Since we are exactly one week away from Turkey Day I thought I'd fuel the anticipation by writing about something for which I'm thankful. That and with my first guests beginning to arrive today the likelihood that I'll be on the ball as Turkey Day draws nearer is slim.
Today I volunteered in one of my daughter's first grade classrooms teaching small group writing strategies. I do this two times a week and I always look forward to it. First graders are an interesting group. Their minds are beginning to mature and they are able to look at events with greater perspective, and yet their logic and reasoning is still so linear and simple. No matter what we do they always say something interesting or funny or completely unexpected.
Today we read a long and detailed story about a Pilgrim boy named Samuel. The objective was for them to listen to the story and then write about their favorite parts. They needed to have a distinct beginning, middle and end to their writing and they needed to provide sufficient detail to explain their choices.
We had finished the story and the children were engrossed in their writing with the exception of two little boys. Assuming that they were outlining their plans for recess I went over to help them get back on task. As I drew nearer I could hear their conversation, and it was so sweet that I stopped to listen:
Boy 1: I don't think so many Pilgrims would have died if they would have worn the right types of clothes.
Boy 2: Yeah, those white fluffy collars make them look like a bunch of dorks.
Boy 1: I know but, I mean, what if they used that material to make warmer clothes instead of fluffy collars. Maybe they would have stayed warmer and not died so much.
Boy 2: Grunts.
silence
Boy 2: More like they died because no one knew what anybody was talking about back then. Some guy probably said go find food, and the other guy went looking for firewood instead by mistake.
Note: The story was written in the voice of Samuel who lived in the 1600's. It was peppered with thou, and whilst, and coney and all sorts of stuff. It actually was a little hard to follow. Especially if you're in the first grade.
Boy 1: Grunts.
more silence.
Boy 1: You know what I'm thankful for? I'm thankful that turkeys are slow. If they were fast they would have gotten away and then we'd be eating something gross like a squirrel for Thanksgiving dinner.
Both: Ewwww!
Boy 2: I'm glad we don't live back then. I wouldn't want to wear those funny clothes. (Pause) Do you like my new Pokemon shirt?
Boy 1: Yeah, it's awesome. (Pause) But people still wear funny clothes now, too. Did you see that HUGE collar on Mrs. B's shirt? She would make a good Pilgrim.
At this point I stepped in. After all, they just called me a Pilgrim for pity sake. The cuteness had passed, and it was time to get back on task. As I took a seat between the two boys I glanced down at my charcoal gray cowl-necked sweater that had seemed quite fashionable this morning.
I know one of the things that I am truly thankful for:
other than the fact that we don't eat Thanksgiving squirrel - ewww!
first graders
sweet and innocent
observant and thoughtful without malice
blissfully uninhibited
brimming with promise
3 comments:
OMG, how cute are those boys? How did you keep a straight face? Kids. Gotta love them!
okay, i read that to tony on our romantic friday night chat sessions (notice I was reading your blog instead of romantic talking), anyhow, we LAUGHED out loud quite a bit. He said, "she is funny" (consider that a high compliment).
Later chica, thanks for making me laugh
What a funny story! Those boys sound so sweet and very amusing,... squirrel! EWWWWWWW
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