Junior-K Class and Ice Skating on Tuesdays

Our child attends a half-day Junior-Kindergarten class in the mornings, from 9-AM until 11:30-AM. I walk him to and from school daily, and these past few weeks they have been taking ice skating classes at a nearby athletic rink. After morning attendance, singing the Canadian Anthem & the obligatory morning announcements, we make the 15-minute walk to the area. I have been volunteering to assist with this extracurricular activity, walking with them and being the crossing guard. At the rink I help carry the equipment inside which was couriered over by a volunteer driver with a mini-van. I also help the children of my son’s class get their skates and helmets on and walk them out to the ice rink with the teachers and teacher’s aids. The ice rink in summer is really a tennis court, but in winter is covered by an enormous inflatable roof dome with climate control, like in  the image below.

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At the end of the almost 45-minutes of skating time, we have to change back into school clothes, pack the equipment back into the volunteer’s mini-van and the young skaters et~al make the trek back to the school where we take attendance again, and the children are given their daily snack. The teacher provides a snack for the children and then helps them get dressed again to go home. After that, she prepares her classroom for the afternoon pre-K students, which begins at 1-PM.

Usually this daily snack is just small finger foods like cheese chunks, crackers and apple that requires paper plates. But Tuesdays are special because of the skating class; they get a Rice Krispys Marshmallow Bar or a (peanut-free) granola-type snack bar. This is like a candy treat for them, quick sugar, convenience and very delicious. -The kids love those complex sugars molecules you know! Smile!

Sucrose Molecule: Fuel for Kids!

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Snack, then it’s Time to Go Home

 As a volunteer for this Tuesday event, I am present also for this snack before they go-home as I am waiting to take our son home as well. I usually just linger outside the classroom and sit upon the stairs while the children have their snack in the classroom. If I sit in the classroom, I seem to be minor distraction to their routine for the children want to come up and talk to me, climb on me, show me books and etc. They should be concentrating upon eating their snack, cleaning up the table and having a quick story-time with the teacher before getting dressed to go home.

This last Tuesday the floors and stairs outside of the classroom were clearly stained with dried road salt from the icy conditions of late, so I opted to sit in the classroom instead of on the dusty salt-covered stairway.

Lets the Negotiations Begin!

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  As usual, there is always at least one child that finishes their Rice Krispys Marshmallow Bar early and asks for a second one. The teacher says no, and very politely lists several reasons why. “…you only get one,” “it will be lunchtime soon and if you have two, you’ll spoil your meal” and so forth. We all know these sayings.

This one child kept reasoning with the teacher, plying different tactics in an effort to be awarded that desired second helping. Part of the conversation went like this;

Student: “Miss S., -May I please have another Rice Krispy bar please?”

Teacher: “No. If I give you a second Rice Krispys bar there will not be enough for the afternoon class.”

Student: (after a thoughtful pause)  “-Couldn’t you just give them an apple instead?”

 I started to giggle at the nefarious reasoning of this child and the deadpan straight-face way that he spoke this. From across the room, a smiling glance in my direction from the teacher sealed the deal and I burst into riotous laughter and had to run out of the classroom, trying to regain my composure. That child is going to be a master manipulator someday; I foresee a future in contract negotiations for him!