Fool

Confession: When I learned "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes," as a kid I didn't know what I was doing. I just followed my teacher and, when in doubt, cheated by sneaking a peak at the other kids. In time, I learned that those words corresponded to parts of my body.

Last Friday I introduced the idea of credit scores to six to nine year olds. We started by drawing a parallel to the grades they got in school and how an A brought a smiley face and how an F brought a sad face which they drew on strips of paper. It progressed into the a good credit score will make college tuition and home ownership more affordable while poor credit will make it more expensive. It culminated in the following song with corresponding dance moves:

Don't be a fool,

pay on time.

Get 850

on your credit score line.

As a teacher who assisted in the class told me afterward, "They didn't understand most of that." 

That's fine. They probably didn't understand "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" the first time they did it either. But it built a connection between words, objects and actions. And each time they did it it made more sense.

Along the same lines I've planted a seed. I've introduced terms to their vocabulary that they wouldn't have otherwise learned till it was, perhaps, too late. Terms that I'll continue to use the rest of the fall. Terms that they will see in action as their in-class credit scores go up and down.