At first Isaac's teacher was concerned about some disturbing comments he made during octopus-story-time. Apparently he told the other kids that "an octopus can suck your head off with it's stingers." Then she was concerned about his meltdown and refusal to do the octopus art project. He wouldn't even come near the eight strips of paper she laid out for him. She couldn't understand it.
But what Isaac's teacher doesn't know is that more than a year ago (while my mom was visiting - see her comment on the last post) we took the kids to the aquarium in Dallas. To get a closer look at the octopus tank, Isaac slid his head between the glass and the hand rail. Shortly after, the great octopus swooped down at Isaac - plastering it's tentacles against the glass. In a moment of sheer panic and forgetting about the hand rail, he tried to back away but realized his head was stuck! Caught by the octopus! (or so he imagined).
I really thought my 3-year-old son was going to have a heart attack, the way the blood drained from his face - hyperventilating. He hasn't liked octopuses since.
So Isaac's teacher did what I hope any good teacher would do. She didn't force him. Instead she took him aside and asked him why he didn't want to do the assignment. After realizing his fear, she explained (with photographs in a book) that octopuses are really just as scared of us as we are of them. And she sent him back to his seat. . . where he made an octopus - on his own.
In the bath tonight, Isaac was pretending to be an octopus and sink Clayton's ship. I love this conversation:
Isaac: Did you know that octopuses don't have stingers? Instead they just squirt black ink.
Clayton: How do you know that?
Isaac: I learned it at school.
Clayton: Grrr, I don't learn anything at school. I just do work.
Isaac: Well, I do work too. But only if my teacher learns me something first.
Hmmmm, it seems that there are teachers who make students work. And then there are students. . . who make teachers work.
Life's full of lessons. Isn't it.
Life's full of lessons. Isn't it.
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9 comments:
Why do I love every post you do? This one is particularly great because I got confused and thought that Isaac had been caught by an octopus. I can't believe he is getting so big. Kudos to his teacher for handling the octopus scare well!
Hey, do you like Christlike parenting? I thought about reading it but thought I'd see if you thought it was worth it.
Time to introduce the boys to the Giant Squid Attack scene in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!
I love it, he works if she learns him. Sounds fair. Clayton's frustration cracked me up too. Poor little smarty pants.
The octopus story is TERRIFYING. That was a minor miracle that teacher performed with Isaac, after having an experience like that, I'm not sure I'd ever recover.
Christlike Parenting: I normally don't like "parenting" books. I usually just skim them for good ideas (and roll my eyes at the other ideas). This book is honestly the first one I have read that I will read (not skim) again and again. It's the subtle things in parenting that make the biggest difference. I can tell already it has changed my thinking, enriched my conversations with my children and softened my interactions with them. I would recommend it to any parent, teacher, or spouse.
Ha! I've never seen it, but I was just thinking about the giant squid in 20,000 Leagues. . . scary.
Once again, you crack me up. Once again, I totally appreciate it. AND once again, he sounds so familiar. Your last comment about teachers. Genius. So true. I have one of each. I think I need to pick up (and hopefully not just read the first three pages of and put it on a shelf like I do all other parenting books... and it shows) Christlike parenting.
So, Rick came home from work today and asked me if I had read your funny story about Issac and the octopus. Truly funny. We just can't get enough funny stories about those boys. I just wish our boys lived close enough to be friends!
Children are good at "learning us something", aren't they? Part of the reward for all that work we do trying to learn something to them.
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