First Day Kinder Mess

What a mess that was! I was so eager and naive on that day fourteen years ago and I had no idea how those first twenty minutes would go!

The first day of kindergarten has an energy you can almost taste.  I was dressed in my finest linen skirt and tailored shirt in a desperate attempt to look respectful and not like a scrubby hippy (still working on that one).  I could smell dewy summer mountain air as I approached the outside entrance to the classroom.

Walking in, I could see young parents huddled and crowded, all clambering for a word with the new guardian of their babies…the legendary Ms. Heather!  Behind some of the parents were crouching and clutching hidden children, while others had effortlessly stepped away to explore, touch, build, and engage.  Unsure how to proceed, I scanned the room and waited patiently for my first day greeting from Ms. Heather.  I had been co-teaching for three years already in my young life, but this was my first day working as an assistant in a kindergarten classroom, and she was my captain.  I noticed her also scanning the room and when our eyes met, she blurted with a look of real concern:

“Where’s Tyler!!?”

I had been briefed on who Tyler was and I knew he was a student who was going to need a great deal more support than all of his kinder classmates.  This is an important detail, as kinders inherently need a great deal of support to begin with.  I am still amazed that I taught this age group for three whole years when I interact with a kinder class these days (I am much more suited for 7-8 year olds).  We used to say: “Bless em’” or “Lawd, they don’t know nuthin’ in September” to commiserate about how they truly are babies at this point in their lives.  Tyler was coming in hot with many more challenges than just his youth.

I immediately received the first orders from my captain:
“FIND TYLER!” Heather states with authority.
“What do you mean?” I say. “Where is his mother?”
“She was here, but I don’t see her.”
She is speaking in a low tone now, so as to not draw any attention.

I scanned all the nooks and crannies of the room and quickly calculated that, in fact he was nowhere to be seen! Panicked, I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that this mother just dropped this child off without a word to his teacher.  This mother is the one who called a late summer meeting to be sure we all knew about his need for constant supervision!

I checked just outside the door to the outside of the building, then across the room to the indoor hallway access…

“Tyler?” I quietly beckoned, hoping the first day parents (still lingering in the class because they are too nervous to hand over their babies) would not notice that I was in fact looking for a missing child.  I follow the path of the exit to the small playground adjacent to the hallway. No luck. “*%#@! Sugarfoot!”

I climb the short staircase to the soccer field, and I spot him! Sprinklers are shooting and spraying and showering into the open morning sky and I spot him a soccer field distance away!

“Tyler, Tyler Tyler! I shout.

I am doubtful he will come, as I am still a stranger to him.  From my briefing, I know that “he is a runner”, so I take off running too.  When I have reached the other end of the soccer field, my not-so-professional linen skirt is now soaked from the sprinklers and I “catch” him. He looks happy and wild and messy (he had actually “messed himself”).  I try to comfort him while willfully leading him back to the main building.

“Where were you off to buddy? Kindergarten is this way, silly” I croon.

Just out of eyeshot of the nervous first day parents, I melt into relief when I see an EC angel Ms. Deborah appear and take over this mission.  She is confident and qualified and more than happy to help.  I try to compose myself and look professional and competent as I enter back into the classroom.  The nervous first day parents have almost all dissipated and again I feel relief.

I still wonder what in the world made that boy tick and why his brain works so differently.  He had never set foot on this slice of earth before.  What compelled him to flee the room and run? Or maybe the question should be, what compels most of us not to?

Revision reflection:
“…the most sophisticated sorts of revisions involve the writer looking through his draft to come to a deeper, more nuanced, more thoughtful understanding of his content.” (Calkins, 2013. p. 34)

The way writing ends seems important.  I used a few revision strategies in an attempt to make this story a stronger narrative piece.  Out of habit, I reread my writing to be sure that it made sense.  This is my go-to revision strategy: fix up vocabulary and syntax.  Although I love to tell stories, especially about myself ;), I do not have much experience writing narratives.  This piece was born as a flash draft and then I added to it to finish it.  While drafting, I came to a stopping point, when I found the missing child, and did not have an obvious idea on how to end it.  It seemed only natural to try to add the ending on another day.  Officially, my revision strategy for this piece was to try out and choose a lead or beginning.  I find this is a fun and straightforward way to make a narrative piece stronger. I really appreciated the lead examples given in Mentor Texts, and I can easily see how imitated writing strategies from models makes the whole process less intimidating and more about craft than conventions, editing, or syntax.  I also find this strategy fun and believe it lends itself naturally to peer support and revision as partners or in a writing circle.  Revising the leads and ending also helped me get more to the point of what I was trying to say.  What was the point?  In short, the way writing begins seems important too.

 

Calkins, Lucy, and Peter Cunningham. A Guide to the Common Core Writing Workshop: Intermediate Grades. Heinemann, 2013.

Dorfman, L. R., Cappelli, R., & Hoyt, L. (2017). Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children’s literature, k-6 (2nd ed.). Portland, ME: Stenhouse.