The yellow pot...

At Malia's preschool they have a disciplinary system that is color coordinated like a stop light. The green pot means go and that the child is being good. The yellow pot is a warning and tells the child to stop and think about their actions before they get into more trouble. The red pot means stop, and the child's teacher conferences with the parent to decide corrective action for the child. The children each have a stick with a ladybug attached to it that has their name on it. At the beginning of the day they put the ladybug in the green pot. Malia is almost always in the green pot and hasn't been in the yellow pot since the beginning of the school year. Today when I picked her up she was in the yellow pot. When I got her out to the car I asked her what happened today that she ended up in the yellow pot. (Mind you there were 2 other kids in the yellow pot as well). So she tells me what the other kids did but not what she did. I told her she was only in trouble for being in the yellow pot and she wouldn't get into more trouble if she told me what happened, just that we would talk about good behavior and good choices. She still wasn't able to tell me, I'm not sure if it was her inability to express what she did or fear but she woudn't tell me.

So we called and spoke with her teacher who explained to us that Malia and another girl (one of the other kids in the yellow pot) were asked to go into the bathroom to wash their hands. When they didn't come out of the bathroom they went to check on them and found them playing in the water and with the paper towels. They had even stuffed paper towels down the toilet. I know Malia has done similar things at home but it hasn't happened in a very long time and it's surprising that she did this at school. Her teacher was even surprised as she is usually very quiet and does exactly as she is instructed.

So here I sit embarassed by my child's actions. The only thing I could think of to have her do is to apologize to her teachers on Monday when she goes back to school. I'm sure that will be hard enough for her to do as she feels very badly about what she did. I'm sure she was drawn into this "fun" by the other child and I worry about whether my child will be a leader or a follower. If she's willing to do something as minor as messing up a bathroom what will she be doing as a teenager?