I started reading to my classes this morning. I have a first grade class and a fourth grade as well. I had anticipated the 1st graders being rowdy and energetic but they were shy and a little lethargic (maybe the daylight savings got to them!).
I read two picture books to them; A Bad case of Stripes and Roar of a snore, the latter one elicited a nice response when I asked them who in their family snored...it seems a lot of people snore! The kids had fun imitating their Uncle, Mom or brother snoring, especially when I pretended that I couldn't hear them (apologies to the school for the ruckus):)
The kids are really cute, it proves that theory that kids are made to look adorable so that adults will nurture them and take care of them..with those big Keane painting eyes and adorable little raised hands how can you not want to baby them!?
The teacher seemed a little harried and the kids were slow to respond (taking their chairs down and getting settled took a good 5 minutes, heck in my old elementary school it would have been 5 seconds) but I think that's normal for the young ones.
I did get some laughs and some shy smiles and I promised them I would come back next week.
I then nervously headed to my 4th grade class expecting jaded little terrorists...but no! They were delightful and quickly got used to my sense of humor. I had the honor of finishing a book they were reading for class and starting their favorite book ; "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" which I read with my "nerd" voice, they liked that a lot.
I was truly surprised by the size of the school (Huge) and the hundreds of kids all being sent off to various classes and events, it really takes organization to run a school. The lovely lady who showed me to my classes and watched me read to the 4th graders told me that I was a hit and asked if I would come back.
I promised I would read every Monday for as long as they wanted me to. She was very happy about that.
It's the best thing I can do for kids really...instill in them the love I have had for books my entire life. If I can encourage them to read instead of watching TV then I have done a very good thing indeed.
So, it's back to the library for me now...I must find some new books with rhymes and sound effects for the little ones and something other than the Wimpy diary book for the older kids...any suggestions, please feel free to write me!
All in all I give volunteering at a school a 10 for starting your day off with a smile!
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