“Guess what Mrs. Anne Marie?!” It’s four-year-old Jacob, interrupting me as I am helping another child in my preschool class write the ever-tricky letter “S.”
“What honey?”
“I have a Wii!” He says in his not-yet-perfect speech.
“You have to wee? Okay pumpkin, don’t forget to wash your hands when you’re done.” I turn my attention back to the child I was working with.
“No, Mrs. Anne Marie, I don’t have to go potty. I said I have a Wii.” He is a bit exasperated.
“You have a wee? Let’s not talk like that in school Jacob,” I say, in my warm-and-fuzzy firm voice.
“No, Mrs. Anne Marie,” pipes in Johnny, who is playing nearby in the blocks. “He said he has a Wii.”
“Yes, I heard him Johnny. No potty talk in school, boys.” I remind them again.
“You have a Wii?! So do I!” exclaims Ashley, as her head pops up from the Play-Doh cookies she was making.
I pause and listen as she asks Jacob which game he has and I get an “ah ha” moment.
“Could one of you tell me what a Wii is?” I ask them.
As they all talk at once, I figure out that Wii is a game system!
Maybe there should be a yearly class or at the very least an updated memo that keeps us oldsters up-to-date on these things!
(I changed the names of the children but it is a true story.)