10/4/2011

It's already the 4th week of school and I've spent most of my time with my Den 1 students.  This is the group I am supposed to know the best, yet I realized today that I still have so much to learn about my students.

Last week, James was absent Wednesday - Friday.  I was concerned, but assumed that he had gotten sick with a cold... since he always has a finger in his nose or in his mouth.  It turned out that he had broken his arm during afterschool, on campus.  Fortunately, he broke his left arm and he's right handed.

Since he broke his arm, we've tried to keep him indoors during recess to avoid any further injuries to his healing arm.  Today, during recess, we let him draw.  He drew a picture of a plane and he said his dad was in the army and flew planes.  It was in that moment that I realized I knew very little about his family other than the fact that his mother drops him off at school everyday and he occasionally goes to afterschool on days his mom works.

James is a good student for a kindergartner.  He know his alphabet pretty well and he's pretty good at his alphabet craft and writing.  He's usually able to stay on task at his desk, but seems to find ways to get distracted on the rug and in line.

I've seen his crafts, but I have yet to talk to him to find out about what his hobbies are.  I'd assume that one of them would be riding his razor-- he rides it to school everyday.

I will make it a goal to get to know my students better... away from the "teacher" position, but from a stance of love and concern.