If *you* only had a brain....

GR brought one of her kiddos over to my room today because he (G) had been fighting with another boy while she'd been trying to meet with her reading groups. She set him up at a quiet desk to write about what he'd done while I finished up a lesson with my kids. I finished the lesson and went over to talk to him about why he was in my room and wasn't welcome in GR's room.

I ask him what happened and he told me he was playing a game and T wanted to play with him but he told T he couldn't play because T is mean. And the two started fighting. So I asked him if thought what he'd done (not letting T play) was a nice thing to do or a mean thing. He said it was mean. And I helped him draw the connection to the fact that not letting T play was just as mean as T when he is mean and blah blah blah. So I get him set up writing two apology notes: one to his teacher and one to T.

About twenty minutes later, G has still not written anything! His reason: "My brain doesn't work in this room! It can't stretch out the words to listen for the sounds in this room! I feel left out in here." His exact wording. Fifteen minutes later and he still doesn't have anything. His reason: "My brain felt left out and it went back to my classroom. I can't do it without my brain! It left me. I lost it." Okay kid. Whatever.

Solution: "G, this is a problem. We have to get your brain back."
G: "I know! But I don't know how."
Me: "I do. Trust me. I deal with runaway brains a lot. You have to do something you know how to do first. Write your name on the top of your paper." He does. "Your brain had to come back for you to do that. Now quick! Let's trap it with your thinking cap before it can escape again!"
I pretend to tie the straps on his thinking cap down under his chin quickly.

It worked. The kid wrote a few sentences and was able to go back to his class. What a little weirdo! But the highlight of my day!