School Update
Sullivan has had his first taste of pre-K. Two short class experiences this week and we will jump full tilt into the school year on Monday. After some initial shyness my little ham came out to play.
It started during Meeting Time with their teacher- a delightful woman named Ms Cassens who handled this situation with supreme grace. I don't think she had suspected a simple getting-to-know-you meeting to get quite so deep. Let's see, to recap the topics broached by my son in this meeting I'll list them in no particular order:
Harpo Marx doesn't talk and he's one of the Marx Brothers
Air travel. This turned into quite a discussion between Sully and his new friend, Finn, both were experts on both long and short flights.
How our dog Bukka died - which caused Finn to look right in Sully's eyes and say, "I like dogs. I'm so sorry about your dog" then he reached out and gave him a sensitive man-pat.
Grandpa has guns. Miriam wanted to know if they were real or pretend guns, Sully did not know.
Hurricane Katrina- "You know something? There was this big storm and lots of people's houses got ruined by a flood"
The "Land Shark" skit from ancient Saturday Night Live- Sullivan loves saying "Candygram!" and "Just a dolphin, mam"
"My home is called Brooklyn"
"I have another pet called Crabby McCrabCrab- I had a crab named Fluffy, but he died, too. Like Bukka."
This caused some of the other children to unload about scary noises that woke them up at night. One girl described a sad scene when someone's car caught on fire and how sad she was that someone lost their car in a fire. Other kids talked about scary dreams and most were pretty open about their experiences, observations and feelings right off the bat. I couldn't help but laugh at the little stinker sitting just out of Ms Cassens immediate eyeline who would roll his eyes and silently flap his jaw during this pre-K support group that spontaeously erupted on the blue carpet. I could just see this kid 20 years from now rolling his eyes and telling people "Suck it up. Life's a bitch, then you marry one and then you die. Just get over it already." Everyone needs someone like that in their lives.
It's kind of funny how social groups really don't evolve much after the age of 4. I'd say the only difference between the discussion I witnessed today and the average day in a scene study class is that in the scene study class there are many more references to sexual acts. Beyond that I'd say the exchanges are pretty similar. Perhaps that is why all the adults were smiling and stifling their laughter. It's a bit surprising to see our children talking like us and a little strange to glimpse the men and women they will become. Most of us thought we would have to wait another 10 years or so to see our children engage this way. It certainly took Ms Cassens by surprise.
I guess the big shocker for me was to see just how much was on Sullivan's mind that he was just bursting with a need for a second opinion. It really is hard to know if Mom is right or if she is completely fucking nuts. I'm glad he's going to have a bigger world soon. He really needs one.
It started during Meeting Time with their teacher- a delightful woman named Ms Cassens who handled this situation with supreme grace. I don't think she had suspected a simple getting-to-know-you meeting to get quite so deep. Let's see, to recap the topics broached by my son in this meeting I'll list them in no particular order:
Harpo Marx doesn't talk and he's one of the Marx Brothers
Air travel. This turned into quite a discussion between Sully and his new friend, Finn, both were experts on both long and short flights.
How our dog Bukka died - which caused Finn to look right in Sully's eyes and say, "I like dogs. I'm so sorry about your dog" then he reached out and gave him a sensitive man-pat.
Grandpa has guns. Miriam wanted to know if they were real or pretend guns, Sully did not know.
Hurricane Katrina- "You know something? There was this big storm and lots of people's houses got ruined by a flood"
The "Land Shark" skit from ancient Saturday Night Live- Sullivan loves saying "Candygram!" and "Just a dolphin, mam"
"My home is called Brooklyn"
"I have another pet called Crabby McCrabCrab- I had a crab named Fluffy, but he died, too. Like Bukka."
This caused some of the other children to unload about scary noises that woke them up at night. One girl described a sad scene when someone's car caught on fire and how sad she was that someone lost their car in a fire. Other kids talked about scary dreams and most were pretty open about their experiences, observations and feelings right off the bat. I couldn't help but laugh at the little stinker sitting just out of Ms Cassens immediate eyeline who would roll his eyes and silently flap his jaw during this pre-K support group that spontaeously erupted on the blue carpet. I could just see this kid 20 years from now rolling his eyes and telling people "Suck it up. Life's a bitch, then you marry one and then you die. Just get over it already." Everyone needs someone like that in their lives.
It's kind of funny how social groups really don't evolve much after the age of 4. I'd say the only difference between the discussion I witnessed today and the average day in a scene study class is that in the scene study class there are many more references to sexual acts. Beyond that I'd say the exchanges are pretty similar. Perhaps that is why all the adults were smiling and stifling their laughter. It's a bit surprising to see our children talking like us and a little strange to glimpse the men and women they will become. Most of us thought we would have to wait another 10 years or so to see our children engage this way. It certainly took Ms Cassens by surprise.
I guess the big shocker for me was to see just how much was on Sullivan's mind that he was just bursting with a need for a second opinion. It really is hard to know if Mom is right or if she is completely fucking nuts. I'm glad he's going to have a bigger world soon. He really needs one.
posted by Bree O'Connor at 1:21 AM
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