Letters to the Teacher

My school curriculum has a section for seatwork. The children do seatwork while I am in reading groups. One of the items for them to do for seatwork was to write a letter to their teacher (that's me!). So, I wanted to share a few of them with you. I'm going to type them how they wrote it. Now, I'm "fluent" in first grade (regarding their spelling!). So, if you have any questions and don't know what they are saying, please feel free to leave me a comment and ask. I will translate! :-) Also, excuse the fact that there is not much punctuation. We are learning.
Here's the first one:
Miss Prgone My best fren you make me better wem I'm sad and I'm mad Miss Prgone you have teached me olot thank you Miss Prgone.
He did misspell my name, but that is o-kay. I was really touched by this one. This child who wrote this often gives me trouble. So, it was really encouraging to read this.
The next note:
Dear miss pregony. I think that you are a grate and you help us whin we nede help and you help us whin we are hurt thank you for that love........
She signed the note, but I do not put the names of my students on this blog. But, I thought this was sweet.
This is the last one I will share with you:
I love you ver. if God said you can be a teacher I wold lern from you. my best teacher. I wish I was apart of your famlyay your so nice to me. the best teacher. I thank you for teaching me to do the right thangs and teaching me about God I want to call you momy so bad but I cant. I love you very mush evry thang you did to me was nice I love it when you do it. thank you for doing in thank you very mush
How sweet is this! I about cried when she thanked me for teaching her about God. That's the main goal! I also was touched when she said that she wishes she could be in my family and call me mommy. WOW!
These letters to me are a blessing! I wanted to share with you on things that 'babes' wrote. Hopefully you enjoyed on what came from the pencil of my 'babes.'

"I Want to Live in China"

Today at the end of one of my reading groups, one of my little girls said, "I want to live in China." I asked, "Why?" She said, "So, I can speak Spanish." I laughed and said, "What did you say?" She repeated it. Then I told her, China speaks Chinese and that Mexico, Spain, and a lot of South America speaks Spanish. It was just so funny, so I wanted to share on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Jesus is Always with Us

Today, I went to an AWANA activity for the third and fourth grade girls I work with at church. We set this activity up to help them with their sections, since we lost some time due to snow this year. The kids said sections, but we also had fun! Got to have fun!!
Well, I was helping "my girl" with her sections. One section says that she has to bring two visitors to AWANAS. She said she brought her brother one Wednesday, but he ended up in church because he wasn't feeling well. That did count! She then said that Jesus is always with her, so He came to AWANAS, too. Well, she is true! Jesus is always with us, and He has been in AWANAS. It just made me laugh that she thought of that. I asked her where she heard that from (I didn't know if maybe her parents told her to say that). She said that she learned that from the Bible, that Jesus is always with her. Wow! All she said is true. It is also a blessing! By the way, I did count that. So, she finished her section. :-) I just had to share with you on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"The Children Without a Mother and a Father"

Each class that I have taught has been different-- children are different. Last years class was very tender to the things of the Lord. I LOVED that about them! This class, until recently, hasn't showed that side. But, lately, the things they pray for during prayer time has been so touching. One little girl this week prayed for "the children without a mother and a father." Now, I don't know where that came from but WOW! It was so touching! I just had to share on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"A Love Song"

My students LOVE to talk!! One time when they love to talk to me is during reading group. If I'm not careful, that can get out of hand (too much time taken!) So, I started this week with "share time." After we are done reading, each student can tell me one thing--- anything they want to share with me.
Today one of my kids said, "Last night I wrote a song." So, I acted excited. I said, "Wow! What kind of song?" He said, "A love song." I then said, "To who?" He said, "To me." So, I have a first grader who wrote a love song to himself. I thought that was quite funny, so I wanted to share on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Behave"

Today, one of my little girls passed a note to a boy in my class. The note had only one word on it: "Behave." Now, I think this is funny for a few reasons. One, she passed a note. Two, the message is quite funny. Three, the boy she gave it to is VERY well behaved, most of the time. The girl who passed the note is one who does not always behave. So, I just thought it was funny that she passed it to him. Yes, I laughed when I read the note. I thought it was cute, so I wanted to share what a "babe" did.

Made Up Game

Last night, I was able to babysit for two of my favorite little men-- ages 8 and 6. Part of the night we watched Charlie Brown movies. That was neat; it has been FOREVER since I watched a Charlie Brown movie. After that, we played games. However, the games we played they made up. There was one game that I was amazed at. The 6 year old took a piece of paper and drew four circles- one in each corner. Then, he drew a bigger circle in the middle. He gave us pennies. We had to flick the penny to the middle circle without getting "bumped" by another penny. If we got "bumped" out, then you were out of the game and lost. Well, I lost! But, I thought it was such a neat and clever idea. I wanted to share what a "babe" did/came up with.

This is a picture of the game board. He called this game Penny Bingo.

"It is Supposed to be 65 Degrees...."

There is a girl in my class that has naturally curly hair, and I do, too. So, one time a couple of months ago we had planned to straighten our hair at the same time to be "twins." Awhile after that, we had a day that our clothes matched (black shirt and jean skirt), but we did not do it on purpose. So, we've decided that we will have a "twin" day again, with straight hair and matching outfits. Now, if you know anything about curly hair, you cannot straighten it if it is going to rain. If the straight hair gets wet, it curls again. So, I really plan my "straightening" on the weather. Well, we were talking about "being twins" today. She said, "Let's do it Monday, if it doesn't rain." Then, we were talking about matching clothes, and she said, "It is supposed to be 65 degrees on Monday." So, I have a little weather girl in my class. I just thought it was funny that she knew what the temperature was going to be. I asked her how she knew and she said, "Because my mom made me watch the news." I thought it was cute and funny on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Shot by a Really Mean Person"

In first grade, I teach my students what a sentence is and how to write sentences. Well, we have moved up from writing sentences to writing stories. This week my kids wrote their first story!! Their story had to be about President Abraham Lincoln. This is a several day process. I first teach them what a title is. Then, I read some information to them about President Lincoln. Then, the students have to come up with titles for their story. Then, we take two days for them to write their stories. I gave them some basic information about President Lincoln like: where he was born, he didn't go to school, he was honest, he became a lawyer, and he was our 16th President. I also told them that he was assassinated (shot) by a bad person while President Lincoln was watching a play at a theater. I also told them he was one of two Presidents that have been assassinated. I told them that many years later President John F. Kennedy was also assassinated.
I've told my kids that I am the "editor." So, they write their stories, and I make corrections before they write it on a special piece of paper made for their Lincoln stories. Well, as I was "editing" the stories, one of them was just TOO funny!! The beginning of this girl's story was good and truthful. Towards the end she said that President Lincoln was shot while watching a play at a theater. He was shot by a really mean person. His name was John F. Kennedy. Oh, I busted out laughing and said, "No!" I didn't teach my kids that.... I promise! But, I thought it was SO funny. Don't worry, I fixed it on her paper and told her that he was shot by John Wilkes Booth.
I got a laugh from it and so did a few of my teacher friends. I thought you might get a laugh from what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Telling a Friend About Jesus

Today, one of my girls told me that she went to Barnes & Nobles this weekend. She said that at Barnes & Nobles she made a new friend. I love that about this age; they make friends so quickly. She told me that while she was talking to her new friend that she told her new friend about Jesus. How exciting is that! I was excited to hear that she did something (tell someone about Jesus) we talk about in class-- not keeping Jesus a "secret." I was excited about the news, and I wanted to share with you something a "babe" did.