Playing Games & The Sounds of Laughter

June 16, 2009

It always startles me when Doe acts like the 5-year-old girl that she really is. She is so perspicacious for her age that I often forget she's still just a baby. If you think you can't use logic with a 5-year-old, you haven't met Doe. She may ask “why”, but once you explain why, she takes a minute to intently process what you said, and most of the time comes to an understanding, or at the very least acceptance and continual musing.

The school year is coming to a close, and these last few days have been more fun-filled. Since all our work is finished, I have been spending a lot of class time teaching the kids how to play games like “Find the bell”, Hangman, and “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. This last one is a huge hit with the kids, and they've actually modified this timeless game to include things like “Pencil”, which beats Paper by writing on it. Out on the playground, someone suggested “Snake”, and Doe, ever the innovator said,

“Let's every time we both do snake, you kiss me and I kiss you!”

I was confused at first, but I just went with the flow, letting her teach me: “Rock, Paper, Snake! Rock, Paper, Snake!”, until we both did Snake with our index fingers pointing outward. Then Doe touched her index finger to mine and made silly kissing noises. As soon as I understood, I make equally silly kissing noises back and suddenly, Doe gave a most childish, gleeful squeal, and it was one of those moments that reminded me of how young she really was still. The sound of her laughter is unbelievably disarming- so full of delight.

Hoz also has a laughter that is incredibly disarming, but in a different way: more like an explosion . When he laughs, his entire countenance brightens like a sunburst. And it takes so little to make him laugh. Once I was standing at the board teaching, and suddenly I looked down and saw him crouched down into a tiny little ball right at my feet, waiting gleefully for me to notice. As soon as I made a surprise face, he burst out into his radiant laughter and ran back to his chair. And then I went on teaching.

Sometimes, teaching five-year-olds feels like teaching in an alternate Alice-in-Wonderland universe.

At the time, I remember thinking, it takes so little to entertain them! A silly expression on my face and they'll laugh like it's the funniest thing in the world! I had them wrapped around my little finger! I thought naively. Now I realize, that actually, they've got me wrapped around their tiny little fingers. Hoz was the one crouching down and hiding to make me laugh; Doe was the one to coax me into playing Rock, Paper, Scissors and making me laugh with her innovations. They were teasing me! Hm, I suddenly feel the fool, but blissfully so.

Before I taught KG, I was somewhat fearful that working with kids this little all day would “dumb me down”. Interacting at such basic levels, how could it not? In reality, though, working with kids so young has brushed off the dust and rust from worldly things, restoring them to the original level of wondrous and strange and new.

But it is a love-hate relationship. I love them, but containing the energy of dozens of kids at once and simultaneously trying to teach them is mentally and physically draining. I love them, and I'll miss them horribly, but I'm not altogether sorry to see it end. Like most endings, this one will be bittersweet. But more on the sweet end. I'm pretty certain I'll be skipping ten feet in the air down the walkway lined with toilet watered mulberry trees for what will be the very last time.