On the subject of . . . . . .

I have been really busy with schools recently especially as this is the 'minibeast term' for many primary schools. I only wish I could remember all the things I hear during my visits to the foundation years in particular! The children are fantastic and I always try to encourage discussion because I believe it helps the learning process. Below are a few that have actually stuck in my mind and made me inwardly chuckle.

"Can anyone tell me the name of a minibeast they have found?" "Nits."

"Luke is a snail. His shell is part of his body just like your finger nail on your finger. If you hurt his shell he could die." "No he couldn't." "Yes he will because it is part of his body." "No he wont." "Look here and you can see where his shell is joined to the soft part of his body. So if you break his shell you really are hurting him and he really could die." " No."  "Yes he will poppet." "No he wont cause he'll be a slug."

"This is a really, really cool insect. She curls up her bottom, that we call an abdomen, and holds out her front legs to look just like pincers. She is pretending to be a creature you can find in the desert, and that can kill you with the venomous sting at the end of its tail. What do you think it is that she is trying to mimic?" "A lobster."

"Some insects go through an amazing change as they grow up. Can anyone here tell me how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly?" "My mum says she wants to change our dad cause he wont grow up."
 
"Does anyone know what a larva is?" "Oooh yes, yes!! . . . . It comes out of mountains!"

Often the joy of working with young children is just listening in to their views of the world around them. There is a hidden danger lurking around every corner of discussion though. The importance of the Tooth Fairy and the very sad (and often very graphic), demise of the hamster are awesome subjects but not always directly related to the topic of the day. The trick is turning it, as quickly and painlessly as possible, back on to the main subject before they all have time to get going on rapidly digressing views!

A child's eye often sees the things we adults do not. Listening to their descriptions gives you a good idea of how much they understand and evaluate the subject you are trying to teach. There is often plenty to make you smile as well!