Yesterday I helped out with reading and writing in Roccos classroom. As soon as I walked in I almost cried, mostly because anything slightly emotional lately makes me cry. (Yesterday, a mountain made me cry.) Sitting down in a chair and being called Miss Eden by a class of twenty delightful six-year olds who were so excited I was there? Cry.
Rocco has the best teacher. Last week I told him he had an amazing imagination and he said,
"I know! My teacher told me."
She noticed. I love good noticing skills.
Do you know how the roll is marked in schools these days? Electonically. The teacher sits at the magic whiteboard, and as each students name (and photo!) comes up on screen she calls their name.
"HERE."
Then she presses a button and the roll is dispatched to the school office. Electronically. Blew my mind.
The kids are studying Australia this term so straight up they sang Give Me A Home Among The Gumtrees, complete with hand actions. The little girl who started the day in tears was having a wonderful time in five minutes. A boy sat on the ground and just kept reading his book. The girls at the back were laughing hysterically. Rocco kept turning his blonde head every three seconds to make sure I was still there.
They then performed another song in my honour - The Skeleton Song. (Though back in my day it was called Dem Dry Bones and had much more of a sinister overtone.)
Suddenly I had Roccos reading group clamouring around me in a circle and they all took turns reading a story about baby mice. I said I didn't like mice because they stink and they looked at me horrified.
"You can't say that!"
The rest of the class swirled around us, all in their own circles, noisy and chatty and falling off chairs. It was completely absurd. One Ralph Wiggum-type character I took a real shine too - right in the middle of his reading he stuck his hand down his mouth and said,
"I can feel the inside of me!"
The children were instructed to treat me like a teacher. They got as close to me as possible, falling over themselves and their words to be heard, so I had to get a bit strict. Rocco took it upon himself to help me out. When it was his turn to read I was quietly beaming and bursting with pride, because he is off the wall when it comes to books. He's one of the best (the best?) reader in his class, which isn't too shabby considering he's the youngest. His pronunciation, inflection, tone, flow ... all top notch.
The next book we read was about a housewife who couldn't stand all the noise in her house. I related very, very much to this story. Then the kids had to write about their best holiday ever. Watching how the girls interacted was fascinating. Apparently, they ALL had best ever holidays in Port Macquarie? What were the chances! In fact, they all holidayed there at the same time. Actually .... turns out they're *pretty* sure they all had holiday houses next to each other. Port Macquarie is where it's at, people!
The quietest girl finished first so I asked if I could read her book. A few pages back she drew a picture of a princess holding a magic wand and wrote:
"If I had a magic wand I would wish to be as beautiful as a princess, so beautiful for ever."
I told her that she was so beautiful, more beautiful than any princess I had seen. She blushed and kept stealing glances at my tattoos.
Towards the end I started to reach my noise limit. I asked the teacher how she did this by herself and she just laughed because she just does it, you know? The children gave me a round of applause. Rocco clapped the loudest. I promised to go back again next week.
Rocco has the best teacher. Last week I told him he had an amazing imagination and he said,
"I know! My teacher told me."
She noticed. I love good noticing skills.
Do you know how the roll is marked in schools these days? Electonically. The teacher sits at the magic whiteboard, and as each students name (and photo!) comes up on screen she calls their name.
"HERE."
Then she presses a button and the roll is dispatched to the school office. Electronically. Blew my mind.
The kids are studying Australia this term so straight up they sang Give Me A Home Among The Gumtrees, complete with hand actions. The little girl who started the day in tears was having a wonderful time in five minutes. A boy sat on the ground and just kept reading his book. The girls at the back were laughing hysterically. Rocco kept turning his blonde head every three seconds to make sure I was still there.
They then performed another song in my honour - The Skeleton Song. (Though back in my day it was called Dem Dry Bones and had much more of a sinister overtone.)
Suddenly I had Roccos reading group clamouring around me in a circle and they all took turns reading a story about baby mice. I said I didn't like mice because they stink and they looked at me horrified.
"You can't say that!"
The rest of the class swirled around us, all in their own circles, noisy and chatty and falling off chairs. It was completely absurd. One Ralph Wiggum-type character I took a real shine too - right in the middle of his reading he stuck his hand down his mouth and said,
"I can feel the inside of me!"
The children were instructed to treat me like a teacher. They got as close to me as possible, falling over themselves and their words to be heard, so I had to get a bit strict. Rocco took it upon himself to help me out. When it was his turn to read I was quietly beaming and bursting with pride, because he is off the wall when it comes to books. He's one of the best (the best?) reader in his class, which isn't too shabby considering he's the youngest. His pronunciation, inflection, tone, flow ... all top notch.
The next book we read was about a housewife who couldn't stand all the noise in her house. I related very, very much to this story. Then the kids had to write about their best holiday ever. Watching how the girls interacted was fascinating. Apparently, they ALL had best ever holidays in Port Macquarie? What were the chances! In fact, they all holidayed there at the same time. Actually .... turns out they're *pretty* sure they all had holiday houses next to each other. Port Macquarie is where it's at, people!
The quietest girl finished first so I asked if I could read her book. A few pages back she drew a picture of a princess holding a magic wand and wrote:
"If I had a magic wand I would wish to be as beautiful as a princess, so beautiful for ever."
I told her that she was so beautiful, more beautiful than any princess I had seen. She blushed and kept stealing glances at my tattoos.
Towards the end I started to reach my noise limit. I asked the teacher how she did this by herself and she just laughed because she just does it, you know? The children gave me a round of applause. Rocco clapped the loudest. I promised to go back again next week.
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Write to be understood, speak to be heard. - Lawrence Powell