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Parents Night at the
Virtual Early Childhood Development Center
It is "Parents Night" and Martha gathers up her things following afternoon high tea to scurry off to prepare for it at her virtual Early Childhood Development Center next door. These are often trying occasions for her, in which she is often called upon to explain why a beloved wee one is not yet plodding through volume seven of Harry Potter, nor even has he attempted the differential equation.
PARENTS NIGHT
It's Parents' Night, the room is neat
As they arrive and take a seat.
I say ‘hello’ and then I say
That children learn the best through play.
When they paint or dance or sing,
When they pour and build and swing,
When they do things with their hands
And eyes and ears—they understand.
Kids will learn to read and write
When it's their time and season.
It's my job to encourage them
By giving them a reason.
Like when we're playing restaurant
In our Pretending Mall,
We need to write a menu
To hang up on the wall.
The parents are all smiling
They are being so polite.
I hope they understand me
And agree that I am right.
“Do you have any questions,
If you do, just ask them please”
THEN
Someone always says to me,
“That sounds so nice
To play in rice
And have pet mice
But GEEEEZ,
When will you teach them,
Prod and reach them,
Really make them sweat—
And stop this useless playing
And learn the alphabet?”
On parents night,concerned Moms and Dads point out that it will be difficult under these circumstances to achieve acceptance into the ‘right’ kindergarten, which may preclude the ‘right’ grade school, and so on into a future rendered ever more bleak for this regrettable deficit here in these most critical months of the young man's third year.
This makes Martha smile to herself, knowing that more often than not, the singleton lives a very different life from those children immersed within the bosom of a larger family. The only child is more nearly a small adult, terribly serious, and feels himself responsible for everything. Years from now, he is often in charge of something terribly important. A family of two children find they might occasionally go a day without a bath, those with three could spend all day playing under a ‘cave’ made from blankets draped over a dining room table with nary a flash-card in sight. Beyond that, one eventually arrives at the youngest child in a large family who finds herself with an assortment of pseudo-parents among her elder siblings, and skips through life in that enviable position of “The baby.”
“The baby” is at the same time ignored enough to find her own amusements and adored and indulged by all the family. Having negotiated continuously with older brothers and sisters, she is adept at taking turns, being independent, and getting along with others. For her entire life she will hear how much easier ‘Mom and Dad were on you.’ More often than not, this is delivered within a lecture from the oldest sibling, for being the oldest, he feels compelled to enlighten and instruct everyone upon their shortcomings. Forgive him, he is yet dealing with those differential equations of yesteryear.
PARENTS NIGHT: COUNTING
I can count to 30!
Teacher heard me do it!
I say all the numbers
As if there's nothing to it.
But don't ask if I can show you
How many blocks are 23,
I only can just say them
Cause I am only three
IF I WAS THE TEACHER
If I was the teacher
I would greet you with a smile
And say ‘I'm glad to see you,
Will you play with us awhile?’
The water table's full
If you'd like to scoop and pour.
The easel's up for painting
And the blocks are on the floor.
And when it's time to gather,
We would never sit too long.
The calendar'd be thrown away
Instead we'd sing a song.
I would read a story to you
With pictures big and bold
So everyone could see them
As the story's being told.
I wouldn't make you line up straight
Or write the abc's
Unless you showed an interest
In L and S and Vs.
We would play all though the morning
With puzzles, balls and clay.
And that is how I'd do it.
If I could teach one day.
I HAD IT FIRST
or THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHARING AND TAKING TURNS
I had it first I really did
Just got off for a minute.
When I got back, he had the car
And he was sitting in it.
The teacher says that we should share
But two can't ride together.
We just won't fit—though sharing's nice—
taking turns works better.
WHEN I PAINT
When I paint I sometimes drip
Or spill some on the floor.
My teacher says ‘Please clean it up
Then go and paint some more.
She knows I didn't mean to so
She doesn't yell or fuss.
I guess she can remember back
When she was young like us.
LET'S PLAY
Today we learn the letter ‘L’
And next week we learn ‘C'
And soon we'll all be reading
At the tender age of 3.
My mother thinks it's awesome,
And Dad is very proud
When I recite the alphabet
For all his office crowd.
But what we should be doing
Has been sadly cast aside,
Like dressing up,
and messing up
And going down the slide.
After Parents Night, methinks Martha will need something stronger than green tea.
Please do not forget to attribute to Jeannette Ramirez as author unless otherwise noted. Webmasters, thank you for linking. For the poem count at Here Be Limerick Poems visit our home page.
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