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.”