How the kids have been showing their love for me. I am a happy man.
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238407)
Walnut Creek, California
April 27, 2021 5:20pm CST
The kids at my friend's (non-flaky) preschool adore me. And I adore them. I get hugs from everyone when I arrive, and then I ask them what they're playing. This morning, they wanted me to be Nice Pirate, so they could be pirates or parrots, the latter of which imitate whatever I way, with a squawk. Nice Pirate brings other pirates and parrots pretend macaroni and cheese (and seeds), which they pretend gobble up. The pirate ship is their play structure.
How have they been showing their love for me, above and beyond the hugs I get while I'm there? And exaggerated injuries, so I can blow a kiss? Simple: Rocks! Their sandbox is filled with small rocks (about .5 cm in diameter), and the kids treat each rock as a treasure. I am constantly being given rocks "to take home for (my) rock collection." They know that I have a fascination with "crystaly" rocks, so they're especially happy when they can give me a rock with some quartz in it. I have not yet used the word "quartz" around them, but I will.
What's funny is that I could NOT recycle those rocks (put them back in the sand box while the kids are sleeping), as the kids might recognize some rocks as ones they've given me and be hurt. So I keep some rocks in my pocket for good mojo, toss some into the plants in front of my house, and collect rocks to plant in the sand box when I'm out hiking with adult friends.
I'm having too much fun. But I also notice that the kids are giving rocks to each other, sharing rocks and other things, and generating a kid culture where empathy and mutual support are the norms. I am one sneaky b*stard.
16 people like this
13 responses
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
28 Apr 21
another in the DaHorse, why to be a teacher column! fully crediting @thehorse for all IP created and shared!
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238407)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 21
Yesterday, I read the kids Sendak's Where the Wild Things are. When we went outside, they all went to the outside art area and made wolf tails. I taped them to their waists/butts, and they climbed on the play structure, howling and "making mischief of one kind and another."
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
28 Apr 21
@TheHorse The giving tree, where the wild things are, Mickey in the Night Kitchen, Stuart Little and Ralphy S Mouse were all books I loved reading to kids!
@FourWalls (86970)
• United States
28 Apr 21
You’re like a horse getting sugar cubes and carrots! Oh, wait, you are a horse getting sugar cubes and carrots.
It’s great to see those kids showing love. That’s a message they need early and often so they’ll grow up with it.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238407)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Apr 21
Some of them don't have fathers in their lives (but some do). I have an advantage: Daddies (and pretend daddies) allow kids to test their limits more than mommies do. The kids know that I'm always there to catch them if they fall.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98187)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Apr 21
That is so cute and I am glad they adore you. Kids are such fun to be around and they will always show that they really care when they like someone a lot, I used to collect rocks that "spoke to me" along the way in Latvia and was sorry to have to leave my collection behind,
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222978)
• United States
28 Apr 21
You are certainly blessed, and so are the kids that have you as a mentor.
@Rashnag (30597)
• Surat, India
28 Apr 21
Good to know. Time flies when you are in the company of children. Have a good day. Take care
