Whispered in My Ear

from The Diary of a First Grade Teacher

For example, the following first grade stories all happened in only one day at school!

A Little Accident

“Oh, my … what happened to you?”

Shuffling meekly through the door, he mumbled, “Nuttin.”

Quickly, he took his seat, and then glanced up to see Loegan – the only other student present this early – staring wide-eyed at him, just as I was.

“Yeah, well,” he confessed, “I had a little accident.”

Loegan snickered. “A LITTLE accident? Looks like Spider-Man dropped you on your head!”

Martin didn’t laugh. Instead, he motioned for me to come over to his desk.

Blushing, he whispered, “I really DID have ah accident ... I fell down.”

Loegan heard him anyway and laughed.

Martin motioned for me to lean over.

"I fell down," he whispered in my ear. "Off the top of my barn!"

A New Old House

“What’s the problem?” I asked him. “Is it because it’s a new house?”

“It ain’t new. It’s a new OLD house. And it’s really, REAL OLD!” He reflected solemnly for a moment, and then whispered in my ear, “See … I keep hearing stuff.”

“Oh? What kind of stuff?"

His eyes looked panic-stricken. “I don’t know, but Momma says it’s ‘cause it’s a old house. And a old house is ALWAYS full of CREEPS!”

"Oh," I said, "she's saying cr..."

Tommy cut in. "And you know the worsest part is Momma says I have to get USED TO IT!"

First Grade Stories

“May I ask you something?”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but smile at that cutie. “What is it, Ben?”

“Santa Clause said to SHARE. Right? Right?”

It’s the middle of October, so I’m wondering why Ben is talking about Santa Clause.

I didn’t say a word. I was chewing my food.

“That’s right,” Ben continued. “Member? The song says he’s watching you to see if you good.”

I continued chewing. I never say too much on subjects like these ... Too many families have different traditions, and I don’t want to be the one to mess up anything.

Suddenly his attitude changed. “OK, then. Can I whisper in your ear?”

I nodded.

So he whispered, “Stevie’s NO GOOD! And he’s in BIG trouble!”

I raised my eyebrows. “Eh?”

"Uh huh … Cause he won’t share his M&M’s!”

Time-order Words

One of their lessons is to understand and to use the following time-order words in writing and in speaking: first, next, last. We study and practice this - off and on - all year long.

And when the day arrives that any one of my students starts using these words in their OWN vocabulary, I get excited. Today was one of those days …

Out of the blue, Ben said, “I really like school."

“Great!” I said. “I’m so glad!” I had been concerned about him.

He had more to tell me because he left his desk and jogged to where I was seated in front of the classroom.

I encouraged him. “What part do you like best?”

There was no answer. Instead, he simply stood there, looking around the classroom at something ...

I looked, too. And then I saw what he saw. All of his classmates were interested in what he had to say, too.

Since Ben is a bit shy, he turned his back to them and finally started whispering. “First, recess.” He pointed to one finger at-a-time. “Next, PE … and last - but best of all - LUNCH!”

Now, how could I possibly keep from writing down all my kiddos' unique observations that were whispered in my ear?