Hit me with another lesson.

The bub and I hit two different parks this morning. We happened upon the second park at the same time as two classes of preschoolers were enjoying their recess time. The bub really loves being around older kids and thus delighted in chasing after the big kids. I delighted in the stimulating conversations I was able to have with some of the schoolchildren. Here is a sample of a conversation that really tickled me.

A girl who is going to be five in December (I know because she told me) asks me, "Do you want to see something?" You bet I do. She hangs from a bar and kicks her legs. Not Cirque de Soleil but I heap the praise on.

"I'm in preschool," she boasts.

"You are? Wow. What do you learn in preschool?"

She pauses to consider and then replies, "Not to hit."

This is not the answer I was expecting. I decide to dig a little deeper. "What else do you learn at preschool?"

She looks at her friend for ideas. The friend has nothing to offer. She then comes up with another detail. "We sleep. No talking during sleep time."

Now the former teacher in me is concerned. Surely learning not to hit and not to talk during nap time cannot be the highlights of preschool. "What else do you do at preschool?"

She considers carefully and then reports, "There are toys there." Okay, better. She ponders again and adds, "We read books."

I am now smiling like a maniac and looking to build on this insight. "Do you learn your letters?"

She nods yes to that and then proceeds to affirm that they also learn colors and how to count. She then offers this important fact, "That gray-haired lady over there is not really my teacher. My teacher is at a meeting." She, of course, points to the gray-haired lady who is roughly three feet away.

Soon enough, she is bored of me and heads toward the slide with the bub on her tail.

"Not to hit." That cracked me up.