Beautiful Minds

This morning I volunteered to listen to some of the older children in Mia's class practice their reading. I was excited to be part of the classroom activities but dreading sitting and listening to a dozen or so kids struggle to phonetically sound out cat. I was so wrong. With just a couple exceptions, the students were amazing. One kid sped through words like sunscreen and bathing suit. One kid came back up to me about three more times asking to read more books. Even my own daughter, whom the teacher had assured me was not at the reading level, sounded out an entire book. And I didn't sigh with frustration a single time.
In addition to being listening, I also served as the "Mystery Reader" for the class at the start of the day. Of course, I had to call my office to remind them that I'd be late so Mia heard me on the phone say that I was going to be in her class so I guess it wasn't such a mystery after all. But I digress. Sitting in my wee blue chair, waiting for the students to get settled and in their circle on the floor, I observed the craziness that is a room full of 4-6 year olds. This is what I heard:

Eron: You're my best friend!
Alex: I am your friend but I'm not your best friend.
~
Alex: I'm going to beat you up.
Isaac: Ok Beyonce
~
Hayden: I scared everyone in the bathroom
Me: How did you do that?
Hayden: I went to the door and yelled "I'm the ghost of Willy Wonka!!" And they thought it was a real ghost. Ha ha ha ha ha!
~
Isaac: Hey, you made me suck my thumb.
~
Khalil: My leg is all hanging out. It hurts.


I have to visit this class more often. I never knew the comedic gold that I was missing.