A Delightful Distraction

One of the things I adore about first and second graders is the way they "rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep."

I mentioned to my class this morning that Mark and Eunice (my brother and sister-in-law) were at the hospital to have their baby. One of my students suggested, "Let's all guess what time the baby will come and see who wins! That's what my family always does." The rest of the class began to immediately call out their predictions with an enthusiasm that surprised me. I'm not sure if my own excitement was that contagious or if they saw a perfect opportunity to do something other than phonics...

I wasn't going to be picky about motivation. I was thrilled to have ten kids to be excited with! So, we filled the left side of the white board with a list of our names, each followed by our estimated time of arrival, followed by the name we think this baby will be called. I think I committed an educational faux pas in promising a prize to the student whose guess is closest, considering that they spent all day wondering who would win the contest instead of paying attention. Of course, their teacher spent all day checking her cell phone, so I guess we were all in the same boat.

I also found myself redirecting curious questions like "How is that baby going to get out, anyway?" and only narrowly escaping disaster. Learning exactly how a baby gets out is NOT one of the things I'd like them to remember first grade for. If they are going to remember something from today, I'd much rather that they remember listening to the heartbeat on the phone with me. I know I'll remember them sitting perfectly silently at my feet, eyes widening in awe when they heard the muffled wump-WUMP-wump-WUMP-wump-WUMP through the speaker.

I love my job!