After leading music with preschoolers, I put away my materials in the appropriate places. That meant that I walked up and down the hall and looked into classrooms. I stopped by one of the 2s classrooms. They were having a snack. I commented that I needed to get a snack, too.
"You are having goldfish crackers," I said. (I often state the obvious to preschoolers. It's a great conversation starter.) They responded to me and we talked for a minute. They told me that they had eaten chocolate basketballs, too. (Small chocolate balls wrapped in paper that looks like basketballs) "Wow," I said, "that sounds like a special treat." The teacher asked the kids if I needed to have a chocolate basketball, too, and they agreed. She handed me one.
I thanked them and began to unwrap my treat. One of the boys got up from the table and walked toward me. I turned to speak to him and encourage him to sit down again. (Wandering is an occupational hazard with 2s.) As I looked down, he extended his small hand toward me. In it was a goldfish cracker. He brought me one of the crackers from his stack, sharing his snack with me.
I felt extremely special and fortunate. I asked him if I was to eat it. (It's good to make sure with little kids what they are thinking.) He nodded. I took it and he went back to sit down and finish the snack.
I sat in my car to go home. I thought about the small cracker I had eaten, handed to me by a small boy. It was unprompted; no one asked to share cracker with me. It was a spontaneous act of generosity. And I'd say love.
I often joke about how popular I am among the preschool set. I call the 2s my "fan club." But I was humbled by the gift of that child. So many times I'm too concerned about what's mine or what I could lose by caring and giving. I hope I can be as generous and loving as a 2-year-old.
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