On Kindergarten Behavior.....

So, after carefully watching my kindergartner every morning (as well as all the other kids) while waiting for the bell to ring I finally realized something. That whole clique-lets be mean together-exclude others behavior starts between the age of 4 and 5. After the first two days of school I could see it already....the soon-to-be popular in elementary school girls, blonde hair and blue eyes making them all look like sisters, automatically (or maybe magnetically?) clumped together the instant they were in the gate. Others (mostly darker hair, or wearing glasses or slightly--but cutely--chubby) were left out in the sandbox to fend for themselves, or wandered walking alone along the curbs of the sandbox desperately trying to seem entertained by themselves. It hurts to watch. I saw one poor little chubby bespectacled girl get snubbed by another girl--hair slicked back into a cute braid and trendy clothes on. My heart felt a little stab on her behalf. Her face showed that she didn't know what to do or say, but she flushed bright red and looked very, very sad, that kind of straight into the soul sad that only little kids can show so easily and honestly. Every morning I watch the same course of events unfold and every time I wonder to myself "Doesn't his/her parent see that?" I know they do, because they are standing right there outside the gates watching too, but it doesn't register a bit on their face. Not even a flicker....and each time another small ounce of my pounds of faith in man disappears. It's a limited supply.