There are a few new students in Kellan's preschool class so I asked him if he knew their names. He was noncommittal, so I told him it was important to be kind and welcoming to the new kids, especially since they were still learning the ropes in class. I also added that showing kindness to people you don't know very well makes them feel good, and he could end up with a new friend.
Kellan thought about what I said and asked, "If Blackbeard was falling off a ship, do I have to be kind and save him?" Right now Kellan is obsessed with Blackbeard the pirate and all his frightening deeds. In his mind, Blackbeard is the worst person he could think of and wondered if we needed to be kind even to someone like him.
I said maybe if more people were nice to Blackbeard, he
would not have ended up so scary. So yes, we should save Blackbeard if he was
falling off a ship. I wasn't actually trying to teach him a lesson other than
reaching out to some of the new kids in his class, but children have a way of
really getting the deeper meaning of things. It's pretty amazing.
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