Team Andre

This time of year, we often use the gym, it's getting dark early and there's rain more often than not. It may have stopped raining by the time we go out, but it's like that proverbial 'every 15 minutes'  bus you've surely heard of... we're Oregonisms, which means there will be another rain shower coming along in 15 minutes. The play structures are slippery when they're wet and no matter how many times I suggest they not stomp in the big assed mud puddle just outside and to the right of our doors, they persist in acting like children, getting their feet wet and muddy and then tracking it back into the building. And then complaining that their feet are wet and being angry with me for telling them they must keep their shoes on.

It's hilarious and frustrating at the same time.

So Friday afternoon was a gym day.

When we're in the gym, Andre enjoys taking one of the handballs, three of our cones, and a small group and having the kids try to guess which cone the ball is under. They're enthusiastic about it even though it's been done a thousand times. They love repetition. Haha, so do I, usually. This magic trick was taking place across the gym from where I was seated. I sit in the open doors of the gym so the kids are visible to me, the parent entry door is visible, the restrooms are visible and I can also see our cafeteria. Sometimes one or two of the more responsible kids want to sit at the art or game table, which is fine as long as I can see them.

I was monitoring the activity/snippiness level in the gym. We've had a lot of girl drama lately. They're so mean to each other one day and best friends the next. The aged eight to 10 girl crowd is a fickle thing. They are better at duos than trios, and succeed spectacularly in leaving at least one girl out every afternoon (which one varies) and there are often tears. I do what I can to help them think about the situation, (how would you feel if____)  but I will not make anyone play with anyone else. For example in the dramatic play area, they don't have to let Bailey play in their game, but Bailey is allowed to use the dolls, dishes, little blankets and food, too.

The girl drama isn't confined to the cafeteria, it goes everywhere that we go. The gift that keeps on giving. Ha.

So I saw Steffie try to join a small group of girls in the corner of the gym, they were pretending to be dragons. Shelly was the dragon keeper, and she told Steffie that, "I have too many dragons to handle now. You can't play with us."

Steffie is five. So she reacted like a five year old. She burst into tears and stumbled over to the wall on my side of the gym. I went and spoke with her to find out what the issue was and she choked out the story in pieces, sobbing like her sweet little heart was broken. I gave her a tissue from the stash in my right sweatshirt pocket and told her I was sorry. I suggested she join a couple other groups, but she didn't want to, she wanted THAT one!

I let her know that I'd be, "Right over there, you can come sit with me and we can read a story if you'd like," but she sniffled and said no, she would just stay there.

I saw Andre looking at us from across the gym, where he had four kids waiting in line to guess which cone the ball was under. He stopped Oliver from guessing by holding up a hand, got up and walked across the gym to Steffie. He sat down on the floor next to her, put an arm around her shoulders and talked to her. I couldn't hear what he said, but she could. She stopped crying, put on a little smile, and stood up with him. He offered her a hand, and walked back across the gym with her, bringing her to his little group. She happily joined the kids waiting to guess which cone.

He has a kind heart. 

He's not an easy kid, and I do have to keep an eye on everything with him, but he seems to have found a comfortable space in our little group. I'm glad, I want him to succeed. 

It must be so difficult to BE Andre in a world that's full of people who are not like Andre, and he deserves all the support we can manage.
 
I'm still on Team Andre. 
Send me 20 bucks and your t-shirt size, you can join the team, too!