Cole's trickery (a.k.a. The Big Guns)

Sometimes, one of my kids surprises me with a thought process so unique, I am left in total awe. I hesitate to post this in the case it gets back to Cole's teachers. You'll understand why in a minute.

Cole and I were talking about his school day yesterday and he said he'd had a particularly good day. He'd even gotten through the one class he has a really hard time keeping quiet in. (side note: Cole's a talker)

So, he tells me that he likes to trick his teachers and I raise a cautious eyebrow and naturally ask, "How's that?" He smiles and says he started it with his 4th grade teacher (sorry, Mrs. Scroggins). The trick: He pretends he isn't listening then when the teacher calls on him to answer a question, he surprises them by knowing the answer.

I remain quiet because I find that if I do, I usually get more information than when I pepper the kids with questions. He continues:

"Whenever I want to trick my teacher into calling on me, I pull out my guns. Here's my regular guns." He pulls his feet up into his chair and looks down at his hands in his lap.

"Doing that usually works, but if not, I pull out the big guns." He transforms his hands into fighting creatures who are in an all out war - complete with quiet, albeit distracting noises.

"And if that doesn't work, well, I pull out the bazooka." He puts his feet back on the floor and stares forward, eyes glazed, mouth slightly open.

I'm trying very hard not to laugh, because I have a real concern about this 'trickery.' I ask him why he'd want to call that kind of negative attention to himself. He replies, "I like being called on and this is more effective than raising my hand."

And there you have it.