One little boy sang:
"A-B-C-D-E-F-G,
How I wonder what you are."
Another sang --( I asked twice so I could write it down) --
A-B-C-D-E-F-D
H-I way K-L-M-N-B
Do R-X Y and C"
She said, "My mommy learned me how to sing it!"
I also had to ask them about what they would do if they broke something that belonged to someone else. Here are some of the answers:
"Say Sorry"
"Get a butt whuppin'"
"Fix it with tape"
"Buy a new one"
"Hide it so he won't see it"
Other unsolicited information I got:
"My sister poops in the bathtub"
"I have money in my pocket to get chewing gum"
"Mama says NO when I ask her to read to me. She is always sick and goes to sleep."
There were still many children who could not write even the first letter of their name, didn't recognize a single letter of the alphabet, never cut with a pair of scissors. I hope their parents act on our recommendations and get out the pencils and scissors and story books this summer. They don't seem to realize that part of the class will be learning to read books and write stories while the rest will still be learning to hold a pencil, write their name, and learn what A-B-C means. I will love and teach them all, but I wish all of them could be ready to learn when they step in my door. Looks like we will have a full house next year, and plenty of work to do!!
This was the 100th day of school -- the day was full of fun activities like making 100 bead necklaces, 100th day hats, 100th day glasses, 100 link paper chains, and writing numbers to 100 and "When I have $100, I will.... In the midst of all the craziness, my principal came in to do my observation. I was just starting to read one of my favorites, "The Wolf's Chicken Stew," and the kids were already pretty excited by the whole celebration, so their enthusiasm for the story was even higher than usual. I always ask lots of questions when I read, trying to elicit some of the higher order thinking skills -- but never knowing what kind of answers I will get. This was a very good day, though -- they were really on the ball. I asked "What happened at the beginning of the story?" One little boy said "The wolf went fishing." Now, there was nothing in the story about fishing, so I was a little doubtful about that answer, but then I noticed that there were fish bones on the wolf's dinner table in the first illustration. So I said,"How did you know he went fishing?" And another boy said, "I could infer from the picture." GREAT ANSWER! Then I asked if they could make a connection to another book, and hands went up everywhere. Lots of good answers, but the best was "Little Red Riding Hood because both the wolves were trying to trick someone." I keep a bucket of little plastic soldiers, firemen and policemen from the Dollar Tree on my desk to give to kids who use the "make a connection" strategy, because soldiers, firemen, and policemen use strategies in their jobs. They really rack their little brains to think up connections to books we have already read, and I am often amazed at their ideas. Anyway, my principal was impressed by the responses, and so was I -- sharing a good story is my favorite part of the day, especially when the kids get so excited about books and reading.
