Speaking of Talking

My girls go to a very small school. This school is small enough that the gym teacher who teaches Alyssa’s fifth grade class also teaches Olivia’s kindergarten class.

I believe I’ve mentioned before that Alyssa loves rules. When I told her the day before her first day of kindergarten that one of the rules at school was that if a teacher talked to her she had to reply back to him/her. She took my word as gospel and has never had trouble talking to her teachers after they’ve asked her a question.

As we all know, Olivia on the other hand, shrugs in the face of rules. Rules, schmules, she says.

Alyssa came home the other day and told us, “My gym teacher told me today that my sister won’t talk to him.”

I laughed, “Well, duh! She won’t talk to anyone at school.”

She continued, “He asked if she talks to me.”

“Did you answer?” I wanted to know.

She rolled her eyes at me (she’s getting pretty good at that eye-rolling business), “Of course I did. You know if a teacher talks to you, you have to answer back.”

I nodded.

“I told him that sometimes Olivia talks so much at home that I beg her to be quiet.”

“Did he believe you?”

“He laughed and said he hopes she’ll talk to him someday.”

I sighed, “Don’t we all?”

Through all this, Olivia listened and when Alyssa was finished with the story, she informed Olivia, “You know you’re supposed to talk to your teachers when they talk to you, right?”

Olivia grinned and shrugged. I'm surrounded by grinning shruggers and eye-rollers. I’m just trying to keep it together from one day to the next.