When I was reading to the students at StarShine, I especially enjoyed arriving in the kindergarten class. As I walked in the door, Mr. Dan would always say, “Here’s the library lady,” and I would see fourteen or fifteen little five-year-old shiny faces welcoming me. They loved that I always brought a stuffed animal to help illustrate the story. I often left the book and animal to be shared by the class and somehow or other they always made their way back to the library.
At the beginning of each school year most of the children spoke only Spanish. Even though I was speaking and reading in English, they listened and watched with joy and even laughed at the right time. After a month or two, these mostly Hispanic students were speaking English. Mr. Dan is an effective and inspirational teacher.
The children loved to sing and as the year went on mastered many songs. One day when I arrived in the classroom, Mr. Dan told me the children wanted to sing a song they had learned especially for me. I sat down in my chair and to my surprise; they all stood up and sang, “You Are So Beautiful” in perfect English. To receive such love from these mostly impoverished children brought me close to tears. Instead I laughed and laughed and hugged them all.
by Lois Jamieson
If you enjoyed this inspirational story about teachers, you’ll want to read:
Please take time to forward “Kindergarten Love” to a friend or like us on Facebook!
