The Garden School Tattler

Well, it was Tuesday after a three day holiday. Biggest problem? Listening avoidance:

"What are you supposed to be doing?"

(This gives a child a clue about delivering a correct answer AND a verbal agreement that he indeed understands what he NEEDS to be doing which is usually a direct opposite of what he IS doing while it offers him a friendly reprieve, a way of oopsing and mea culping and sliding into home plate without losing his medal.)

"Huh?"

"SIT!"

"Huh?"

"It's a yoga position. It's about folding in a heap on the floor and pretending we're not old."

"Huh?"

"Plant it."

"Plant what?"

"The avocado pit we nearly ate for lunch."

No response.

We sang fire songs today - well some of us did. Some of us fell asleep or pretended to. Some of us went to the mind movies. Some of us ate cookies. All together now to the tune of Frere Jacques:

"Never Never play with matches
If you do, if you do
You might burn your ______

"Name something."

Taylor raises his hand. No one is really sure he's even there, and he says "underwear" and the whole school roars with laughter and Taylor goes back to playing with Damon.

You might burn your underwear
And that won't do, that won't do.

I finally hit an interested note when I remind the kids we are all going out to the Stay Alive House and have a picnic. If kids could snore, they would. Then I suggested sauerkraut and peanut butter and liver cream sandwiches on rye bread with marshmallows and chocolate syrup for picnic tomorrow. "Eeeeeuuuuu."

"So you are listening?"

"Huh?"

"You know how you harvest eels?"

It was time for recess again. They heard that. So we took a basket of Popsicles outside.