THAT Kid

Well, it's Easter.  Which means it's a time to incorporate the Easter Bunny into as much instruction as possible.  Which also means that, instead of learning math, it's completely acceptable to complete an Easter-related dot to dot.  I mean, hey, at least they're practicing their counting.  I picked out an Easter basket for them to color.  However, instead of an Easter basket, they thought it was:

"A bow!"

"A picnic!"

"A turtle!"

Next time, maybe I'll choose an Easter bunny dot to dot.  That'd be hard to mess up.  Anyway, I thought it'd be a good time to talk to the kids a little bit.  What I didn't realize is that five year olds can't multi-task....unless they're coached through it.  So the first group was a bit of a circus. I asked them questions like,

"What's your favorite thing about Easter?"

And in response, kids would be flying out of their chairs, their mouths traveling a mile (or ten miles) a minute, telling me about all of the hiding spots their parents use for easter egg hunts.  And let's not forget their need to outdo each other.  When the next group came, I told them, "I'm going to ask you questions while you complete your dot to dot.  You can still color while you talk.  If you have something you want to add to our conversation, touch your nose."  I called on Amber.

"Um, ummm, um, ummm, we get to eat chicken nuggets.  And.  AND my daddy hides eggs for us to find."

Next.

"My dad hides eggs under the bed."

"We have eggs in the closet."

"Well my mom is friends with the Easter bunny, so he comes to our house first and he gives baskets to all the kids."

And this is why I said it lasted for three minutes.  Up until this point, touching your nose before talking worked great.  Until Matt blurted out.

"The Easter bunny isn't real!"

Yes, Matt is THAT kid.  Shock and awe around the table.  Miss V, time for crisis control here.  Do you lie and say, "Oh, silly Matt!  There's an Easter bunny and he'll bring treats for you all."  Because they'll remember that, and they'll remember the fact that I lied. 

Do I agree with him and break the hearts of my students?  "Yep, he's right.  There's no Easter bunny.  Sorry, kids."  Lord knows I'd get angry calls from parents.

Instead, I just gave Matt the famous teacher death stare.  This is something I've mastered and, very humbly I say, something I'm quite good at.  He got the point.  But was it too late?  Could I have gone about this in a better way? The Easter bunny may now be dead to some.....

Signed,
Miss V. (The partially responsible)