My Brain is a Bouncy Ball

My Brain is a Bouncy Ball

It was a sunny, happy morning at preschool. “Good morning, friends!” called Ms. Mia. “GOOD MORNING!” shouted the class. The children sat on the rug.

Well… almost everyone. Jayden was upside down. “Look! My shoes are waving at me!"

Ms. Mia held up a book. "Today, we're learning about animals!" Jayden looked at the book Then the window Then a tiny Ant. I wonder if ants wear shoes? BOING!

Do fish get thirsty? BOING! What if the moon is made of cheese? BOING BOING? Jayden's brain had so many thoughts, it felt like a bouncy ball!

"Friends, please get your crayons and paper" said Ms. Mia Everyone got started. Jayden looked around. He had a block, a sock, and a toy dinosaur. He blinked. "Are we making a sock dinosaur?"

Jayden wanted to draw. He really did! But his brain had bounce from crayons to dinosaurs to lunch. "Wait.. what was I supposed to do?" He scratched his head. "My thought went BOING without me!"

Jayden's smile disappeared. "Why is it so hard to remember? He whispered. Sometimes, Jayden felt frustrated when his body wanted to wiggle and his thoughts wouldn't slow down. He wasn't trying to be silly. He was trying his best.

Ms.Mia came over and knelt beside him. "Look like your brain has lots of thoughts today" she said Jayden nodded. "My brain is a BOUNCY BALL!" Ms. Mia smiled. "That sounds like a busy day inside your head."

"Some children have ADHD," explain Ms. Mia "ADHD can make paying attention, waiting, or sitting still harder sometimes." Jayden listened. "Does that mean my brain is bad?" "OH, NO!" Said Ms.Mia. "Your brain is yours, and you deserve help when things feel tricky." Jayden smiled a little.

Suddenly, Jayden's knees started bouncing. His toes tapped. his fingers wiggled. He said "My body feels like POPCORN!" "would a movement break help?" asked Ms. Mia. "YES PLEASE!"

Jayden stretched his arms way up high. "I'm a giraffe!" Then he stood on his tiptoes. "Look at my super-long neck!" His classmates giggled. Jayden giggled, too.

Next, Jayden tucked his arms against his sides. Waddle, Waddle, WADDLE! "im a penguin!" He took little steps across the rug. The he flapped his arms. "BUCK-BUCK-BUCK-BA-GAWK!" "That's a chicken!" laughed Ava "oops!" said Jayden. "Wrong animal!"

Ms.Mia showed Jayden three picture cards "first, LOOK." Jayden look. "Next, Listen" Jayden listened. "Then, DO!" "Pick up your red crayon" She said. Jayden picked it up. "I DID IT!"

Jayden looked at his paper. First, he drew a circle. Then, a tiny nose. "it's a cat!" He grinned. "One thing at a time helps me catch my thoughts!" He said.

Crash! A tower of blocks tumbled across the room. Jayden jumped up. "EARTHQUAKE!" He ran to see what happened. Then he stopped. "Oh! I was drawing my cat!" His brain had bounced away again.

Jayden took a slow breath. In.... Out... He looked at his picture. "I can come back and try again!" Ms. Mia smiled. "That's right! getting distracted doesn't mean you can't finish later." Jayden picked his crayon.

At circle time, Ms. Mia asked, "what helps you learn?" "I like pictures!" said Ava "I like nearing directions twice! said Mateo. "I like a quiet spot!" Jayden raise his hand. "I like stretching and doing one thing at a time!"

Jayden made a special plan. When things felt tricky, He could: LOOK at pictures. ASK for help. MOVE his body. TRY one thing at a time. "I'm ready" he announced. His rainbow ball happily beside him.

The next morning was a show-and-tell. Jayden bounced excitedly. He opened his backpack. Out came a spoon. A toy dinosaur. A banana. and one very fluffy sock. Ms.Mia raised an eyebrow. "interesting collecting, Jayden!"

Jayden peeked inside his backpack again. "No, no, no!" He moved the spoon. He move the dinosaur. "where is my bouncy ball?" Everyone looked around. Then Jayden spotted something strange. A little googly eye was peeking out from behind the toy basket.

BOING! Jayden pulled out his rainbow ball. But it slipped! BOING! It bounced off a cushion. BOING! It bounced under a chair. BOING! It bounced past Ms. Mia. And then… PLOP! It landed inside the toy laundry basket!

Ms. Mia lifted the basket. Everyone gasped. Inside was… MR. PICKLES! The classroom’s missing sock puppet! “WE FOUND MR. PICKLES!” shouted the children. Jayden’s eyes grew as big as saucers. “My ball found a friend!”

Jayden hugged Mr. Pickles. “I’m so happy you’re back!” Suddenly, the puppet’s mouth opened. “HELLO, FRIENDS!” Everyone jumped. Jayden peeked inside. There was a tiny wind-up toy hiding in the puppet! “WAIT A MINUTE!” he laughed. “Even Mr. Pickles has surprises in his head!”

At the end of the day, Jayden felt proud. His thoughts still bounced. His feet still wiggled. Sometimes, listening was still tricky. But he knew he could ask for help, take a break, and try again. “My brain is a bouncy ball,” he said. “And I’m learning how to catch my thoughts!”

Jayden waved goodbye. “See you tomorrow, Ms. Mia!” He put Mr. Pickles in his backpack. He put his crayons away. He remembered his lunchbox. “Look at me! I remembered EVERYTHING!”

Then— BOING! A rainbow ball bounced right onto his head. Jayden giggled. “Oh, BOUNCY BRAIN!” And somewhere inside his backpack… “HELLO, FRIENDS!” Mr. Pickles was talking again! THE END!