As usual, it's been a while. I suppose blogging is just not really for me. But every once in a while my kids do a writing assignment or something that I really feel like merits sharing, usually for both humor and sincerity (a balance my students seem to find naturally), and holidays tend to bring this out in them. As last week was Thanksgiving, we talked about what it meant to be thankful and did the very stereotypical Thanksgiving assignment of writing about what they are thankful for. Their responses ranged from amusing to touching, sometimes in the same writing. I thought you might enjoy them. I have left all spelling, grammar, and mechanics as is, spare perhaps some editor's notes, found in brackets.
R: "im am thankful for thankging. im am thankful for God. i am thankful for shoes."
K: "I am thankful for my family and friends and My Teacher and puppy and Daddy and Mammy and Grandma and God creating us and the Earth. And jeues too. Myself and school in every state in America. And houses we can live in. And Brothers. And country And my 1 grade teacher too."
S: "I am thankful for my family and me techer because she techs me. I am thankful for my class mats. Because they are my friends. I am thankful for God. Jesus and I am Thankful to have food, water, clothes. I am mostley thankful for everybody and everything."
J: "I am thankful for my mommy, my teacher, my family. I'm thankful for my dead Grandma, and my dead Grandpa because I miss the both. I'm thankful for my clothes and my shoes and I'm thankful my food that I put in my mouth to eat I thankful for my school that I learn at."
D (one of my most behaviorally challenged students): "I am thankful for my mom. I am thankful for my daddy. I am thankful for my class. I am thankful for the school. I am thankful for grandma. I am thankful for clothes. I am thankful for food. I am thankful for family. I am thankful for teacher. I am thankful for Ms. Holoman. I am thankful for storys. I am thankful for shoes. I am thankful for desk." [I love lamp.]
J: "I am thankful for god he made me a wonderful life. My mom she made me a free born because I have a wonderful life [what does that even mean?] My teacher is cool she make me learn."
A: "I am thankful for my mom my dad and my family. I am thankful for teachers. Doctor. I am happy we got clean water. [I had shared with the kids that I was always thankful for the fact that we have clean drinking water, since so many people die from not having the luxury - a value passed down from my dad.] I am thankful for everything. I am thankful for God and Jesus. I am thankful for living and breathing. I am thankful for America and my country and my 1 grade 2 grade 3 grade 4-grads. I am thankful for my scoohl."
A: "I'm thankful for are toys, for fenids, for clothing, for aparments and houses, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, causeins, anuts, uncles, techers, beds, anamails, electronics, tools, pencils, pen, led pencils ["lead pencils" is what my kids call mechanical pencils], glassases, chairs, and paper."
J: "I am thankful for my family and the kids who have diseases [again, a spin from talking about clean water] and my mom and my two Dads [bio and step, not a same-sex couple] and my two sisters and my classmates like K, S, D, and the rast and my grandma grandpa and my anuts and uncles and God and Jeses and the whole world and the Earth and the clothes to." [I love how she got so broad there at the end and then brought it back home with clothes to close out.]
T (another one of my biggest behavior struggles): "I'm thankful for everything. I'm thankful for God. I'm thankful for a teacher. I'm thankful for a school."
D: "I am thankful for my brother and my life and god and xoBox 360 and my grepa and cosen and my dog and Ms. Holoman"
A [whose sister I had in my 3rd grade class my first year of teaching]: "I am thankful for my family and friend and one of my friends are homeless and on thursday I will take her to church. And I am thankful for god and Jeuses my country and my real country El Salvador. I am thankful for water, food, and a house. I am thankful for this class and you Ms. Holoman. and I am thankful for every body in the whole wide world."
K: "I am thankful for my mommy and my daddy. I am thankful for evreyone in my famliy. Allso"
L: "I am thankful for God. I am thankful for famell. I am thankful for me. I am thankful for dog. I am thankful for house. I am thankful for fres [friends]. I am thankful for my techer. I am thankful for my daD. I am thankful for the erth."
N: "I am thankful for the clean earth, clean water, my teacher, my friends, my family, other kindness, my kindness, my BFFs, my smartness, other's smartness, fresh foods and drinks, my talent, and everyone!"
L: "I am thankful for god and my famliy and my friends and Ms. Holowman and me and my little sister who I love so much that I will never ever leave her sight. I am thankful for Jesus and the world and my mom and my toys and my dad and my dad's new van and his new gun to protect us [he's been talking about this gun nonstop] and evry single thing that is godly. including god and my godly famly and my school and my new house that my grandma is going to live in. the end."
D: "I am thankful for Ms. Holoman and my hole family and my classmates and god and Jeses and the food that I eat I thank for rain and the seson and ever thing and grandma and grandpa and the things that my mom gave me and my mom and my dad and my sisters named L and L my dog and my fish. "
D: "I am thankful for my Teacher and my sister and i am thankful for my classroom and i kray a band [translation: "I pray about"] Jesus and my family."
So there you have it. And as for me, I am thankful for the opportunity to spend every day with these kiddos, no matter how much they challenge me, because they are the lights of my life. That said, I am also thankful that it's almost Christmas break. Who's with me?
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