Hot Chocolate

Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed or depressed because of mounting Covid anxiety, I can count on Circle Time with Timmy to provide some levity in my day. It isn't that Circle Time is terribly entertaining for me (although Timmy now loves it), but my entertainment comes from not knowing what will come out of my little cherub's mouth. Yesterday did not disappoint. 

As the students were busy cutting, painting and gluing their turkey crafts, the teacher felt the need to keep the dialog moving. I get it. I used to be a teacher, and the desire to keep talking is strong. While the kids were crafting, the teacher was asking each student questions. 

While Timmy was working on painting rainbow legs on a paper turkey, his teacher asked him what he eats on Thanksgiving. Timmy responded, "turkey." Then she asked, "What kind of turkey do you like to eat Timmy?" Timmy stopped painting, put down his colors and looked directly at the camera. "Dead turkeys." Then he picked up his paints and continued working.  

In a separate class (he has two Circle Time classes on Tuesday, each one themed differently), the class read a book about hot chocolate. The teacher then asked each student what they like to put in their hot chocolate. As she was polling each student for an answer I knew that Timmy was going to struggle. He doesn't drink hot chocolate, and we haven't exactly offered him a selection of toppings for a drink he doesn't enjoy. 

The teacher went through the class, asking each student what they liked in their hot chocolate. The first student said marshmallows. I saw the look of disappointment wash across Timmy's face. That was probably his only answer. The next student offered whipped cream as a topping. Sprinkles and chocolate were then blurted out by the other students. By the time the teacher called on Timmy, I could almost see the wheels turning in his brain as he frantically tried to think of a topping in hot chocolate.

"Timmy, what do you like in your hot chocolate?"

Hmm. "I don't know. Maybe whiskey?"

I almost spit my coffee across the table.