He said the "S" word?!?!

Today Jack tagged along with me to work. He loves coming with me and is always a big hit with the kids and my co-workers. he is one of the older kids now and he loves that so, he helps out by making sure kids follow the rules. He was really chatty today. Socializing with the other kids and participating in group, it helped that today's story was Where the Wild Things Are a bed time favorite that we read at least once a week.

During outside free flow I was inside tidying up after snack. One of our students came in and said "Jackson said a bad word!" I was in shock! Jack is a total rule follower and never does anything to upset the apple cart. I asked what he said. "The "S" word!" was the response.

Aaaaaaahhhhhh! I go out to the play yard to question Jack. I ask him if he said a bad thing, he responds "Yes... it was a accident...." with tears streaming down his face. He runs off totally ashamed...

I ask the boy what word he said that begins with the letter "S". He says he can't say it, his Mom would get mad.

I am mortified! Here I am, one of the teachers who's child should set an example for the rest and he's swearing in front of the students! And to top it all off he never swears!?!?! I let Jack cool down and come over to me and ask him if he is ready to talk about what happened. He explains that he was frustrated that the block structure he built fell over and said the word. I ask again what word he said (expecting the worst) he says, with his head hung, "I said..... Stupid."