Problems

When we were coming inside yesterday afternoon, there were all sorts of conflict happening and half a dozen pouting faces.  Since we were about to have our end of the day group time, I put the book aside and we talked about some problems.  It seemed like the children were focused on pointing out what was wrong, so we started there.  I asked, "What is a problem that you are having?"

Al: Yu shouted at me.

Yu: I was trying to get out of the boat and Jo didn't move.

Jo: Yu pushed me.

Jos: I didn't play with Lou.

Me: Yu scratched me.

Lo: Someone roared at me!

Ya: I saw that Me, she was sad, and my heart was hurt.

This conversation made me a little nervous in the sense that fingers were being pointed and names were being used, but anonymity isn't a concept we have discussed.  No one got defensive; no one got angry that they were being "told on", and no one misunderstood the topic.  There actually seemed to be a number of problems that the children wanted to get out in the open.  Ya's comment about her heart struck me - her problem was not a physical one, or even a visible one at that.  But she took her friend's problem on as her own in a different way.