I ended up getting smooched multiple times by a little heartbreaker on Friday. “Kyle” visits my classroom for Literature Talks and Language Laboratory. Both of those terms are fancy for small group work with different students. Lit. Talk is actually like a mini Book Club for kids. We get together and talk about whatever book we sent home the previous week and than they reflect in their journals.
Yesterday this little girl totally fell out of her chair. We laughed it off initially, but than she started bawling. She approached me with these big crocodile tears while Kyle and I were going over his journal. “What’s wrong?” Kyle asked, in her face, because this kid has no concept of personal space. She continued to cry and couldn’t even catch her breath to tell me where she was hurt. So Kyle took matters into his own hands and planted a big wet one on her cheek. The girl started giggling through her tears. Kyle yelled, “I did it!” and kissed her again. The little girl cracked up. Kyle was ecstatic, “I DID it!” and he demonstrated using me. Now I have to tell you that Kyle was a little crusty that day, he’s recovered from an oozing ear infection recently but I believe he’s coming down with pink eye and a wicked cold. I almost died inside when he kissed me. Than Kyle pretended to trip over his chair and started fake crying: “Now kiss me, Mara!” I had to put a stop to this: “Kyle, some people might not be comfortable with kissing, we need to discuss options.” I blew him a kiss but Kyle was adamant, “No, no, KISS me.” How could I explain this: “Kyle, do you think that maybe kissing passes germs? Is this maybe not a healthy thing to do?” The other kids nodded in agreement and started blowing kisses. Kyle was impatient, “No, I need to be kissed.” I said, “Well, we’re discussing options now.” Kyle looked me square in the eye and commanded, “DO it!” Wow, I’ve never been ordered to kiss a five-year 0ld before, but I opted for a hug. (We also talked about how you need to ask permission before hugging someone).