Miguel: Ms. Keddington, Jorge said "middle finger!"
Me: He said middle finger?
Miguel: Yes!
Me: Okay…
While walking to art one day…
Me: Jesus, why are you crying?Jesus: Because I’m the line leader, and Miguel is going in a different direction! I just wish he would follow the rules!
Me: I do, too, Jesus. I do, too.
***Jesus is a very sensitive child, obviously.
We had “Shark Week” about a month ago. This basically means that we read about sharks, wrote about sharks, talked about sharks, etc.
Me (reading): One shark may lose thousands of teeth in its lifetime.Cindy (completely seriously): But, do they get money or anything?
Me (while trying not to laugh): No, they don’t get money.
***I really want to know what kind of life she thinks sharks have. Maybe she’s been watching too much Sponge Bob.
Background info: In our class, the kids stand and recite our class rules every day. The class rules are as follows—1. Follow directions the first time, 2. Keep our hands, feet and objects to ourselves, 3. Use kind words, and not tease or give putdowns, and 4. Love each other, no matter what. The last rule is my favorite, because if any of my kids says or does anything negative to another student, all I have to say is, “Is that loving each other no matter what?” The students will immediately look down and soon after apologize. We also give each other the “I love you” sign in our class a lot. Actually, it’s funny, because sometimes my administrators will come in and think we are flashing gang signs or something because they will just do it in the middle of a lesson. Or, I make them do it when they are apologizing to someone. Really, it’s just adorable. They also will just randomly come up, in the middle of a lesson, to give me a hug, and they are always begging me to let them have a group hug. Also, We have been talking about the Civil Rights movement this week in preparation for Martin Luther King Day on Monday. I had explained to the kids that there were people who hated other people because of what they looked like.
Johan: Why would they be mean to people just because of what they looked like?
Melisa: Well, we have a sign and a rule that says that we love each other, no matter what. Not everyone has that.My heart melted.
***My kids love everybody—mission accomplished.
Jorge: Ms. Keddington, I don't want you to say my name like the Spanish way.
Me: Jorge, your name is Spanish. When I say your name, it will be in the Spanish way...Jorge: Oh...
While walking from music back to the classroom...
Me: 1st graders, thank you so much for walking quietly and with your hands behind your back. You are doing so well today.
Johan: We're not in 1st grade! We're in 2nd grade!
Me: Ummmm... No, you're not. You're in 1st grade.
Johan: Really? Huh.
***Maybe the Christmas break threw him off...?
Because none of my kids are proficient in English, they sometimes say things a little funny. For example, I am constantly reminding Mariano that when referring to a girl, the correct pronoun is “she,” not “he.” My new favorite thing is that my kids often get the /v/ sound and the /b/ sound mixed up. For some odd reason, the parents of my kids think it is freezing here or something, so they all wear coats and boots and stuff. Anyway, I love it when my kids say that they are wearing their “glubs” today, instead of “gloves.” I’m not sure why, but it cracks me up.
Anyway, that pretty much sums up my adventures in 1st grade. Because I am so tired of not being able to talk to my kids’ parents, I have actually enrolled in a Spanish class at Glendale Community College. I am pretty excited for that, although a little scared. But my kids are so excited that they can’t even stand it. I’m sure I will be asking them for help all the days.
Stay tuned for more updates… Hopefully…
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