Will We?

In my second year of subbing, I was placed in a kindergarten class. Kindergartners are a tricky group. To me, they are the hardest age to work with and I avoid them as much as possible. They are perpetually sticky, toothless bundles of crayon wrappers and energy who all need their teacher’s attention at the EXACT SAME TIME. This is all I see when I sub kindergarten:

On this day in kindergarten, I took the children to the carpet with their white boards and markers. We were going to practice writing and reading together. Kids get the biggest kick out of whiteboards. I’m serious, I have never met a child who didn’t practically pee their pants at the chance to use a whiteboard. So I tell the kids that I will write a word, and then I want them to copy the word on their own board, and sound it out.

We go through several words that they know: you, the, see, we, me, to, at….and then I decide to make simple sentences.

I start with “We” and they copy. I add “Will” next to it. Out loud I read “We will…” Before I can add the third word, a little voice shouts out “ROCK YOU!”

Giggles ensue, and a few other voices pipe in: “We will…we will ROCK YOU! WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!!”

“WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU!!”

Suddenly I have an entire carpet of kindergartners singing along. I could do nothing but laugh.

Somewhere, Freddy Mercury was smiling.