Come play in my world for awhile!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

I guess you have a point

Last week my daughter, Hannah, had the opportunity to represent our elementary school at the First in Fitness competition.

During PE each child was given the opportunity to try-out for the events and only the top 3 kids in each category were invited to participate. There are 700 kids at our elementary school and I'm proud that Hannah earned a spot.

The kids who participated were pretty much out of school the entire day. I volunteered to chaperon a group at the competition because this was exciting stuff. In my head I pictured something on par with the Super Bowl. There's no way I'd miss this!

There were kids in my group from grades 3-5 and we had a fair amount of downtime between events. A bit more than halfway through I started fantasizing about balancing the checkbook, and then I started thinking longingly about folding laundry and scrubbing toilets. Is it possible to die of boredom? I looked over at the kids and saw at least two who looked like they were willing to pull the plug rather than actually find out. Being the veteran volunteer that I am I quickly snapped out of it when I realized the potential for mayhem.

Bored kids + no authority figure = TROUBLE
.
Let's face it, the kids aren't dumb. They know exactly how much power a volunteer chaperon has: ZERO. I quickly wiped the drool from my cheek, gave myself a mental head slap or two, and whipped out my bag of tricks. The good news is that the kids were desperate for stimulation and willing to play along. The bad news is I need to get a bigger bag of tricks. I had 'em for about 15 minutes.


My next ploy was to engage them in conversation. I talked about what a privilege it was to have been selected to represent the school. Their eyes quickly started to glaze over, so I asked them
what they'd learned from the experience. They were quiet for a moment and one of the children responded.


Child: I learned, like, sooo much today Mrs B!


Me: (Smiling encouragingly)


Child: I learned that if you work really hard and practice and really try your best that you can be a great athlete.


Me: (Looking meaningfully at the other children to see if they're absorbing the profound nature of the message that's been delivered.)


Child: And the best part about being a great athlete is that school isn't important. We got out of an entire day of school and my teacher said that I don't have to do my homework for yesterday or today.


Me: (Who put me in charge here anyway? I'd debate her on this if I felt as though she were wrong)
.
I guess you've got a point

34 comments:

The Blonde Duck said...

LOL! I love these stories you tell. I told my husband about the "sunbathing" one and he cracked up!

Anonymous said...

Kids learn real quick!

Hope your daughter kicked butt.

Debbie said...

Yes. I think that child summed the whole experience up beautifully!
And I also hope that school knows how lucky they are to have you.

Anonymous said...

Give that kid an "A+"! He or she is a genius!! I've been there...so bored yet feeling like I shouldn't be...yikes.

~Thought's By Dena~/ JDs Gift Shack said...

I love your post...they crack me up!!! and your right...hey I think he/she has a point...hmmmmmm

countryfriedmama said...

Boy, these are some smart kids!

Anonymous said...

I wish I could use that rationale to get out of housework...

Anonymous said...

Hahaha...oh lord. Yes, Johnny--run faster and you'll never have to learn another thing! It's a beautiful system! ;)

Gibby said...

See, these kids ARE paying attention after all.

P.S. I love that line about a volunteer having zero power. Isn't that the truth.

Minxy Mimi said...

HAHAHAHA
Good Point!
You have to be the coolest mom in that school!

Meg said...

And that's the first step in becoming a professional athlete. Good job kid!

forever folding laundry said...

You must be a math genius because that formula you proposed is as true as any math theory I've ever seen!

~Keri

Kristina P. said...

This made me snort!!

Anonymous said...

I learned a while ago that Goldfish crackers and something to drink go a long way with little ones. I make them do stuff to earn the crackers and works like a charm. It is amazing what you can get a kid to do lol. You are a brave woman to go with the kids like that, but then again I do it too. However last field trip I was the one horsing around with a couple of the kids and they got into trouble, I wonder if that is what I was not invited to go with the class on their trip yesterday???

Jen said...

kids aren't dumb thats for sure.

D said...

sad but true. The part about great athletes getting all the percks.

Riddle Girl said...

Yeah for your daughter!
Too bad they are already learning in elementary school the realities of life.
I'm sure this child is on their way to being a CEO of a large corporation when they realizes all the perks and bonuses that has.

Anonymous said...

Kids have a knack for summing up things truthfully!

Susie said...

They know how to work the system!

Sapphire said...

These kids are too smart for their own good!

Anonymous said...

This is just wonderful. How great young mind think. This is exactly what my 8 year old would have come up with!

Becca

Please visit me at http://www.askbecca.com

theUngourmet said...

This sounds like something my kids would say! BTW, thanks for the compliment and I am glad to say, no glass was found. :0)

Anonymous said...

So funny, and yet so sad because it's so true. Look at our athletes. Boy, I'm a downer.

Anonymous said...

Boy, they learn young that being an athlete means teachers let you slide.

Claremont First Ward said...

Such a great story. :) The way kids think always amazes me/makes me shake my head in wonder. I laughed out loud at the aprt about being a great athlete means school isn't important. :)

I'm so glad you stopped by....and hope you'll participate in the future! :)

Sturgmom said...

You are one ambitious (read: crazy) woman to volunteer to chaperone like that! This really made me laugh. It's hard to argue with logic!

ScoMan said...

Kids have a way of being smarter than me. Damn them!

Anonymous said...

I always look forward to reading your blog, and this kinda stuff is why! I love how you tell a story!

Seeker said...

those darn kids are quick thinkers...they usually have a "reason". it just isn't what we think it is....too funny

Nana said...

The kids not dumb! That is for sure.

Anonymous said...

I used to love those pe challenges! I was right there with that kid, my favorite part about soccer was it got me out of my last class... wha-hoo!

bernthis said...

Ah the deep lessons our society has shown our children. Moving, very moving

Kate said...

Great, too bad that we are sending those messages to our kids. They pick up so more than we know.

Unknown said...

This was a giggler too! You have some fascinating stories...I've got to get out more!