I Speak Whale!

Unfortunatly, I don't have the knack for keeping up on a blog. My goal was to keep a journal of stories from my classroom, but to be honest there haven't been too many worth writing about...until recently. I have a 5th grader in my room, whom I wrote earlier about in the Creation story. Well recently she informed me that she was bilingual, which shocked me. I've had her as a student in my class for 3 years now (second, 4th and now 5th grade). Her family only speaks English...and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what language she spoke other than English. While on a field trip, the class was asked if they spoke other languages besides English and with NO shame, this girl raised her hand and, of course, was called on immediatly (she has a way of doing that). Her second language: Whale! I sort of laughed and thought that was cute, until I realized that she was dead serious. She continued to tell about how she had learned to speak Whale on Finding Nemo and to my complete embarrassment, she demonstrated her Whale language with no fear. I wish I could spell the words (or sounds) that came from her mouth but as I sit at the keyboard looking for the right letters, I'm at a loss. I guess you could tune in to Finding Nemo for a sample! Now, the question I have is, do I inform this poor girl that she really isn't bilingual, or do I let her figure that out on her own?

My Job

I always get a little nervous on the first day of school. I decide what I'm wearing the night before and lay it out on the dresser. I get up way too early to make my lunch and make sure I have everything I need, and then I get to school where everything is already ready for the day and I sit at my desk. (This all wears off in a few months) I wonder what my kids will be like, I wonder if they'll be naughty. I wonder if they'll like me. (Kind of nerdy I know, I mean who cares if a ten year old doesn't like you?) It was all the same this year. But the first day came and went. So did the second and the third. On Friday, as I erased the white board and wrote Monday's date, I thought, "so this is what it's like to love your job". I do. It doesn't feel like a job. It feels like I am where I am supposed to be, and that is such a peaceful feeling. I'm so thankful for the Lord's provision in my life; for a job, a class full of kids that I love dearly, and for allowing me to feel at peace.

Meet "JOHN"

I'd like to introduce you to someone. We'll call him John . John is a student in my class this year. He is nine years old and looks to be in about the second grade. In fact when he came in the first day of school, I thought surely he was in the wrong classroom. Nope, he's a 4th grader. John has sloppy handwriting and writes in all capitols. He fidgets and talks and gets up out of his seat all the time. John is pencil thin, with big ears and the biggest hidden smile you've ever seen. I say hidden, because I know it's there, I've seen it. But it doesn't happen very often. It's hidden beneath a hardened face that sees foster homes and social workers on a regular basis. Hidden behind embarassement because school is just too hard for John. I didn't know John had a smile until just a couple of days ago. He asked how to spell math, so he could finish the sentence he was writing, "I hate...". I asked him what he thought it started with, and under an angry frown he wrote "M". I asked what came next and he wrote "A". And finally I said what makes a th sound like the...and he wrote "TH". I said, "John, you just wrote the word math", and I smiled at him. And under his angry frown, I spotted a hidden smile that stretched from one big ear to the other. And there was his sentence, complete with a capital and a period, I HATE MATH.

Creation

After studying Space last year, we went on a field trip to the Planetarium. We sat through a presentation from an evolutionists perspective, and then a girl in my class raised her hand to ask a question. She's one of those kids that you are always afraid will get called on by the speaker because you never really know what she will say. This is about how their conversation went:

Girl: I thought God made Earth.

Professor: Well, a lot of people believe that, but there is no real proof.

Girl: What if I told you there was a book that did prove it?

Professor: Really???

Girl: Yeah, the BIBLE! Ever heard of it?

We left quietly after that.

Lesson Learned: Do not be afraid to tell people what you believe.

Even 4th graders have a conscience...

I received this letter, during summer vacation, in the mail from a student. I guess she couldn't hold it in any longer. It was very sweet. However, it made me realize that maybe I haven't been spending enough time on spelling, so we'll work on that this year.

~Lesson Learned: It's never too late to apologize!