Welcome to kindergarten at Anytown Country Day School. Come on in and pick a role. You can be the teacher, lower school head, Madeline's parent, Liam's parent, or any child sitting in the circle. Now, just settle into the moment.
It's September and it's circle time in the kindergarten classroom. Children are taking turns sharing information about who is in their families. Kids are talking about their moms, dads, brothers, sisters, pets, and grandparents. Madeline, a five-year-old with lesbian parents, says, "I have a Mommy and a Momma and a dog named Zack." A girl named Betsy asks Madeline, "How come you don't have a dad?" Madeline doesn't answer right away and another child, Liam, says, "There has to be a daddy because you need a seed." Madeline shrugs and says, "No there doesn't." The children look puzzled and turn to their teacher.
Take a deep breath. Depending on what role you chose, I am curious about how you feel at this moment. If you're the teacher, you may feel anxious about how to respond appropriately. If you're the lower school head, you may be a bit worried about how parents will react to this kind of conversation taking place in the kindergarten circle. If you're Madeline's parent, you might be holding your breath to see how all this plays out, as Madeline does not have a lot of experience explaining her family configuration to people. As Liam's parent, you may be pleased (chagrined? surprised?) at how much information he absorbed from that Nova special you watched last week, "Reproduction from Bees to Bears to Babies!" And if you're a child in the circle, you may be learning something new about different kinds of families and also wondering when snack is. yanzic0507.
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