KINDERGARTEN RUG TIME — At this time a year ago, I was teaching kindergarten, which, as one can imagine, is one of the best jobs on the planet.
Not only do you get to be in a room full of 5-year-olds, but you get to listen to a stream of consciousness that reaches beyond anything my 43-year-old brain could conjure up.
With the school year coming to a close, I was reminiscing about my days calling on "quiet kids with pockets on the floor and hands raised," and remembering the good times. Then, this video by kindergarten teacher Josh King came up on my social media feed, and I remembered that calling on a kindergartener – even if they are following the rules – is something that rarely goes as planned.
"OK, friends. What is another word that rhymes with dog?" Mr. King asked while holding a Heggerty book (I can spot a Heggerty book a mile away). To which the students, all played by him, responded in complete, unrelated sentences.
"I have a dog," was one student's response. "I have five dogs, but one of them is in heaven now," was another.
The video goes on and on with responses that I'm assuming are based on real-life interactions Mr. King has had with his students. My assumption is based on knowing that these interactions do, in fact, happen a lot in kindergarten.
For the record, there really is no better place than a kindergarten class — where rolling on the floor, whether you're laughing, crying or just wanna do it, is completely normal. Where words don't have to make sense because you're still learning them. Where the wiggles wiggle even when you're told to keep them in. Oh, to be a kindergartener again and be able to say the words that come to your mind — yes, even things like, "When's lunch?" at all times of the day — especially at rug time.
On behalf of all kindergarten teachers, current and former, I want to wish the kindergarten graduating class of 2026 a giant congratulations. First grade is cool, but kindergarten is where it's at.
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Arianne Brown
