Poetry

First grade poetry is the best! We have been writing poems for the past couple weeks and I am so excited about what the kids have come up with. Even my kids who have struggled the most with writing this year have been producing the best poems. My student who has had the most difficulty with writing this year, B., has been impressing me with his series of poems about a fictional man. Here is the first one he wrote (dictated to me, his writing still is just squiggles and lines):

There was a man
He was on an island
He met a girl
They went on a date
It was wonderful
They had dinner
She liked him
We don't know why
They went to a boat
And they got off
And they went to San Francisco
And they got married
They lived happily ever after.


The next one, seemingly about the same man:


Sad man
He lost something
Something that was in his heart
It was sad sad sad
It was his wife.


I love these poems! They are so mysterious. I especially love them because B., who for so many hours in the past has twiddled his pencil in the air instead of writing, writes them. B. surprised me recently when he was asked what he would wish for if he got three wishes. He said (1) money (2) video games (3) to have books everywhere. I was shocked and thrilled by the third response.

I think the thing I'm most proud of this year is that nearly all my kids have started to love books. I catch them randomly going up to people and saying "I love books." If the person they approach is another member of my class they'll go "Me too!" and possibly embrace. If the person is not a member of our class, they'll usually look confused by this random utterance. I'm so glad that my students are the ones who take books out to recess and who constantly declare their love for books

Godzilla Playing a Flute

A couple days ago I had my students make thank you cards for our volunteer music teacher. As N. was making his card, I looked over his shoulder and saw him carefully sketching a picture. "What are you drawing?" I asked him. He looked at me and replied, "Godzilla playing a flute." The best thing ever!

During this same card making session, I read a message A. was writing to the music teacher. "Dear Butterfly," it started. "When will you land on my flower? When will you suck my nectar?" What the hell?! I kept coming back and looking at A.'s writing, wondering why this sweet 6-year-old was writing this stoner-like message to our music teacher. I finally asked her what she was writing, to which she simply replied, "A poem."

Over the past few days whenever I've felt sad I've just had to say one thing to myself in order to cheer up: Godzilla playing a flute.