This week I am leading games and music at St. George's Anglican Narnian Day Camp. I also play the part of Maugrim the Wolf. Today, of course, a boy was saying, "It's just a guy in a suit. Look, I can see his beard in his mouth!" It reminded me of the Grandfather in "The Princess Bride" after the boy tells him that he knew all along that Buttercup wouldn't marry that rotten Humperdinck: "Yes, you're very smart. Shut up."
I chose not to say this, however.
I wonder if they boy thought you were really trying to (or actually succeeding at) fool anyone with the costume. Of course you're a guy in a suit.
ReplyDeleteMy most kid-sympathetic theory is this: children are used to being put down, lied to, fooled, manipulated etc. by adults. Situations like this in which they have a little bit of knowledge/power are a chance for them to fight back.
ReplyDeleteNote that it really helps to hear Peter Falk's deadpan delivery of the grandfather's line in order to get the right effect.
I have been frustrated the last couple of days when trying to lead an unfamiliar game, requiring a bit of patience of the kids for it all to come together and make sense. Instead a vocal minority start to say "I'm bored" or more dogmatically "This is boring!" (Many kids are really really dogmatic. I don't know if you've noticed that.)
ReplyDeleteIn theory I believe that children should be allowed to express themselves (but they should be taught to do so accurately "I don't like this snack." rather than "This snack is gross!!" -- but when we are young we are indeed, we think, the centre of the universe and entitled to pronounce universally upon our experiences. Tangent: Was Jesus not like this?)
So I realized today that adults like me need to allow kids to express themselves thusly but more or less ...ummm...ignore them, that is, confidently move on, knowing that MOST of them will NOT be bored once they get playing (which I always try to make happen as soon as POSSIBLE).
Problem: such opinions "infect" others and dampen the mood and in fact kids now are more prone to just get up and leave, which is okay when it's just one, but problematic when we've already formed teams, picked partners etc.
So kids should not be allowed to yell "Fire" in a crowded theatre, but maybe loudly announcing the grossness, boringness or suckitude of things should be similarly prosecutable.
That is why I don't envy Angela in her job each year at Bible Day Camp, trying to introduce games and get the kids playing. She seems to know the games and the current names of the games that the kids play. I'm too old and so I just don't know them anymore.
ReplyDeleteJust think of how relaxing this weekend will be after such a week.