I had to.

This morning I had a lot to do before school started. That means more work than I really had time for. But don't worry, my kindergartners started a fight on the playground before school, so instead of doing that work, I was having to be down at the office, dealing with unruly children.

So, here's the basic interview process when talking to kindergartners about fighting...

"So, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Child A: "I fighted him and he fought back!"

That's right. That was this child's argument for why he should not be responsible for what happened. Then, I turned to the other child.

"So, would you like to tell me what happened?"
Child B: "He hit me, and so I had to hit him back!"

Hitting him back including repeatedly slamming his backpack over the other child's head. Had to. There weren't other options. HAD TO.

Later that day we were still having troubles with several of the other children keeping their hands to themselves. So, we talked about what those behaviors would lead to, including being sent to the principal's office. And do you know what the response was?
"I like Mr. Adams!"

Kindergartners! So, I had to finish that threat with, "You'll go to the principal's office... and then he'll call the police!"

That finally got their attention. Maybe a little extreme... but when you spend all day everyday with five year olds, your thought process gets a little out of whack. :) I had to say it. I HAD TO.