Climbing the ladder

At the start of this year, I received a promotion. Well, of sorts: promotion in the sense of a job that is more fun rather than one that pays more money. On Monday afternoons I have the privilege of helping teach physical education to pre-primary kids (i.e. 5 to 6 year olds). What a blast!

Week two of my job, I approach 5 year old J., trying to build some rapport with him: "Your name's J isn't it?"

J. (without flinching): "No -- it's Captain Underpants!" Mental note to self: keep an eye on J.; he's feisty.

Last week, while fossicking around in the pre-primary shed, I saw a mother rummaging in one of the kid's school bags. Friendly and inquisitive me: "Hello."

"Hi. I'm just rescuing our crumpets from my daughter's bag before lunchtime. She grabbed them this morning instead of taking her lunch." This kind of craziness is commonplace in the world of pre-school.

I thought to myself: anyone looking for an antidote to the dryness of routine, the ho-hum of order and the tedium of predictability needs to spend time at a pre-primary.