A New Experience

Today in the 3rd grade classroom a couple things happened to me that were new and wonderful that I observed. First the teacher asked me to color, cut out, and put together a paper scarecrow so the children would have an example for their upcoming activity. As I sat to the side working on this assignment, one of the boys came up and asked me for help on his literature assignment. This particular kid is the one that's usually physically off task and often becomes passive during classroom activities. I helped him with his assignment, then went on to do the same for a couple other children. I returned to my scarecrow and had many pieces of scrap paper that needed to be thrown away. The boy sitting ahead of me stood up, turned towards me, and started gathering up the unneeded paper and threw it all away. Even when I had additional pieces that needed tossing he took care of it for me without asking for his help. I was touched by his pro-social behavior and service oriented attitude. I told him that he was a fantastic helper, he started to beam and said in return "I'm always a good helper." He showed me a few new books he was excited about and we picked one to read together. He seemed very excited to read to me and made sure that I wouldn't forget to come over. Many of the other children also expressed excitement in reading to me and couldn't stop telling me about their favorite books.

At the end of the day, the boy who is usually physically off task ran over to me and gave me a hug before getting in line. I was so taken back that I almost didn't know what to do or how to respond! He was the same one that told me he loved me after I helped and complimented him on his reading last week. I gave him a quick hug back, hopping that was the right thing to do.
The teacher usually pounds fists with everyone in line before they leave. This boy stretched out his arm with a fists towards me with an eager expression, wanting to pound mine before he left. I ran over, we pounded fists and everyone left. Today was a new experience for me because I was able to witness the kindness of these children, their open minded attitudes, desire to be loved, and appreciation for being helped. I walked out of the school today very contemplative feeling very grateful and happy.