All this week when I've dropped my son off at school, small clumps of children have been waving to one another excitedly and hunching over patches of dirt and asphalt.
"Look! Look!" they say. "They're here!"
The teachers have been leaving small patches of gold glitter around - and helping the children to track them. The kids have been gathering the clues in cups and bottles and sharing them excitedly.
"It's the leprechauns!" said the children to me on Wednesday. Tomorrow we're building traps, and on Friday, they're coming to visit!"
I love my child's school. It's hilarious. The entire kindergarten population (two rooms) got together with glue guns and tongue depressors and toilet paper rolls and jars and ... oh, tons of stuff ... to make about 24 leprechaun traps. My son's was a toilet paper tube pointed up. At the bottom was some gold glitter, and, as he explained to me, "The leprechaun climbs down there to get the gold and it can't get back up and you trap it!"
On Thursday night, the traps were set and baited. The children went home, excited at catching a leprechaun of their very own (SO much cooler than a hampster.)
On Friday, when we went into school, we entered a mass of activity. The traps that had been set outside were torn apart and shredded. The classroom was an unholy mess. Every single trap was upended or on the floor or torn apart -- and there were green footprints everywhere! I have no idea how the teachers did it (someone's back must have really hurt!) but there were thousands of footprints, leading across the entire school yard (about 400 feet), back though the sand pit, around the house, and ... oh! the joy!
The children clumped around the teachers, and shoved and pointed. They hopped with happiness. The teachers led them on a romp for about 20 minutes until they discovered two small treasure chests, filled with gold (necklaces and small gold pieces). The children divvied up the stash, and wore their necklaces proudly all day.
After my son joined the fray, I walked into the Kindergarten classroom for a few minutes to admire the mess. Two boys from the third grade snuck into the classroom to look around. One of them said scornfully "The TEACHERS do all of this." The other boy said nothing.
Adult complicity to bring children joy and excitement is such a wonderful thing. I propose a toast to the St. Patrick's celebraters everywhere. And especially to the preschool and kindergarten teachers who help touch our children with magic and excitement -- even in the crushingly modern days of 2007.
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