What do you want to be when you grow up?

This might be my favorite question to ask children. Their dreamy, unrealistic plans make me smile and inspire me.

Here are some responses I've gotten...

"an astronaut"

"a policeman"

"a skunk"

"a doctor"

"a mommy"

"a captain and a chef"

"a table seller"

"a horse doctor"


But today, I asked the question, and Giovanni's answer knocked my socks off! "Giovanni, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "Well, I pretty much want to be myself."

Oh. Yeah. It's not about doing. Our job title doesn't define us. It's about being. Being yourself.

Fables

Today the seventh graders came to our class to read some Fables and write stories. Two very wonderful things happened.

Mrs. Lewis (7th grade teacher) and I began to partner off the students: one seventh grader with each kindergartener. I told Mrs. Lewis that David is an English Language Learner whose first language is Russian, and would probably need another kindergarten partner to help him write his story. Mrs. Lewis told me that she has a girl in her class who is also an English Language Learner whose first language is Korean. This girl was terrified to read her fable. She was so nervous that her partner wouldn't be able to understand her story, or would think that she was dumb. David was a perfect fit. It was so sweet to watch them read and write together in broken English. Neither one could probably understand the other very well, but neither one cared. They knew first hand what the other had gone through this year: learning a new language in a new school. They smiled at each other and communicated more than words ever could.

Mrs. Lewis also has a student with autism. He has an aide who writes everything for him. He ended up being partnered with Luke. Luke's classmates describe him as "very quiet and very smart". Luke hardly ever speaks. Even when he is called on, it takes him a while to say something. I wondered how he was going to dictate a story. The boys went into the hallway to read and write their story. Ten minutes later, Mrs. Lewis came up to me with a look of surprise on her face. She was holding the story the boys had just written: Half a page about a little monkey named banana-lover who chases off a mean gorilla. She told me that she had never seen her student write that much on his own. I told her I had never heard Luke say so many words. I'm not exactly sure how they did it, but those boys were a perfect fit for each other.

This makes my heart smile

Sydney asks: Miss Terrill, can I tell you four things?

Yes, Sydney.

Okay, #1 I love horses.
# 2 I love unicorns.
# 3 I had a really good dream last night.
and #4 I love being at school.

Who will save the day?

My class wrote a story:

(If you are in kindergarten, this is the most exciting part of the story because you have never been on a school bus before).

But no story is complete without some conflict...

And the very exciting and terrifying climax...

Now there was some debate as to who was going to save the day.

We took a vote.

These were the results:

David's Dad-1

Miss Terrill -2

Mr. Jones-3

Ethan's Dog-3

God-5

I feel a bit slighted that I lost to Mr. Jones and Ethan's dog.

But I think God was most qualified to save the day.

A good resolution.

Questions for God

Writing prompt: What is your question for God?

Giovanni wanted to ask God when it was Monday. Why? He was going to his grandma's house on Monday, but wasn't quite sure when Monday would come along. I clarified that we should ask God a question that only he knows the answer to. He changed his question to, "Jesus, what r santos Wrkers name" (Translation: Jesus, What are Santa's worker's names? I decided to leave the theology of this question alone).

Other questions included:

How did God made the mon?

Where dus God Get his Powrs?

Where Duz God liV?

and my favorite...


? Hoo Poot the Glitr on the snO?



P.S. We don't do spelling tests in kindergarten :)

Welcome to Kindergarten!

This morning I told my class that I wanted to write some stories about them. They were pretty pumped and eager to help me brainstorm. I asked them what would be important for people to know about our class. Here they are-the 7 most important things you need to know about Miss Terrill's Kindergarten class in their words (and mine):

1. We sit at tables called desks. (in case you are unfamiliar with the term "desk")
2. We have a sight word wall.
3. Our class is so special to us.
4. Our class is the quietest class in the whole school. (that's what I tell them at least)
5. We have birthday crowns and birthday badges. (remember when paper crowns were as good as real ones?)
6. We do Bible verses and reading groups.
7. Miss Terrill is the best teacher in the whole wide world. (turns out)

There you have it. Those are the facts. Welcome to our class.

The truth is...

I think blogs are kind of weird. What's the point of a blog? It's essentially an online diary for everyone to read. Why would anyone care about reading my daily thoughts and musings? I mean, unless they gave birth to me (Jenni) or have a crush on me (Jordan), their interest is most likely minimal. Then again, being one of the nosiest people I know, I of all people should appreciate being able to read so many diaries. It's like my dream come true! But the truth remains that I am a judger. And I'll admit that I have judged some bloggers that I've known. But I'm going to put that behind me now, because I too have become a blogger. And if you are judging me right now, I completely understand. But just wait a little while...you'll probably become a blogger too someday.

So, onto the reason that I decided to ignore the side of me that screamed, "Don't do it! Bloggers are weird!" My kindergarten class.

I teach kindergarten, but it's probably more accurate to say that they teach me. Hardly a day goes by in which I'm not laughing hysterically (to myself of course because they don't know they are funny), or awed by their sweet wisdom and nearly moved to tears.

Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration. It's not that glamorous. There are plenty of days I want to pull all of my hair out.

But, I do learn a lot from them. And they make me laugh a lot. And sometimes they make me cry. (The happy tears). I did cry sad tears once when I took my first student to see the Principal. I had to remind myself that I wasn't the one in trouble. But that's another story for another time.

So, if you aren't going to judge me (or even if you are) come on back for some (hopefully) funny and heartwarming stories. It'll make your day a little happier.