Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
“Oh! That’s my favorite color,” one of the boys announces.
“Green is a very cool color,” I tell him. “Today, we’re going to get to know each other. We’re going to take this.” I hold up the small squishy light-up ball that I bought over the weekend. “When you have the ball, it’s your turn to talk. I’ll start. My name is Miss Greene, and my favorite thing to do is read.” I smile at them. “Let’s start here.” I move to the left of the classroom and start with the little girl with the cutest pigtails. I hand her the ball. “Tell us your name and something about you. Favorite toy or color. Anything you want to tell us.”
“Macie is my name,” she tells us. “I don’t like the color green.” She wrinkles up her little nose. “Yellow is the bestest.” She hands the ball back to me.
“Yellow is a great color. It is the best,” I correct, but I know she doesn’t realize that’s what I’m doing. I move on down the line and eventually reach the little boy whose favorite color is green.
“My name is Finn, and I’m going to be a superhero when I grow up. A green one.” He pumps his little fist in the air, making the boys cheer and the girls giggle.
“Very ambitious, Finn.” I smile at him. He hands me the ball, and I move to the next in line. It’s a little girl with dark hair and big blue eyes.
“My name is Blakely Kincaid, but you can call me Blake. I have a new baby cousin, a new mommy, and I’m getting a baby brother!” Her eyes are sparkling with excitement. “Oh, and I have a gazillion uncles who like to buy me things and take me for ice cream to get me to tell them I’m their favorite.”
I have to bite down on my cheek to keep from laughing. There is no way that this little girl isn’t related to Rushton. “Wow,” I say when I realize she’s gazing up at me, waiting for a reply. “You had a busy summer.”
She nods. “So busy.”
She talks like she’s fifteen, not five. I move on down the line, letting each of them tell us their name and something about themselves. I’ve learned more about their families than I’m sure their parents would like.
For example, Sadie told us how her older brother got in trouble for showering with his girlfriend, but she doesn’t know why because she’s taken lots of baths with her cousin Hannah who is not in school until next year.
Then Jacob told us that his mom has a statue of boy parts that she keeps in her dresser by her bed. But he told us not to tell because he wasn’t supposed to be snooping. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Kinzie shared that she has a new baby sister and that her mom’s boobies have milk in them. It was an interesting day, to say the least.
I’ve bitten down on my cheek more in the last twenty minutes to keep from laughing than I have in my entire life. I love this age, which is why I chose kindergarten. The innocence of this age where the world has not yet tainted their young minds. It's a good time getting to see the world through their eyes.
The remainder of the day is more about learning classroom rules and structure. How to line up for restroom breaks, lunch, and recess. We also spend the afternoon doing an art project. Just a simple try-to-stay-in-the-lines coloring exercise to open their minds and work on their concentration. Some did very well, and others not so much, but they all seemed to enjoy it. They got to hang their pictures on the huge display board by the door, and I already had small name tags posted. They had the task of finding their name to match the name on the top of their papers that I put there. I’m happy to say that everyone passed that exercise with flying colors.
It’s just after three, and I’m exhausted. I used my planning period to make some adjustments to the seating chart. There were a few students who liked to chat just a little too much, so I decided to try and separate them now to get a handle on it. Then it took me twenty minutes to get them in their new seating assignments. I probably shouldn’t have made a move on day one, but I wanted to try and get the distractions under control as soon as possible.
I tidy up my classroom a little before grabbing my stuff and heading out. When I reach my car, I see the donut, and I can’t help but smile when I think about Rushton, which reminds me that I need to go to his brother’s shop today to get this tire handled. The last thing I need is to be stranded on the side of the road with another flat.