Friendly Ears

Friendly Ears

Cub and his best mate Sim want to make something special for their teacher’s birthday. One morning, Cub came running over to Sim with an idea. “Let’s make Mr. Cane a birthday card!” he said. “We can use blue paper, draw flowers, and have everyone sign it.” “That sounds sweet” Sim said. However Sim was already thinking about recess and whether his friends would play basketball with him. He nodded at Cub, even though he hadn’t really paid much attention to Cub.

The next morning, Sim showed up with purple construction paper. “Why did you bring purple paper?” Cub cried. “We were going to use blue!” he said bummed out. Sim looked cluelessly back. “You said to bring paper!” “I did, but I said blue paper!” Sim felt terrible. He hadn’t meant to ruin their surprise. He just hadn’t been listening very well to Cub the day before.

“I’m sorry, Cub,” Sim said. “Can you tell me the plan one more time?” This time, Sim put away his basketball and turned to face him. She watched his face and listened until he finished talking. Cub explained the plan again. Sim noticing how excited he looked while he talked about the card. Sim was finally giving him his full attention instead of just hearing his voice and day dreaming.

As Cub explained, Sim started to pictured the card in his head. “So, blue paper, flowers, and everyone’s names?” He asked to verify. “Yes!” Cub said with joy. Sim understood what Cub had envisioned. He connected his words with the art projects they had done together before. Now he understood the plan instead of just remembering a few words.

Before they started, Sim repeated the plan to himself. “Blue paper, flowers, everyone’s names, and Cub brings the markers,” he said under his breath. Sim even wrote the supplies in his notebook so he wouldn’t forget anything. Sim had learned that remembering what someone says is important, especially when you’re working together on something.

Sim looked at their supplies. They had blue paper and markers, but he wasn’t sure if they needed glue. Instead of guessing, he thought about what they were making and decided to ask Cub. “Do we need glue, too?” he asked. “Good thinking!” Cub said. “We do!” Sim also learned to think critically about what he heard instead of making assumptions.

Together, Sim and Cub made the biggest, coolest birthday card together in the class. Sim smiled and said, “So, we used blue paper, drew flowers, and had everyone sign it. Did we forget anything?” Cub eagerly double checked over the card. “Nope! We did it!” Sim felt accomplished. By repeating the plan and asking questions, he made sure they understood each other this time around.

When Mr. Cane walked into the classroom, everyone shouted, “Happy Birthday!” He had seen the giant blue card and smiled. “You made this for me? I love it!” Sim was happy, but he also learned something important. Listening wasn’t just about hearing words. It meant paying attention, understanding what someone wanted, remembering the details, thinking things through, and responding. From then on, Sim tried a little harder to listen when people talked. Sim learned that sometimes the best way to show someone you care is to stop, look, and really hear what they have to say.