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Just the other day, I was teaching Sally, about the concept of sharing. We pretended that we were hosting a tea party, and we drew the pictures of the invited guests – Mum, Dad, Grandma and Lilly; a total of four guests, or so I thought.
I got twenty counters out, and said that these were grapes. Sally had to share these equally with the guests. As she shared them out, there was suddenly another ‘pile of grapes’ appearing.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“That’s for me,” Sally replied. “You don’t expect me to do all the work, getting everything ready, and not join in the fun, do you?”
“No, of course not,” I replied, suitably chastened. “Carry on.”
Each guest received four grapes.
“Well done, Sally,” I said. “Now I want you to share the sandwiches. There are ten in total.”
Again, Sally shared the sandwiches equally.
Next it was the drinks – five in total, and equally shared.
Then I decided we needed more fruit.
“Here are five apples, Sally. Please share these,” I instructed.
Sally carefully went around and shared the apples. However, when I checked what she had done, I saw that everyone that one apple each, except for Sally and her Mum. Mum had two, and Sally had none.
“Sally,” I began, “what has happened? You haven’t shared the apples correctly.”
Sally looked at me and said, “Yes I have. Mum loves apples, and I hate them. I don’t want any apples!”
So there it is – sharing is not always about caring! And yet again, I had been taught an important lesson: When working with young children, be mindful of the content or theme you use, because if it isn’t engaging or connecting with the child, they may just send you the wrong message, even though they know, exactly what they are doing!
Cheers!