Familiarity Breeds Germs!

 Indulge me dear readers as I share this next brief account of an encounter I had in the classroom today.
       It was fairly mellow this morning considering it was our first day back from spring break and the students were relatively focused and on task.  After recess on Monday's I usually introduce several new concepts for the week and then the first graders begin working on their weekend writing assignments while the kindergarteners continue adding to their alphabet books.  As we were wrapping up our writing time, several students had come up to my desk to ask for spelling help or direction once their assignments were complete.
     About two minutes before I rang the bell to clean up, one of my kindergarteners approached my desk with a determined look on his face.  As I was finishing up an email, I quickly asked how I could help him (while multi-tasking) and did not make eye contact.  He began to pause, which caught my attention.  It seemed at first that he had forgotten his train of thought, until I realized he just wanted to be near me, like my little shadow.  Because we had a minute I indulged him and asked him how his vacation went, in which he nonchalantly shrugged and replied it was good.
     As he began to ask me what I was doing, he rather impulsively and without any warning shot his hand out and stuck it into a plastic cup on my desk containing trail mix.  I was so shocked I actually laughed out loud, then proceeded to ask him what he was thinking.  I've never encountered a student who felt comfortable enough to touch my food.  It is usually an unspoken but clearly communicated rule between teacher and students that all things on the teachers' desk are strictly prohibited.
This little guy clearly didn't get the memo.  I was so surprised and somewhat flustered but all together amused that I ended up turning the situation into a mini lesson about germs.  Its funny how the important things you end up teaching kids are usually in response to a "real life" situation.  I had to explain that if he continued to touch my food (with his unwashed hands) that I would probably get sick and not be able to teach.  After hearing that, he promised to never do that again which also made me smile.  This was a very funny and endearing memory that I will tuck away for safe keeping.
   I guess this is just a perfect example of the unpredictability of your average five year old and the fact that a child's brain is wired very differently than an adult.