the top of a the monkey bars - a tricky maneuver)
E: I can see that that is tricky to figure out.
C: I look scared!
E: You look scared? Do you feel scared?
C: I feel a little bit scared, but I can do it!
(And she did. Bravery at its finest. I always try to teach my children that when you feel scared, that's the best opportunity to be brave.)

(Two children talking at the creativity table)
C1: Did you go see Moana?
C2: No, mum says I can't because it's too scary.
C1: Well, it does say PG, and that means Parental Guidance and that means your mum and dad get to choose.

(Child is screaming because someone broke his block creation)
E: Honey, you need to take a deep breath and calm your body.
C: (through sobs) I can't take a deep breath because my mouth is too silly!

(We found a mushroom in the Botanic Gardens)
C: Don't touch it! It's boisonous.
E: Yes, it could be poisonous.
C: No, boisonous.
E: Oh, what does that mean?
C: If you touch it, you turn into a boy!

(Playing in the sand pit, a child presents me with a sand cake)
C: Yucky 'nana cake for you.
E: It's yucky?
C: Yes. Yucky 'nana cake.
E: Well I don't want to eat it if it's yucky.
C: No, cake! (puzzled look) You put yucky 'nanas... you cook it... yummy! Yucky 'nana cake!
E: Oh! I've had that cake. Thanks for explaining!

(Upon finding a child throwing all the blankets out of a huge basket of blankets onto the floor)
E: What are you doing?
C: Looking for a hat.
E: Are there hats in that basket?
C: No, I don't want a hat.
E: So... what are you doing?
C: I want my balloon.
E: Is your balloon in that basket?
C: No.
E: So... what are you doing?
C: ... I don't know.
(At least we were on the same page at the end.)

(Sitting peacefully chatting about this and that)
C: Emma, I don't understand how we have good dreams.
E: Dreaming is hard to understand. I agree. Do you have good dreams?
C: Yes.
E: What happens in your good dreams?
C: I go to Whare Kea and the library. And sometimes I eat cookies at Whare Kea in my good dreams.
(Sweetness all over. How wonderful to have your life be your good dreams.)

(At lunch - the child has a sandwich and a cupcake and has picked up the cupcake)
E: Remember, we eat our sandwiches first to give our bodies good energy.
C: No, I'm going to eat my cupcake first.
E: When you have eaten your sandwich, then you may eat your cupcake.
C: You're not the boss of my cupcake!!!
(One of the most quoted statements of my life.)

(At the afternoon tea table)
E: Would you like a banana?
C: NO!
E: Okay.
C: NO!
E: I understand, you don't want a banana, that's fine.
C: NO! It's not "banana" (American accent), it's "banana!" (Kiwi accent)
(Garage and compost are also commonly corrected words.)

(Looking at the sea of puzzle pieces on the floor)
E: You tipped out all the puzzles!
C: No, it wasn't me.
E: Yes, it was.
C: Oh! True. (with an air of genuine realization)

(Trying to figure out if a child who has put magnets in rainbow order did this intentionally)
E: Why did you put them like that?
C: Because those are the colours.
E: But how do you know that that's how they go?
C: Because I put them like that.
E: Can I move one?
C: Okay.
E: So what if I take yellow out and put it over here by purple? Is that okay?
C: Yup ... Or .... we could put it back over by orange! (moves the colours back to their proper order)
(Diplomacy at its finest.)

(After seeing this child's discarded sweater on the floor near the lockers on a very cold day)
E: What do you have on under your jacket?
C: My sweater.
E: (silent, dubious look)
C: I'll go put on my sweater, then.

(Child sitting quietly on the toilet, staring into space, suddenly jolts up)
C: You know, some octopuses have ink, but some of them don't have ink. (looks slightly concerned for the latter)

(Soon after the child arrives in the morning)
C: I had ice cream yesterday.
E: Yeah, did you like it?
C: Yes, but did you know that ice cream is not actually healthy for your body?
E: That's true. That's why we only eat it sometimes.
C: Yeah, because it's not actually good for you.
(later that day, as we're having a goodbye party for a teacher)
C: Where's the cake?
E: We're not having cake because it's not her birthday. But also, you know how we were talking about how ice cream is not healthy for your body?
C: Yes.
E: Well, cake is one of those things, too.
C: (stunned silence, follow by...) CAKE ISN'T HEALTHY????

(As I'm sawing up a branch into natural blocks)
C: What's that stuff coming out and falling on the ground?
E: Hmmm, what do you think it might be called?
C: Tree glitter.
(This is now what I call sawdust.)

(Talking to another teacher, having discovered that I lost my wallet for the first time ever)
E: And I know that I put it back in my locker, and it's my special wallet from Germany and I don't understand where it could be!
C: Emma, it will be okay, because... well... you can have my wallet.
(The clear highlight of what was otherwise an awful day.)

(Building with blocks with C, and I drop one, which falls and breaks his block structure)
C: That's why we can't have nice things.
(I'm usually good at not laughing at the children, but I had a little giggle at that one.)

(C is doing puzzles in the "Library Room." He brings a puzzle, almost complete, out to me, looking very sad)
C: I can't finish the puzzle because pieces are missing!
E: Oh no! We need to take care of our puzzles. Where did they go?
C: I don't know. They're missing.
E: Well, let's go look in the Library Room.
(We look under and around things for a minute, when I notice C glancing over at the open window)
E: Did you throw the puzzle pieces out the window?
C: No.
E: I'm going to go look. Will I see the pieces in the street?
C: Um... yes.
(Sure enough, upon looking out the window, two brightly-coloured puzzle pieces are laying, miraculously un-smashed, in the road)
E: You threw them out the window.
C: Yes.
(Never a dull moment.)

(Over several days, we'd been reading the Lorax and discussing saving trees, and how if you have paper scraps after making creations, you should put them in the recycling so that it can be made into new paper, instead of cutting down more trees. I observed C taking clean paper off the shelf, cutting it into small pieces, and then putting it straight into the recycling bin. Just as I was going to ask about this, he runs over to me, with a big smile on his face)
C: Emma, I made lots and lots of paper to turn into new paper and I didn’t even cut down any trees!

(While collecting sticks for the Bug Hotel, C brings over a big one)
E: Oh! You found a big, fat stick!
C: I saw a big, fat lady at the shops, but Mum says don't say that anymore.
(Mum later shared that she'd never been more embarrassed in her life.)

(While giving baby dolls a bath outside, a child pauses and looks up at me)
C: Emma, I'm so glad you're here.

(While walking through the Botanic Gardens)
C: This is a good place for me to open my mind. Then my brain gets lots of energy.

Well, if that doesn't bring a smile to your face, I don't know what would. I've always said, teaching early childhood shouldn't be done if it's not your passion, because it will drive you insane. But if it is your passion, nothing is better!