Boys and Brats

I had the opportunity to go to Ciara's preschool on Friday.  They encourage parents to come in a help in the classroom throughout the year, so I thought I would go (Ciara had been begging me to come with her, and I was able to get Rocky to watch Caden so I could go).  One of the first things they do is play outside in the playground.  While we were all outside, her teacher (Miss Mari Lin) started talking to me.  She said, "I don't know if you are aware, but we have a little problem with the boys and Ciara."  I told her that I knew that Nils and Cameron both were a little obsessed, and that there had been some problems with that.  She then goes on to tell me that it is not just those two boys, but all the boys in her class (there are six of them).  Apparently, they are all a little attached to Ciara, and are constantly fighting over her.  Luckily, Miss Mari Lin explained that Ciara is not encouraging it, nor does it seem to phase her.  After playtime, we went inside and I was given a first hand look at this obsession with my daughter.  As soon as the teacher called everyone over to the rug for circle time, the magic began.  Ciara wanted to sit with me, so we went to find a spot.  Immediately, all the boys circled around us.  ALL OF THEM.  There wasn't room around us for everyone, so they start to elbow each other so they could get closer to us.  Miss Mari Lin had to come and move everyone into their own space.  This happened every time the kids had to sit down.  The fight for who got to sit next to Ciara would commence, Miss Mari Lin would have to move everyone, and then if someone got up for some reason, another boy would take their spot.  It was a little crazy.  I started to worry, especially when the teacher started to say that her daughter was the same way, and that it didn't change as she got older.  I was prepared to deal with boys as she got older, but this young?  Maybe it is just this class.  Perhaps next year at kindergarten she will escape the notice of the boys. 

One other thing I noticed was another little girl.  Ciara had mentioned her before, about how she doesn't share, and she isn't very nice.  I will call her "Pam."  From the moment Pam came in, she was just plain mean.  She was hitting and pushing the other kids, and she refused to do what the teacher asked.  The thing that was most upsetting to me was what happened during our coloring time.  I was sitting at the coloring table where the kids were making their pages.  At one point, Pam and 3 other girls were sitting at the table.  Pam starts whispering to the girl next to her.  She then states (in a really snotty voice) that she is making a club with the girl next to her, but the other girls aren't invited because they aren't popular.  She then starts to taunt them, and just kept saying how popular she is, and they can't come to her house, only popular people can.  I was so shocked!  A 4/5 year old talking about being popular?  What is she learning at home?  Is she getting this stuff from her parents, and older sibling, or TV?  Either way, I just had a flash of her in 10 years as one of the "Mean Girls" of high school.  Then I got worried for my kids.  Is it too much to hope that they can just be nice people, not popular, not picked on, just nice, good kids?  Are any kids like that anymore?

All in all, it was a very entertaining day at the preschool.