A cute story about my hair and my students.

[PrincessBob]

As part of my Japanese Language program at Uni, I am participating in a capstone course where I volunteer once a week as an assistant teacher at the local international school. It is a school with several language immersion courses. Basically it's a regular elementary school with classes taught entirely in a given language up through fifth grade. I think they offer Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and French. I volunteer with the pre-kindergarten Japanese class.
Every Monday, I come in during nap time just before the morning volunteer leaves; while the main teacher is taking lunch. I clean up their lunch table then join the other volunteer, K-sensei, in supervising nap-time. The main teacher, J-sensei usually arrives as nap-time is winding up and a few of the children have begun the free-time activity session (usually drawing or crafts). You will have to imagine that these conversations were taking place entirely in Japanese (names altered for privacy).

J-sensei: "Ah! PrincessBob-sensei, you are here. This morning I told the kids, 'today PrincessBob-sensei will be coming in the afternoon.' Everyone was asking 'which one is PrincessBob-sensei?'" (They have a different afternoon volunteer for each day of the week). "Well, I told them that PrincessBob-sensei is the one with really, really long, pretty hair. Do you know what M-chan asked me? She asked, 'what does she do when she has to go potty?' I told her you probably pull it over your shoulder. I was hoping you could answer that for her."
PrincessBob: "Well, if it is down when I need to use the restroom, I pull it around the front. Yes."
J-sensei: "M-chan! She brings it around the front!"

Later this afternoon I was asked to supervise S-chan when he went to the bathroom. He was very chatty.
S-chan: "The toilets are different. If you're a little girl you sit, but if you're a little boy you stand" He said from behind the Urinal divider.
PrincessBob: "It is often just as you say."
S-chan: "PrincessBob-sensei, every time your hair is different."
PrincessBob: "Yes, because it is long, I have fun with it."
S-chan: "Next time it will be different."

Later during snack time (just about the time when parents arrive to pick the kids up) my bun grew lopsided, so I took it down while the kids ate. It was all loose and there was M-chan, sitting across the room, watching me. Her eyes were huge and she wasn't eating her snack. She patted her mother's leg and pointed at me. I didn't hear what she said, but she was miming pulling hair over her shoulder, so I have a decent guess :rolleyes:.

I am really loving working with these four-year-olds, because they are genuine and soooo cute.:cheese:

Do you have any little kids and your hair stories?

[Kristin]

I work with 3-year-ols at Sunday school. They don't often say things about my hair, but they pet me. A lot. And it amuses them to stick my hair stick in my cleavage. I don't find it so funny, though.

My 8th graders talk about my hair all the time, but I'm not usually included in the conversation. They just loudly talk about it while I stand there, listening to them debate whether or not it is too long or if I should cut it and discussing my braiding skills, hair accessories, and the possibility that I wear extensions.

[AnqeIicDemise]

Hahaha! I totally envision it. Ah, kids. So cute. ^-^

[patienceneeded]

I teach 8th grade and one of my students called me over to her desk one day...

Student: "Mrs. Mac? You always have such pretty hair. Do you have any hairspray I can use?"

Me: "Uhm, no. I don't use hairspray. Sorry."

She then asks me how I get my hair to look so nice if I don't use hairspray. Do I iron it? (no) Blow-dry it? (rarely) How often do I wash it? Etc...etc...etc...

[LornaDoone]

That is so funny! I love how kids just say whatever is on their mind! :)

A couple years ago, I was working at a summer day camp. One of my campers came up to me while I was redoing my french braid. This was the first time she had seen my hair down and she asked if she could touch it. I told her she could and as soon as she did, she said "Oh, your hair is so soft!" I was feeling quite pleased.

She then insisted that my hair had to be fake, because no real hair could be that long. I found myself arguing with a six year old: "Fake!" "Real!" "Fake!" "Real!" :rolleyes:

I'm still not sure I convinced her.

[PixxieStix]

D'wah! That's pretty cute. I love children, they see things no one else would see with amazing imaginations, and sometimes, practical questions. ;)

[misspurdy06]

One summer I was swimming with a friends kids with my hair down. One of the girls came up behind me in the water, grabbed my hair and said "Wow! Your hair is like rope!" She continued twisting it in her hand.

I didn't know what to say to that. My hair is long coarse and blonde it does feel like rope in the water.

[ohhiitssteph]

Hehe, I work for JumpStart and we tutor young children in "underprivileged" pre-schools. I hear plenty of funny comments about my hair! But mainly, my two partner children that I'm assigned to read with like to touch my hair and hold it up to their heads and pretend it's their own. I also have long side bangs that I often have to move out of my face, which I do by ruffling them, kind of... hard to explain! But now whenever my kids can see that my hair is in my face, they've taken to doing the "ruffling" for me and holding my hair up for me. It's adorable.

[turtlelover]

I had a 5 year old music student a couple of years ago that got REALLY REALLY upset after I had a major haircut and he refused to even look at me after the fact. He told his mom he didn't want to come back to piano lessons till my hair grew back! He was actually pretty traumatized and ended up quitting. Isn't that sad? I wonder what would make him react that extremely? :(

[lostchyld]

I had a 5 year old music student a couple of years ago that got REALLY REALLY upset after I had a major haircut and he refused to even look at me after the fact. He told his mom he didn't want to come back to piano lessons till my hair grew back! He was actually pretty traumatized and ended up quitting. Isn't that sad? I wonder what would make him react that extremely? :(

That's awful. I also wonder what would have made him react like that, especially if there wasn't a known issue present like Aspergers, Autism or other type of illness that would maybe present with a trigger like that.

[misspurdy06]

I had a 5 year old music student a couple of years ago that got REALLY REALLY upset after I had a major haircut and he refused to even look at me after the fact. He told his mom he didn't want to come back to piano lessons till my hair grew back! He was actually pretty traumatized and ended up quitting. Isn't that sad? I wonder what would make him react that extremely? :(
Maybe a lot was changing in his life and your hair was the final straw. Was he changing grades or moving or parents were fighting. It can be many things.

[sonrisa76]

turtlelover awww..does his mom have long hair or maybe you reminded him of someone very close to his heart :( all of these stories are too cute..i have 2 year old twins boy/girl and i cannot wait until i reach my hair goal to see their reactions :)

[turtlelover]

My student's mom did have longer hair, so maybe that had something to do with it. I felt soooo bad about the whole thing!

[novemberfoxtrot]

I'm a substitute and I had a 5th grade boy (who up to that point had not given me the time of day--early middle schooler syndrome) start quizzing me on my hair.

Finally he says, "your hair is fuzzy."
Me: "yes, I have curly hair and it gets fuzzy sometimes."
and he walked away.

Being the mature adult I am I did not say, "so's yours, buddy."

[fridgee]

Aw all these stories are so cute! I love kids! When I was a young teen I used to plait coloured thread/string into the front two sections of my hair (so I had 2 plaits coming from either side of my parting at the front). My baby cousin used to sit on my knee and pull them alternately like she was ringing bells, it kinda hurt but was so cute and funny at the same time!

[skaempfer]

Princess Bob, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. What fun kids!

About the little boy that got upset about your haircut, turtlelover- My best friend's son has "something"- the professionals are still arguing about whether it's autism or not, because some symptoms are spot on and some are so atypical. Anyway, she had her shoulder length hair cut up to chin length when he was about three. He refused to acknowledge her for several days after that. She grew it back to shoulder and has had the same hair cut since then; about 10 years. :rolleyes: We found out after that that the poor little guy was also extremely far sighted, so when she's blurry to begin with and the blur then changes it's outline shape- scary for little boy!

My middle daughter had never had a hair cut but was very active and sporty. She's also incredibly sensitive and anything I did with her hair gave her a headache very quickly. In about 2nd grade, she was fascinated that some of her colleagues got hair cuts. She didn't want all the hair (down to her butt by that time), but didn't want it cut either.
Because we had been trimming about twice a year, I knew she wasn't afraid it would hurt, as some small children are. It took me a while to put the pieces together; she thought it would change her personality if she had short hair! She really thought it would change who she was!
It's funny, in retrospect; sometimes a new hair style really can change the way you feel about yourself to the point where your behavior changes a bit- perhaps she picked up on that from her little school chums. She is very sensitive in many ways... :shrug:

[Seeshami]

That is cute!

My sister's kids have always been fascinated with hair. From Babies who tangle themselves up in it. Now to a 9 year old, 8 year old, 7.5 year old and 10 months, Auntie Seesha can have Leia Buns! Oh my goodness show us how to do Princess Leia Buns!! And how can we make Auntie Seesha's hair Princess Amidala hair?

Their step mother is a little freakishly obsessed with star wars. So I let them put lopsided buns on my ears and try to make it stand up in a pouf fan around my head but when the younger ones are distracted and it's just me and the oldest, the only girl my hair is just princess hair and all she wants is to wear my princess hair pretties.

I even told her she could keep one of my bun covers but she has it in her head that her hair has to be long like mine to use it.

[spidermom]

4 is such a charming age.

When my grandson was 2, my hair was loose one day when I bent over to pick him up, so my hair fell forward onto him. He pushed at it and said "get it off me!"

[CanadaSquirrel]

Later during snack time (just about the time when parents arrive to pick the kids up) my bun grew lopsided, so I took it down while the kids ate. It was all loose and there was M-chan, sitting across the room, watching me. Her eyes were huge and she wasn't eating her snack. She patted her mother's leg and pointed at me. I didn't hear what she said, but she was miming pulling hair over her shoulder, so I have a decent guess :rolleyes:.


I loved your story, PrincessBob! The part I quote above brought tears to my eyes, smiling as I imagined the little girl's bewildered expression as she communicated to he mother how impressed she was by your hair.

[turtlelover]

The little boy that freaked out when I cut my hair didn't have any autism symptoms that I was aware of, but something was definitely going on. I do remember once when I was in pre-school getting upset because my favorite teacher talked about getting her long hair cut, but I don't think I was upset to the point where I wouldn't have acknowledged her. I think in general I just liked long hair, and got upset when people cut it off. This poor little boy truly was freaked out to the point where I think he was afraid of me and I wasn't the same person in his eyes anymore. The theory about vision and perception issues being involved is interesting. I wish the mom had let us work through the issues instead of just pulling him out of lessons -- what did that teach the poor little guy?

[JaimeH]

Because we had been trimming about twice a year, I knew she wasn't afraid it would hurt, as some small children are. It took me a while to put the pieces together; she thought it would change her personality if she had short hair! She really thought it would change who she was!
It's funny, in retrospect; sometimes a new hair style really can change the way you feel about yourself to the point where your behavior changes a bit- perhaps she picked up on that from her little school chums. She is very sensitive in many ways... :shrug:

At 24, I somehow still think this way.. I feel like a different person when I have short hair as opposed to my long hair. I think I'm more.... umm sassy(lol) when my hair is short. And more laid back when mine is long...

[turtlelover]

Relating to kids traumatized by haircuts -- I remember being scared of people as a toddler when they would get new glasses and fearing that they weren't the same person. All of this psychological stuff is interesting, isn't it?

[Amber_Maiden]

AW! I loved reading what you wrote! Too cool!

This past summer, a little girl walked by a bench I was sitting on, with her mother in tow. As she walked by she stared at me, and then turned to her mom and said, "Mom, LOOK! Is that a fairy princess? Look at her hair!" Have no idea what her mom said to that.... lol :D

[GRU]

4 is such a charming age.

When my grandson was 2, my hair was loose one day when I bent over to pick him up, so my hair fell forward onto him. He pushed at it and said "get it off me!"

This sounds so familiar... if my hair is down and I'm hugging DS (12yo now, this has been going on for a few years), I'll invariably hear the "raspberry" sound as he's trying to blow my hair out of his face as it tries to strangle him!

[PrincessBob]

The little boy that freaked out when I cut my hair didn't have any autism symptoms that I was aware of, but something was definitely going on. I do remember once when I was in pre-school getting upset because my favorite teacher talked about getting her long hair cut, but I don't think I was upset to the point where I wouldn't have acknowledged her. I think in general I just liked long hair, and got upset when people cut it off. This poor little boy truly was freaked out to the point where I think he was afraid of me and I wasn't the same person in his eyes anymore. The theory about vision and perception issues being involved is interesting. I wish the mom had let us work through the issues instead of just pulling him out of lessons -- what did that teach the poor little guy?
Wow, I never really thought about it in terms of kids recognizing people. I guess that might be was S-chan was getting at.

[skaempfer]

It is odd, though, the emotional attachment some people (myself definitely included) have to hair. I had a friend who had always had golden bright blond curls down to classic. At about 20, she wanted a change and cut back to chin. Her father cried.

Is it inherent or culturally learned, do you think? This fascination with hair?

[kme81]

That is so cute! I can hardly type! That made me giggle so much!

[trolleypup]

Little kids are SO Real!

About the little boy that got upset about your haircut, [B]turtlelover- My best friend's son has "something"- the professionals are still arguing about whether it's autism or not, because some symptoms are spot on and some are so atypical. Anyway, she had her shoulder length hair cut up to chin length when he was about three. He refused to acknowledge her for several days after that. She grew it back to shoulder and has had the same hair cut since then; about 10 years. :rolleyes: We found out after that that the poor little guy was also extremely far sighted, so when she's blurry to begin with and the blur then changes it's outline shape- scary for little boy!
Some level of face-blindness, perhaps?

[hellucy]

Little children are so funny... they are so honest & it's lovely that they can get away with being a little rude all in the name of 'learning' about love, life & the universe!

[fridgee]

AW! I loved reading what you wrote! Too cool!

This past summer, a little girl walked by a bench I was sitting on, with her mother in tow. As she walked by she stared at me, and then turned to her mom and said, "Mom, LOOK! Is that a fairy princess? Look at her hair!" Have no idea what her mom said to that.... lol :D

Wow that is amazing compliment! So cute! :D

[Carrie Ingalls]

Such a cute story PrincessBob, I love how little kids just say what is on their mind the way they see it.

I still remember the first time my youngest goddaughter saw my hair down, she was about 18months old. She just stared and stepped back, she wouldn't go near it for a couple minutes and then when she did she was soo gentle with it.

There was also a time I was in the locker room at the pool and a little girl (4 or 5 maybe) saw it and pointed it out to her mom by saying "mommy, she has hair like Upunzel." to which the mother said nothing so again she said "she has hair like UPUNZEL!" As I was leaving I gave the little girl a princess wave. It was just too cute!