Student I've never met: "Are you a kid? Or are you an adult?"
Sometimes even I don't know the answer to that one!! I couldn't help but laugh today when a kindergarten student at our school asked me this question. I'm not sure what it was exactly...maybe the way I was dressed? My hair? At any rate, it made me smile.
One of the things my grandma always said growing up was, "Age is a state of mind and if you don't mind, it don't matter!"
And while I'm still "a baby" in the words of many of my coworkers, I can't help but realize as each day goes by how much further I am away from elementary, middle, and even high school. And while I like to think I still do a pretty good job relating to the students I work with, I find myself having to work harder and harder to remember what it was like to be a kid.
But if there IS one thing I remember about being a kid, it was all the crazy and fun adults I knew: a camp counselor who played practical jokes on the boys, my level 3 swim teacher who made up ridiculous songs to help us remember each stroke, my 4th grade teacher who invented dances with us at recess. These people remind me how important it is to sometimes "stop being an adult," and meet kids where they are.
By putting our adult-ness aside every once and awhile and not being afraid to look goofy, we have a chance to impact kids in a way other adults in their lives maybe haven't before. We have a chance to stand out, create fun memories, and make a difference!
So laugh a little louder, spend some time at recess, skip down the hallway to your next IEP meeting, or do some arts & crafts. Go be a kid with your kids today!
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