School Bells- Current Affairs – Grade 1 - Week 37
Next week will be our last week for this year. It is still unclear whether the school budget will leave time for this class next year. Even though I am a volunteer, this is an extra class and the school staff might need to use the time for another subject.
The young scholars were invited to talk with their families about a deceased family member and then bring in a photo and a story about that person. The goal is to help the young scholars begin to appreciate that they carry the history of their family with them.
They are now arriving
Me: Good morning class. Yes, I have cookies.
Sue and Tommy please pass out the cookies.
Class: Good morning. Thanks Mr. Jim
Me: You are welcome. We have been learning that a lot of who we are is because of our ancestors. Memorial Day is a day we set aside to remember and to honor our ancestors. I had suggested that each of you bring in a photo and a story about one of young ancestors. Who would like to start?
Sue: This is a photo of my Aunt Sue whose name I have. She died before I was born. She was my grandmother’s sister. Grandmother is the mother of my mother. It sounds funny to think that my mother was a little girl one time.
Me: What did you learn about Aunt Sue, Sue?
Sue: She was married to a woman Mr. Jim. Mom said that in those days if a woman was married to another woman or a man was married to another man it was kept a secret, but Aunt Sue and Aunt Elaina were very brave and proud of their relationship. They ran a farm and had men working for them. Mom says that I would have liked both of them. I want to be as brave as they were.
Me: Welcome to our class Aunt Sue and Aunt Elaina. We are proud to have you. Who else wants to share?
Ahmes: This is a photo of my Uncle Chuma. He is a baker and when we lived in Egypt he would let me bake bread with him. He said put all the bad thoughts in the bread when we pound it and then magic will happen.
Me: What sort of magic?
Ahmes: Did you even smell or eat fresh bread Mr. Jim?
Me: Yes. It is wonderful.
Ahmes: It is magic. He died and I miss him. Now dad and I bake bread and think of him.
Me: Welcome Uncle Chuma. So now you carry on his tradition and he lives in a sense through you. Who else wants to share?
Steve: This is my cousin Dustin. He was a soldier and died in a faraway place. He used to take me with him all the time. He was strong and funny and he could sing. I want to be just like him when I grow up. I miss him.
Me: Dustin sounds like a very good friend and person. I am sorry he died Steve. Welcome to our class cousin Dustin.
Sofia: This is my aunt Izabella. She died a long time ago. My mom says that he was a famous singer in Italy. We have a lot of pictures of her singing. She had this really big mouth. Sometimes we listen to her singing on big round things. What are they called Mr. Jim?
Me: you mean records or some people call them vinyl now.
Sofia: My mother says I can take singing lesson soon. I want to sound just like her.
Me: Thanks for sharing Aunt Izabella. It would have been fun to hear her sing. I will look for some of her recordings. Welcome Aunt Izabella.
Tara: This is Uncle Stanley. My dad says he was a famous bank robber and got shot and killed by a police person. My dad says he was not a good man but he was a lot of fun. It is not good to rob people but my dad loved him.
Me: Welcome Uncle Stanley. We certainly have a lot of interesting relatives. Who else wants to share.
Sam: This is my great, great grandma. She was my dad’s great grandma. Dad said she was a preacher and lots of people did not like the fact that she was a girl. He says that there have always been a lot of strong girls in the family and I am strong too.
Me: What does he mean by strong, Sam?
Sam: He says that being strong is doing what is right even if no one else is doing that. He says he thinks I am a lot like her. Do you think I am strung Uncle Jim?
Me: Yes, I do Sam. You often remind me to be strong and to do something for someone else. Just the other day I was about to pass up a homeless person and you said we had to help that person.
Sam: Then you did and we took him to Catholic Charities where we volunteer Uncle Jim.
Me: You are never afraid to tell me when you think something is wrong. I see that as very strong. Welcome to Sam’s great, great grandma.
Tommy: This is Johnny. He was my cousin. He lived a long time ago. Grandpa says that Johnny wife died when all his children were very young. He raised them by himself. Grandpa said that a lot of people told him to give them away but he would not do that.
Me: I think that I would have liked hour cousin Johnny. You seem like you are always the first to share your lunch or help someone who is having a difficult day. Seems like cousin Johnny lives through you now. Welcome cousin Johnny.
Susie: This is my aunt Hilda, my great grandma’s sister. She was still in Germany waiting for her husband to send money for her to come to this country. Finally, she was tired of waiting and make money to come here and look for him. She found him in a bar and pulled him out by his ear. Then she had 12 children and then he died. She cleaned houses to feed everyone. She is dead now but grandma says that she is still our teacher.
Me: Mercy! She sounds like another strong, determined person. So, each of us can learn from our ancestors and, in that way they keep living. When we share them like we did today, we all learn from them. Welcome Aunt Hilda.
I am very proud of how well each of you did learning and sharing these stories. Memorial Day will be even more special for each of you and your families.
Next week is our last week before summer break. How about we share what we liked or did not like about this class. If I get a chance to do the class again what should I do differently?
Tara and Sam please hand out the cookies and the assignment please.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a good week.
Class: Bye Mr. Jim.
Written May 18, 2017
Next week will be our last week for this year. It is still unclear whether the school budget will leave time for this class next year. Even though I am a volunteer, this is an extra class and the school staff might need to use the time for another subject.
The young scholars were invited to talk with their families about a deceased family member and then bring in a photo and a story about that person. The goal is to help the young scholars begin to appreciate that they carry the history of their family with them.
They are now arriving
Me: Good morning class. Yes, I have cookies.
Sue and Tommy please pass out the cookies.
Class: Good morning. Thanks Mr. Jim
Me: You are welcome. We have been learning that a lot of who we are is because of our ancestors. Memorial Day is a day we set aside to remember and to honor our ancestors. I had suggested that each of you bring in a photo and a story about one of young ancestors. Who would like to start?
Sue: This is a photo of my Aunt Sue whose name I have. She died before I was born. She was my grandmother’s sister. Grandmother is the mother of my mother. It sounds funny to think that my mother was a little girl one time.
Me: What did you learn about Aunt Sue, Sue?
Sue: She was married to a woman Mr. Jim. Mom said that in those days if a woman was married to another woman or a man was married to another man it was kept a secret, but Aunt Sue and Aunt Elaina were very brave and proud of their relationship. They ran a farm and had men working for them. Mom says that I would have liked both of them. I want to be as brave as they were.
Me: Welcome to our class Aunt Sue and Aunt Elaina. We are proud to have you. Who else wants to share?
Ahmes: This is a photo of my Uncle Chuma. He is a baker and when we lived in Egypt he would let me bake bread with him. He said put all the bad thoughts in the bread when we pound it and then magic will happen.
Me: What sort of magic?
Ahmes: Did you even smell or eat fresh bread Mr. Jim?
Me: Yes. It is wonderful.
Ahmes: It is magic. He died and I miss him. Now dad and I bake bread and think of him.
Me: Welcome Uncle Chuma. So now you carry on his tradition and he lives in a sense through you. Who else wants to share?
Steve: This is my cousin Dustin. He was a soldier and died in a faraway place. He used to take me with him all the time. He was strong and funny and he could sing. I want to be just like him when I grow up. I miss him.
Me: Dustin sounds like a very good friend and person. I am sorry he died Steve. Welcome to our class cousin Dustin.
Sofia: This is my aunt Izabella. She died a long time ago. My mom says that he was a famous singer in Italy. We have a lot of pictures of her singing. She had this really big mouth. Sometimes we listen to her singing on big round things. What are they called Mr. Jim?
Me: you mean records or some people call them vinyl now.
Sofia: My mother says I can take singing lesson soon. I want to sound just like her.
Me: Thanks for sharing Aunt Izabella. It would have been fun to hear her sing. I will look for some of her recordings. Welcome Aunt Izabella.
Tara: This is Uncle Stanley. My dad says he was a famous bank robber and got shot and killed by a police person. My dad says he was not a good man but he was a lot of fun. It is not good to rob people but my dad loved him.
Me: Welcome Uncle Stanley. We certainly have a lot of interesting relatives. Who else wants to share.
Sam: This is my great, great grandma. She was my dad’s great grandma. Dad said she was a preacher and lots of people did not like the fact that she was a girl. He says that there have always been a lot of strong girls in the family and I am strong too.
Me: What does he mean by strong, Sam?
Sam: He says that being strong is doing what is right even if no one else is doing that. He says he thinks I am a lot like her. Do you think I am strung Uncle Jim?
Me: Yes, I do Sam. You often remind me to be strong and to do something for someone else. Just the other day I was about to pass up a homeless person and you said we had to help that person.
Sam: Then you did and we took him to Catholic Charities where we volunteer Uncle Jim.
Me: You are never afraid to tell me when you think something is wrong. I see that as very strong. Welcome to Sam’s great, great grandma.
Tommy: This is Johnny. He was my cousin. He lived a long time ago. Grandpa says that Johnny wife died when all his children were very young. He raised them by himself. Grandpa said that a lot of people told him to give them away but he would not do that.
Me: I think that I would have liked hour cousin Johnny. You seem like you are always the first to share your lunch or help someone who is having a difficult day. Seems like cousin Johnny lives through you now. Welcome cousin Johnny.
Susie: This is my aunt Hilda, my great grandma’s sister. She was still in Germany waiting for her husband to send money for her to come to this country. Finally, she was tired of waiting and make money to come here and look for him. She found him in a bar and pulled him out by his ear. Then she had 12 children and then he died. She cleaned houses to feed everyone. She is dead now but grandma says that she is still our teacher.
Me: Mercy! She sounds like another strong, determined person. So, each of us can learn from our ancestors and, in that way they keep living. When we share them like we did today, we all learn from them. Welcome Aunt Hilda.
I am very proud of how well each of you did learning and sharing these stories. Memorial Day will be even more special for each of you and your families.
Next week is our last week before summer break. How about we share what we liked or did not like about this class. If I get a chance to do the class again what should I do differently?
Tara and Sam please hand out the cookies and the assignment please.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a good week.
Class: Bye Mr. Jim.
Written May 18, 2017
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