Making a Big Deal Over Small Things

About a week ago, my mom says pretty loudly, "Oh, crap!" I say, "What's wrong?" She responds, "I forgot to eat strawberries today." I stare at her in shock. When someone says oh crap! and sounds concerned, you think something horrible has happened. I respond laughing, "You sound like the kids at school. 'Oh no, I forgot my pencil!'" Kids tend to be overly dramatic over the smallest things. It takes every ounce of fiber in me not to laugh at them when they say stuff like that. I think I have developed quite the poker face when kids say funny things. It's almost expected now. I've had kids cry over a broken pencil (when I was in 1st grade, I cried over a broken pencil, too, so I shouldn't laugh at this), cry when they can't log in, and cry when someone budges them in line. The biggest thing for kids is getting in line first to go somewhere. They will sprint from the computer to get in line. Sometimes they will still have headphones on and will almost take the computer with them. I cringe every time I see a student run in my room because I worry that they forgot to take the headphones off. It's amazing how dramatic young kids can be about the smallest things to adults. To them, these small issues are the biggest thing in the world. I tell kids all the time, "If that is your biggest problem all day, you are having a great day." Before you get worked up over the smallest things, think about how other people will react to your overreaction.