Child Development- 1st Period- Class #12
The class got into the Danger Shop today, and Lily quickly ushered them into a circle on the floor. "Hi, guys!" she greeted them. "Today we're going to talk about school age kids. Okay, technically you all are school age kids, but we're mostly talking about ages seven to thirteen. Think first grade through junior high. By now, your kids have pretty much hit all the developmental milestones you really notice and celebrate. As the kids get oler there's less and less you want to be 'yay' about, and more things people kind of want to shove under the rug and pretend isn't happening, like puberty, and how that one kid who was simply the first grade troublemaker is having his first run-in with juvie by seventh grade. We'll get more into that kind of thing later. Children this age are trying to be more adult. They socialize more, they're starting to feel peer pressure and doing stupid things just like grown ups. They curse like sailors and think they don't notice until their little six-year-old brother starts using the F-word in class and rats their big sibling out when you ask where he learned that word. Pretty much, they now have excuses to start behaving like brats, and you'd be terrified to know how many of them just stay that way.
"But there are good things about the early school years," said Lily. "Unfortunately I can't talk about them at length so while we're here in the Share Circle, you're all going to get to probably make up share one good memory about your years in school from first grade till eighth. And no matter what your trauma, everyone has to have one good thing they remember from back then, even if it was just that they had vending machines that sold Jolt or something. Work with me here. If you want to share annoyances you had in school, that's fine, too. You can talk about anything in the Share Circle, and I'll be over there playing my guitar for you all."
"But there are good things about the early school years," said Lily. "Unfortunately I can't talk about them at length so while we're here in the Share Circle, you're all going to get to probably make up share one good memory about your years in school from first grade till eighth. And no matter what your trauma, everyone has to have one good thing they remember from back then, even if it was just that they had vending machines that sold Jolt or something. Work with me here. If you want to share annoyances you had in school, that's fine, too. You can talk about anything in the Share Circle, and I'll be over there playing my guitar for you all."