Recent rants and raves of my students...

The school year has started, since the 30th of Aug. I have 29 very wonderful kindergarteners, about a third of which are just 4 years old. :) My new class is called "New York University" and there are some definite personalities of the classroom.

Let's take Tyrell, a 4 year old cutie, super-small, huge cheeks, big brown eyes an adorable face, incredibly bright, but a consistent crier! He seems plagued by the fact that his parents are making him come to "this place" every day and that he has to go to afterschool (which he absolutely hates) afterwards. On his second day of school, Tyrell approached me as another school teacher coaxed him to greet me. "Ms. Jones," the teacher said, "Tyrell has something he'd like to say to you." I smiled at Tyrell as I waited for him to speak. Finally, he declared with watery eyes, "I want to go h--" "--Tyrell, that's not what you wanted to say, is it?" the teacher asked firmly. Tyrell looked down at the floor as I shook his hand. He reluctantly changed his response to, "It's going to be a good day." I laughed and replied, "Yes, Tyrell, it is going to be a great day!"

Then, there's August-- a cute little boy with bright eyes and a lot of ambition. Though not born in the month after which he is named (go fig.) his personality's got a fiery hot character all the same. He is well aware of his misbehaviors, yet frequenlty responds to redirections with "But, I didn't know!" "Well, August now you know and I know it won't happen again." He is proud of his small successes and loves pointing out to his teachers how "well" he opened his cereal or returned from the bathroom "all by himself." When chosen as "scholar of the day" he frequently redirected other children and told them how they "should" be sitting and paying attention. The morning meeting with my co-teacher kind of went like this, "So, scholars, today we will find out if it is snowy, sunny, rainy or cloudy." "Actually, Ms. Carpenter, " he interjects, "it's sunny!" August is essentially a teacher's pet with issues of his own. He's extremely funny to watch and see as the other kids have already picked up on him taking himself soooo seriously.

There's Thomas too: a little boy with many food allergies and a frustration with "not having any friends" and not knowing "if he was good today" or not. He also tries hard to do the right thing, but will shut down when it's pointed out that he's not. In the beginning of the year, he was sent to the Principal for not following directions in class and sometimes has to be separated from the group. Yet, he is very loving and caring. On the 5th day of school I had visibly come down with an awful cold, but tried to remain as active as I could for my students. Thomas looked up at me and asked, "Are you ok?" "Yes, Thomas," I semi-fibbed, "I'm fine." "Can I give you a hug?" he asked, seemingly seeing through my words. "Of course, Thomas!"

I also have Sammya, an adorable little girl who loves to smile. She has a speech impediment, but she has a huge amount of self-confidence and is never afraid to try. On the eve of her birthday last week, she came up to me after her reading group had ended and whispered very seriously, "Ms. Jones, I have something I need to tell you." "What is it, Sammya?" "My birthday is tomorrow. " So cute!

Another little cutie is TeLisha, who is a walking doll. She's got a tiny voice and is very pleasant, polite and caring. She loves greeting others in the morning by name and learning others' names. "Good morning, Christien," she'll say. "Thank you, Bria." Adorable!

"My mom says that's coloring ugly," states Jamel, another of my students, as he watches the child next to him color in a worksheet. He's a tough cookie, but a cookie, nonetheless. He's incredibly smart, gets easily bored, and loooves working on the computers. With time, hopefully, he will soften.

There's over 20 more little characters to name, but that will be for another day...
Teaching this year will be quite a trip, I can tell. As I taught my students a new game during their gym time, we all huddled in a circle as the goal was to use teamwork to pass a hula hoop around everyone's body without breaking hands. Without telling them what to say or how to support one another, they all simultaneously broke out in a whisper chant, "Go Jordan, Go Jordan," and so on to cheer each person on. When one student refused to have the hoop pass over his body, the students happily tried to get him to join in the group.

I've got a loving group of kids and I can't wait to see what else there is to come!