Yellow

This afternoon with our calm music playing and the clouds rolling in I heard, "Mrs. Wolfe? My mom's yellow."

"Yellow?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's not the same color as me...she's yellow like you."
:)

I think it's amazing how five year olds aren't afraid to point out what's different about themselves compared to someone else they see. When do we lose that? Adults are so afraid that if they 'notice' what's different then they're being prejudiced.  If we pretend we don't notice then we're being ignorant. I think it's okay to notice the differences in ourselves...that's what makes us all who we are, so unique, so beautiful in our own way. My students are always telling each other what they see around them.

"His hair is really curly!"

"Her skin is darker than mine!" 

"His shirt has stripes on it!"
"Her eyes are a different shape than mine!"
"She doesn't hold her pencil like me!"

I love how innocent five year olds are...they're not being racist or putting anyone down because of what they look like, they're just curious and love to notice the world around them...they point it out and then move on with life. It's not a big deal. It's just who their friend is. 
And that's just the way it should be.