Me Five

Third graders are slowly but surely winning my heart over. They may not hug me the minute I walk into a room, but there will be a Turkish boy who will say to me "Hi Miss Garner" every time he sees me, like he means it, which will be worth just as much.

They will ask me what I am doing there when it isn't my day to have English with them and sometimes talk back and threaten me with "Why?" or "I didn't do anything!" But, they will also be able to write letters to Michelle Obama that are meaningful, personal and heartfelt, talk about their feelings in a more mature way, and comment on each other's work on a gallery walk around the classroom. They may not be able to say the most positive things, but they will be able to comment on another's by saying "Me five!" and "Me seven!" attaching their notes to everyone else's. They will think that somehow I became a teacher who took race into consideration when I accidentally wore eye makeup the day that I was showing them how whites and blacks were treated while teaching them about MLK.

Their bay blades will be their life lines, as well as the Wimpy Kids, Time Warp trios, American Girl and Junie B. Jones books. They will remind you about something until you actually do it- 3 times a day if necessary. They will play games like Animal Herders and Give or Take through recess if they have a chance.

They won't remember you as their first grade teacher but they will think that you are somehow older than their parents. It's taken almost three months to get used to this new teaching gig, but I think that I'm liking the challenge and the excitement of 22 eight-year-olds each day.