The POWER of a Name

I think I've found this year's Miss Personality! I have a new referral, a second grade girl with style galore, lots of charm, and a real way with words. During our initial conversation this week, she was telling me about her friends. She mentioned classroom and neighborhood peers and then thought back to last school year. It was easy for her to remember the first name of this particular friend, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the last name. With furrowed brow, she looked down and tapped her forehead with her index finger, deep in concentration. "Her last name was something like a lightning bolt," my friend said, and she drew a vertical zig-zag in the air. Since she couldn't solve the puzzle right then and there, we moved on, discussing school, teacher, homework, and family. About 15 minutes later, my visitor blurted excitedly, "Shock! It was Shock!" And she clapped her hands with glee. Of course I could understand how the connections in her mind had worked to figure out that elusive last name, as a lightning bolt could indeed deliver a mighty shock. Stay tuned, as I'm sure I'll have lots more snippets to write about this little character! 

A "Memorable" Moment

BOLO: I think that means "Be on the lookout" in police lingo. Well that's also one of the tasks our school staff is charged with during the first weeks of school. We are to be on the lookout for children who need help finding their classrooms due to the newness of the school year. You see, we have a unique setting due to the fact that we have about 1000 kindergarten, first, and second graders in a humongous physical facility. There are 50 homerooms, not to mention classrooms and offices galore for support staff. Eight of our classes are housed in portables, which means that children have to follow the winding sidewalk to their classes. Although I'm sure many students feel overwhelmed at first, we have scads of caring adults helping them find just the spot they're looking for. During the first week of school, I ran into a brand new second grader, a handsome blond boy who'd transferred to us from another town. Noticing his confused demeanor, I offered to help him find his way, which was a bit convoluted due to the fact that his new class was located in one of the outside classrooms. As we walked together, I remarked that I realized he had lots of new things to learn about...friends, his teacher, schoolwork, and his big new school building. With his chatty personality, the little boy agreed but volunteered more positive information. "I do have ONE thing that I already know, though. It's my lunch number. I know it so well that I can't get it out of my mind. It just goes around and around in my brain." Now our students' lunch numbers are located on tags that they wear around their necks to the cafeteria, where the tags are scanned for lunch charges. The numbers are several digits long and not very easy to memorize. Smiling down at him, I said, "Oh really? Those are hard to remember. What IS your lunch number?" Looking straight ahead, the personable child shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly quipped, "I forgot", and he moseyed on into class, leaving me on the sidewalk giggling!

First Day Jitters

Tears, fears, and thumping hearts. Yes, these are common during the first days of primary school. I've been on early morning duty for the past two weeks, which means that I hang out in the cafeteria to supervise children who arrive at school earlier than 7:30. Since the bell rings at 7:45, hundreds and hundreds of students fill our lunchroom for 20 minutes or so as they wait for classrooms to open. One spiky-haired little boy caught my attention the first day because he came in crying, and I noticed that he continued to quietly do so as he sat at a table with his head down. I could see those shaking shoulders and feel the child's misery. Kneeling down to check on him, I discovered that he was brand new at our school, a first grader who'd transferred from another town. Because our school is huge, with around 1000 K-2 children, I knew this boy must be overwhelmed with anxiety about finding his classroom, meeting a new teacher and lots of fellow classmates, and catching on to how first grade at a new school works. For the rest of his wait in the cafeteria, I stood nearby, occasionally rubbing his back and reminding him that he was safe and that I would help him find his classroom. I was proud of his efforts to try to stop crying and keep the volume low, and I knew this was a real struggle for him and that he wanted his mommy. When the time came for dismissal, the splotchy-faced little boy stood up, wiped his face on his sleeve, took a deep breath, and offered me his very moist and sticky hand. Knowing what was on that hand, a hesitated a fraction of a second, but of course compassion and empathy kicked in and took over. As I took his hand to walk him down the hall, warm feelings overtook me and I actually felt my own thumping heart and sting of tears. Sometimes you just have these moments when you know you're doing what you're supposed to be doing with your life, and there's no better feeling in the whole world. Later in the day, the teacher reported that my new friend had calmed down and been smiling within five minutes, which is often the case. Throughout the week, I kept my eyes on the little boy as he waited in the lunchroom before school started. For a few days, I did see some tears and a lowered head, but I noticed how kind other children were to him when they noticed his struggles. This past week, which was the second week of school, I saw no tears at all, so my new friend has found his wings and is ready to take off into the adventure of first grade! I'm quite thankful for the small moments of every day in which I clearly see the evidence of children's learning and growing!