Running Commentary

One of my favorite students is a five-year-old boy who has an almost constant running commentary in reaction to what he sees and hears around him.  A lot of the time it is phrased and said in a way that seems to convey his utter disbelief in fairly believable and certain things.  For example:

1. Last week I was changing my shoes to go outside for recess.  For a few seconds, my bare feet were exposed as I slipped into my boots.  One kid noticed and said “Look!  Teacher’s toes!”  prompting a chorus of giggles from nearby students.  This boy looked at me with a puzzled expression and said, “No, you don’t have toes!” 

2. One recent afternoon at group meeting time, the teacher I work with was telling the class that she was going to her daughter’s swim meet over the weekend.  Most of the kids reacted by yelling out something - either what they were doing over the weekend, or something they wanted to share about swimming.  This boy said, loudly for us to all hear, “Uh-uh, you can’t swim!”