What did you say?!

This is a fun and exciting week at preschool. I ask the four year and five olds if they can read,and they all say, "NO!" I show them that they can all read their names. They agree. I spell M-O-M and they all tell me what I spelled. They get excited when I tell them I know they can read more words. I hold up a McDonalds logo with the word, and they all shout, "McDonalds!" Then I hold up a Taco Bell bag with the words/logo and they giddily shout, "Taco Bell." So we continue. I have a rebus story. That is, there are symbols or pictures with the words below. They 'read' each picture as I tell the story of a little Native American boy. Some of the symbols are arrow, tree, water, fish, horse, deer, berries. They then draw the symbols on large paper and we wrap it around the tee-pee frame which sits in the middle of the floor. Two children are allowed inside to look at books about Native Americans. I have a large narrow box with two cardboard paddles that serves as a canoe for two children, and I have costumes, beads and coffee-can tom-toms for them to play with. They also have a table where they can play with small manipulative themed toys: stuffed buffalo, horses, dolls, etc. There are an abundance of photos on the walls at eye level for them to look at and discuss. November is a fun month for me as well as them. I get many laughs. Yesterday after we pounded out the syllables in each child's name, I heard a little girl expanding on the lesson. She knelt over a tom-tom and rhythmically sang and pounded the syllables. "Hap-py Birth-day to you...you be-long in a zoo, with the el-e-phants and mon-keys who look just like you." She was so intent on counting the measured beats, all I could do was laugh to myself. Nothing ranks higher though, than the year that I was showing photos of Native Americans and one child said, "My daddy is a NAKED American too." I smiled and nodded. I could never look at her daddy again without visualizing.

I just submitted an essay to AARP. They were seeking essays on Why I Have The Dream Job. If it gets rejected, I will post it on my blog.