My co-worker and I once talked about writing down all the phrases that preschool workers use frequently. Working at a private preschool here is what I came up with. There’s a couple that just always make me crack up each time we use them:
Sneaking in the sugar before the protein:
“Healthy food first.”
Standing/ dancing on furniture:
“Your feet stay on the floor.”
Playing spider-man up the slide:
“Up the stairs, and down the slide.”
Excluding friends from playing pony:
“At school, everyone plays together.”
Throwing sand in each others’ faces/hair/eyes:
“The sand stays down.”
Telling the teacher that someone won’t pass the ball:
“Did you tell so-and-so how that made you feel?”
Running a plane into someone’s tower of blocks:
“Don’t destroy someone’s creation without asking.”
Telling on someone/disobeying:
“Who is the Teacher? You or me?”
Throwing puppets/play food/blocks:
“You may only throw balls”
Running from the dragons & monsters in class:
“Walking feet inside the class”
Spraying spit on someone:
“We only spit, when we brush our teeth.”
Calling each other: “poop”, “poopie head”:
“Those words are only used for the bathroom.”
-We haven’t had any clever children yet run to the bathroom to put the words to use yet. I suspect that’s more of 5-year-old+ logic.
And a personal favorite is….
Sticking beans/rocks/etc in noses & ears:
“We never stick things in the holes of our bodies.”
I could think of quite a few different ways to respond to particular items. However, as a preschool TEACHER we are limited in the length of conversation to each wrong that is committed. So sometimes short simple phrases are how we can put peace to a situation when there are so many kids.
Newer phrases I’ve been trying to exercise:
“I hate you”:
“The only thing we can hate is sin”
NOT sharing (being selfish):
“We can share because Christ shared his life with us”
(Thanks Tonya)
Admiring GOD’s creation:
“Look at God’s ____________ (rainbow/butterfly/etc). That shows us a little bit of how beautiful God is”
Gospel Truth #1
Seeing a child angry or frustrated:
“Sometimes it helps to use your words, so you don’t hurt someone when you have a frustrated heart.”
Stomping on harmless insects:
“We take care of/admire of God’s creation.”
(This is a minor concern-yet a building block to the one below)
Hitting:
Me: “Would you hit a dog?”
Child: “No.”
Me: “Well God made people more special than dogs. So-and-So is God’s creation, and we always take care of God’s Creation.”
my fav: "dont destroy someones creation w/o asking"! haha... that had me laughing out loud!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips. The last one is awesome. Never thought of that. The best I could think of was "She's gonna hit you back!"
ReplyDeleteToday my co-worker told a little friend, "We don't pick our noses, we pick our friends" Haha wish I woulda heard that one earlier :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've heard of this old one... you can pick your nose, and you can pick your friends, but you CAN'T pick your friend's nose.
ReplyDelete...that goes without saying...seriously though, on a more dignified note...children speaking harshly can be encouraged to check their tone with "Can you say that more kindly?" It gives them pause and a chance to think of another way of saying it.
ReplyDeletealso, I just love the things you've listed above.
A favorite of mine is to ask kids "who thought you up?" or "Whose idea were you with your blue eyes and your strong legs and your smiling mouth etc..." It's so fun to see them think and react.