Warm smiles, welcoming embraces, and a friendship that can never be torn apart- does that remind you of a family? Well that thought occurred to me when I entered classroom 8 of the school. As soon as I stepped in the classroom the children, who were then in story time, turned in my direction. Even though it was only my second visit, I felt as if they had known me for a lifetime! They waved their flamboyant hands to say hi and a few even called out, "Hi Karina!".
As I sat at the same table I had put my belongings at last time, Mrs. Teacher had resumed back to reading the story (It had something to do with a porcupine and an elf, although I can't quite recall). I looked around the classroom for a few moments, only to find myself eyeing a project that the students had completed. On the wall next to me, the class had drawn pictures with descriptions below them of what they wanted to be when they grew up.
A few said police officers (except they spelled it like peles ofcr in scrawly hand writing!). I managed to catch a glimpse of another project saying she wanted to be a hair dresser. I was laughing at the spelling, but i had to remind myself that I made the same mistakes when I was in first grade. It was nice to see their dreams for the future. If their dreams became true, prepare to have a nation full of great police officers and excellent hair dressers!
After the story, several kids came up to me to say hi. It's funny that I didn't know half of them yet they still were friendly and remembered me. They didn't seem to judge me at all, but they were happy for the fact that was there. This time Mrs. Teacher assigned me to do some word flashcards, but to keep a 5 minute timer on so that the student would say their words more abruptly.The kid I worked with was probably the most enthusiastic of them all! Right as he approached me he said, "Hi Karina!" and was ready to start. He always had a smile on his face and never the slightest hint of a frown. I kept reminding him how good he did at saying the words when he was done and his reply was, "Are you going to tell my teacher how well I did?". Only later did he say "Please don't tell my teacher I did bad!". Mrs. Teacher heard him at that moment and laughed!
To be quite honest, throughout the time I was there I was talking to the kids as if they were my friends at school. I started picturing my class little again...it was a distant memory so long ago. It was that thought that left me referring to the class as my "extended family".
-WRITTEN 12/14/11
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