We all remember them; there were seven of them with names like Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Lazy.
I've been doing the boring, uninspring task of going over rules and procedures with all of my classes this week. My speech involves talking with my students about things that have not changed from last year, and then going over the items that are new or different. I'm so sick of telling each and every class about the same things that I feel like I'm a broken record. I just have to remember to whistle while I work.
Leave it to a second grader to say something cute that makes all those speeches worth it. Bill Cosby had a show a while back that I think was called "Kids Say the Darndest Things". While I never watched the show, I think I know exactly what it was about...
Part of what I review with students is use of the "safe seat". The safe seat can be equated with time-out, but it is not punative. The basic idea is that it a place that a child can sit to help them stay out of trouble. Yesterday, I carefully explained to my second graders that they could choose to sit in the safe seat if they didn't feel like they could do what they needed to at their regular seat. I used the example of having a really bad day, a day when they were too upset or angry to be able to learn. I answered many questions, and I was sure to explain that they would only be there for a little while before I came to talk with them about what was going on. Then, they would need to return to a regular seat. I also stressed that I might ask them to sit in the safe seat when I could see that they were not managing a regular seat very well.
About 10 or 15 minutes later we had just finished looking at some of Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits, and I was telling the students about a self-portrait they would be drawing when a small boy raised his hand. When called on he clearly stated, "I think I need to go sit in the safe seat now; I'm sleepy." I then had to maintain composure while I explained more clearly instances in which students would need to choose the safe seat.
It didn't strike me that he had called himself the name of a Dwarf until this afternoon. I'm thankful (wasn't he a dwarf too?) that my cute second grader wasn't actually the dwarf; then he really would have fallen asleep in class! Those dwarves, however, did work really hard when they were whistling. Maybe I should get them to come in and do my opening procedures for me - it certainly wouldn't be boring for me or my students.