The mind of a five year old...

This spring I've been coaching a soccer team made of 11 four and five year olds, and let me tell you, they have quite the imaginations! It's a challenge to keep them all interested in what I'm saying and what we're doing, but we're all (the other girls on my college team each have their own team as well) having so much fun with our itty bitties, though I'm not sure how much soccer we're actually learning. :) When I get back to my room after coaching, I try to remember some of the high quality statements they make at a given practice/game session. Like I said, quite the imaginations. So I've written down some of my favorites, and am now sharing them with you! I'll add more later as they occur so be sure to check back later in the spring! We're about half way through the season now, and I expect there will be MANY more funny things my kids will have said as we finish out. So enjoy these ones for now!

-Rachel: Who can tell me one thing we learned on Monday?
Kids: NO PICKING THE GRASS!!!!!!!!!
Rachel: ....yes....we did discuss this.
*disclaimer. I did not tell them they could not pick the grass. They brought it up. I merely enforced it after it was brought up.


-Gavin: Mom! How many did I score??
Gavin's Mom: Three! One for us and two for the other team!
*we don't actually keep score. Which is good. Because they usually don't score on the right goal. It's a work in progress.


-Kids: Are we done yet??
Rachel: Um no. It's halftime...sorry.

-I can go 500 fast in these shoes!...I can go 5 million fast...I can... (you get the idea, and yes, they do phrase it just like this. 500 fast.)


-Nico: My mom is 40 now. Her birthday was last month. Before Trent and Tanner's. They're twins.
*I'm sure her mom was thrilled that Nico told me several times her mom is now 40.


-Boy: You know, we have to wait for my birthday. Because it's February 15th!
Rachel: Wow! You do have to wait for your birthday!

-Rachel: Audrey, why are you crying?
Audrey: I'm not crying. I just have some tears that wanted to get out.
*I understand, Audrey. I understand completely.


-Gavin: What's this? (Pointing to the bottom of his shoe...in the middle of a game.)
Rachel: It's a Puma.
Gavin: What's a Puma?
Rachel: It's a cat. A big cat.
Audrey: No. It's a tiger.
*this is the second time we've discussed the bottom of our cleats. The first time involved me describing the different brand symbols we find on our cleats. It also involved explaining what the pokey parts of are cleats are. As in...the cleats. Rachel B was told that the cleat part keeps our shoes clean, because it keeps them up off the mud.


-Trent: I got new shoes at home. Not soccer shoes though. Just shoes.

-Audrey: I think I must have earrings in. I can feel circles.
*she doesn't have her ears pierced.


-Gavin: Why do you have short pants on?
*I was wearing shorts. The same as all my kids. You just can't tell on them because their shorts come down to their cleats.


-Grady: What's this? (Pointing to the Kingsbury Park District on his shirt)
Rachel: That's for the Park District.
Grady: Why's it there?
Rachel: ....So we know where you play?

-Rachel: Ava, do you want to come play now?
Ava: No. I have to balance.
*balancing means walking along the sideline without falling off.


-Gavin: C'mon man!!
*while nearly tackling Trent to the ground


-Carolyn: Nico, what kind of gatorade is your favorite?
Nico: Yemon Yime.

That's all I've got for now. But like I said, we're only half way through! So be sure to check back. As I get to know my kids better, I'm enjoying so much seeing their different personalities come out. They are all so stinking cute! And I'm having so much fun being their coach, teaching them (hopefully!) a little bit of the game I love, and hearing the wonderful things they say. The mind of a four or five year old is a beautiful thing. They aren't afraid to say exactly what is on their mind. They aren't afraid of what anyone thinks. They just say and do whatever it is they want. True, this does cause problems when I have to constantly remind them to get out of the puddle, or that we can't play on the playground till later. But they don't let fear of what someone else will say or think keep them back from just... being. I love it! And I don't even mind having to keep reminding them of things when I see how excited they get every time they score a goal, even if it was for the other team. ;)