My 5-year-old was finally invited to join the “Spy Club” at preschool. The boys finally decided it was time to open the doors to Daniel. He was thrilled. So, from then on, everyday on the way out the door from school, he would fill me in on all the happenings.
The biggest project was “tricking girls.” They had one girl in particular they were
“tricking.” The trick involved making a book — with everything she HATES in it. They even found out that her least favorite color was black — so they were going to use black crayon. The plan was, once the book was complete, to sneak it into her “school mailbox” before she saw who did it.
Oh what fun they had planning that one. The book never got finished.
The idea of clubs and forts and having a group to belong to is important work for 4’s and 5’s. It’s a good challenge for teachers and others to allow the need to exclude and include, which seems to need to come before more permeable friendship boundaries, but keep it from becoming hurtful. Having kind of observed the Spy Club in operation, I can add to Susie’s story that the book didn’t make it into the girl’s mailbox, and the Club members were helped to redirect their creative energy! But I know that it was definitely a hot topic. It sure can be hard for parents to walk through this with children.
I think that is terribly cute haha 😀 Mean but cute – I’m sorry.
Yes, it was cute. And, I don’t think any of the boys in the class were trying to be mean — they were just doing what Donice said — they were busy doing the work of figuring out how to create their own boundaries.
And no, the book, didn’t make it into the girl’s mailbox — it was more fun to plan than to actually do. And, I will add, that the girl is someone Daniel considers a very good friend, and has even had her over for a playdate. So, all in good fun — he just wanted to have a plan.
And Daniel took the whole thing very seriously– which I also found important. I’m grateful he had the school that gave him the opportunity to have that chance to work through this important work.