I don't remember how I learned this concept...

so I'm having some trouble teaching it to Big Girl. How did you learn that it wasn't cool to cut in line? She keeps cutting in front of the boys so she can stand next to her friend at swim class. This often means that, as soon as she gets out of the pool, she cuts right back to the front of the line to stand next to her chum. I call her on it, and her swim teacher does too, but she seems oblivious and/or clueless so far.

She's quite the daydreamer in swim class, too - she gets caught up in her own thing and doesn't always pay attention. Meanwhile I'm sitting over to the side watching her, just waiting for the teacher to ask her to do something, at which point he will have to explain it to her again. When this type of situation arises in my own classes, I find it exceptionally frustrating. I think it's a developmental thing with Big Girl, as opposed to the unabashed slackness I see in the college classes I teach.

Big Girl has this wonderful imaginative personality, and she's easily distracted - and since this is quite different from the way I function, it's a bit tricky for me to know how to help her while at the same time respecting her individualism and spirit. This is something we'll have to work on. I try to think about it in terms of the way I get completely caught up in a book, to the point that I'm unaware of anything around me. She seems to make this shift quite easily when she's enjoying herself, and her timing doesn't always match the expectations of adults around her. Suggestions welcome!