Archive for the 'School' Category

KinderQuote: Cafeteria Prayer

Wednesday, April 4th, 2007

Sebastian got in trouble today during lunch at school. As far as we understand his explanation, one of his classmates got in trouble for leaning on top of another kid, the kid that was leaned on got in trouble for goofing off, another kid got in trouble for saying "a bad word, but not one of the really bad words," and Sebastian got in trouble for talking too much and not eating. One of the lunch helpers (referred to as "lunch ladies" by the kids, even though they do not serve the food) gave the kids a talking to and handed down a punishment.

Tomorrow's punishment for them is to sit on the stage (because their school has the classic cafetorium — the cafeteria/auditorium hybrid) once they are done eating. Tonight during his bedtime routine, Sebastian prayed and asked God to help him not have to sit on the stage tomorrow. He finished praying, and I looked up at him. Sebastian had this look on his face, and it was evident that he realized on his own that he had already earned his punishment tomorrow. Without prompting, Sebastian quickly lowered his head again and gave a revised prayer:

Dear God,
Please help me to stop talking in the lunchroom. And please help the lunch lady to forgive me.
In Jesus' name, amen.

May all of our lunch ladies forgive us.

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Hooked on Phonics Works for Sebastian

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007

As I have discussed on numerous occasions, Sebastian completed the Hooked on Phonics program just before he started Kindergarten.

Sebastian received the highest possible score for his Kindergarten reading evaluation. He was placed in the accelerated reading program.

Sebastian had a great time in the accelerated reading program, where he got to read more challenging books. He was pretty proud of himself when I pointed out that one of the books he was reading was labeled as a third grade book!

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Good Listeners

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007

In December 2006, Sebastian was in a singing program that included the Kindergarteners and first graders. Before the presentation, the students sat on the gym floor waiting for their program to begin. In the meantime, the principal started the usual boring mumbo-jumbo about the program and people who helped out and yadda yadda yadda.

As boring as the speech was, I caught an interesting syncing of her words with the video my wife had captured.

What you hear is the principal saying:

. . . they know how important it is to be a good audience and good listeners.

but what you see is Sebastian and his friend paying absolutely no attention to the principal or what she is talking about.

Now that's my boy.

OK, sure — the principal is talking about the first graders being good listeners because they had just had their own presentation a day before. I guess this is something they don't teach in Kindergarten. :)

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KinderQuote: Red Cards

Wednesday, October 11th, 2006

In Sebastian's kindergarten class, they use a disciplinary method similar to soccer. Here are the rules to the best of my knowledge:

  • Everyone starts the day with a green card.
  • If you misbehave, you get a yellow card.
    • Corollary: If you are good for the remainder of the day, you can switch your yellow card back to a green card.
  • If you misbehave while you already have a yellow card, you get a red card. (A red card may not be switched back.)
  • If you have a red card at the end of the day, you do not get a sticker for good behavior.

One day Sebastian earned a yellow card for punching another kid in the arm because he was bothering him during story time. He came home with tear-stained cheeks. Interestingly enough, the only other yellow card he could remember was given to a petite girl who sits next to him. Her offense? Punching that same kid!

Apparently this system really is based on soccer, because we learned that you can earn a red card without earning a yellow card first, if the offense justifies it. The only red card given out thus far was given to a boy who cut his hair with his scissors.

Tonight, Sebastian was praying right before bed. He selflessly prayed:

Dear God, thank you for the day today. I pray that no one in my class will get a yellow card or red card tomorrow, or any other day of school. . . .

He prayed not just that he wouldn't get a card, but that no one would get a card . . . and not just tomorrow, but every day of school.

May we all learn to be this selfless with our prayers.

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Sebastian Earns Three Blue Ribbons

Friday, September 15th, 2006

Yesterday, Sebastian entered seven items into the local garden club's Junior Harvest Show. The prizes given out were timed along with the elementary school's open house.


Blue Ribbon: Other Annual (Nasturtium)

Sebastian received three blue ribbons, three red ribbons, and an honorable mention. He was excited to hear the news, and even more excited to see his entry forms with ribbons on them. I have posted pictures throughout this post of the three blue ribbon entries.


Blue Ribbon: Raspberries

Oddly enough, Sebastian's entry that received honorable mention was, in my opinion, the best looking entry he placed. Unfortunately, the category was an artistic category for a bouquet, and Sebastian had only three flowers in a glass jar. The other entries were full bouquets that had been arranged.


Blue Ribbon: Zucchini

One entry was both sad and amusing. One child had brought in blueberries for the show. They were in a Ziploc bag, so I'm guessing he brought them to school on the bus. All five blueberries were completely crushed. Nonetheless, it was the only blueberry entry, so it won the blue ribbon in the blueberry category. So, it's truly a bittersweet victory. I guess it's much better than losing because your berries got crushed.

Posted in All, Family, Food, School, Sebastian | No Comments »

KinderQuote: Forgetting to Learn

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

Here's part of the conversation I had with Sebastian tonight:

Me: So, did you learn anything in Kindergarten today?
Sebastian: [pauses] No.
Me: No? You didn't learn anything? You should have learned something . . . that's why you go to school!
Sebastian: Yeah, I learned something.
Me: Oh, OK. What did you learn today at school?
Sebastian: [pauses] I learned lots of things, but I forgot them.

So, there you have it. I wonder if they taught him "short term memory" in school today. If they did, I'll never know.

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KinderQuotes

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

I ask Sebastian about school each and every day, so I hear plenty of stories about school from the unique perspective of the kindergartner.

I don't know about you, but my memories about school are mostly from later grades, and my memories from kindergarten are filtered through an adult perspective now.

Who else but a kindergartner would start their story about phys. ed. by mentioning which color line they had to sit on while they weren't playing the game?

So, in the spirit of these beloved quotes, I am starting a new category, KinderQuotes. Here you will find an abundance of quotes (eventually) as Sebastian provides them with me.

Disclaimer: These quotes are not meant to be "more kind" than any other quote. They are not kinder quotes. They're KinderQuotes, as in quotes from the kindergartner.

Posted in All, KinderQuotes, School | No Comments »