At Circle Time today, I was prepared to begin this week's fun theme- The Circus. My preschoolers are more than prepared for Kindergarten, so these last weeks in June are filled with fun non-essential, yet equally important activities.
And what could be more fun than putting together a circus.
Well, in the 'child-centered' environment that I created, the topic of discussion was not the circus. They wanted to talk about what they have been talking about for a week now.
The oil in the water.
Four year olds.
I am amazed. Not for their obvious distress, because four year olds have the biggest hearts for the smallest creatures, and if something was harming wildlife, they would be upset. No, I was amazed at their knowledge of the spill and the ramifications that 'oil in the water' causes. So today I finally asked. "How do you know about the oil in the water?"
The unanimous reply- "Diego."
Diego is a popular children's character on Nickjr. He is Dora's cousin and his job is to save the environment and endangered species.
From what I could gather from what I was being told by ten kids at once, it seems a beluga whale came to Diego for help because a ship "got a hole" and oil was going into the water. "And oil in the water hurts the dolphins and the fish and the birds."
So Diego managed to vacuum all the oil out of the water and save the marine life.
"So why aren't they vacuuming out the oil now?" a little girl asked.
Now, pointing out the obvious to a group of preschoolers is like telling them Santa Claus is a myth. A no-no. I am not ever going to shatter their illusions. The reality of life will catch up to them soon enough. I feed off their optimism. That's never going to change.
So, as I was pondering how respond to this child, the boy who initially introduced the class to the crisis spoke. And to paraphrase, this is what he said:
The 'B' and the 'P' guys have to clean it all up and they better hurry because if the oil stays in the water it will destroy all life. (Please note that as he spoke his eyes grew wider, and every other word was punctuated by arm swings. I fought like hell to not smile at his adorableness. He was very serious.)
"Well, can't the fish find another ocean to live in?" from a usually quiet girl. Even four year olds can be republican.
So, the Circus was shelved and I changed today's theme to the environment and we reviewed our Earth Day curriculum and talked about ways we could help the Earth, drew posters, etc.
I spoke to my director during my break about Circle Time and the concerns I noticed in the kids, especially that one little boy. I wanted to talk to his parents.
Were they, in some way (and sometimes unaware) manafesting their anger unto their child?
I just finished talking to them. No. Although their son was aware of the spill because he saw it on the news, neither parent expressed any feelings other than 'that's sad' in front of the boy. This is all him.
And his mother said it's all he talks about. Even she can't keep up with his questions. "Spooky" she said. "It's like he knows this is his future, and he can't do anything about it. "He loves sea animals. We visit the aquarium all the time. We're going this week-end and hopefuly find someone there to calm his fears."
But, she added. "I'm not sure that's possible."
I didn't ask. What was impossible- finding someone- or calming his fears?
I was never active in the environmental movement, other than to do my part and agree with what needs to be done. But I have to face those bright kids tomorrow- and this is their future. I have to do more to ensure they have one.