Friday, September 26, 2008

small tokens

today i loaned out 3 stuffed animals to morning book club members since it was stuffed animal day at school. i instructed them to bring them back at the end of the day so that none of the kindergartners' stuffed animals would be lost.
when i returned to my desk after a day of team planning i found only one had returned their animal. my smart cookie had sent it to me with another teacher, along with a clemontine decorated in black felt-tip pen. i can just picture her with her wild hair and fast moving eyes explaining to another teacher the importance of returning it to my desk by the end of the day, and the other teacher- i'm sure not fully following my smart cookie's logic, being very confused about why on earth she had to leave a small animal and a decorated clemontine on my desk.
to be honest i hadn't expected to see the animal again when i loaned it to her. this is the same little one who 10 minutes into book club today exclaimed in mixed horror and confusion, "oh no! i left my book bag in the bathroom!" and ran out of the room.
it's so silly to be touched by her returning her borrowed animal with the additional small gift, but i know how forgetful my smart cookie can be. for it to be important enough to her to return the animal to me along with a small present... when none of the other, 'more responsible' girls remembered. and i can't help but smile at the clemontine, since that is the name her new third grade teacher has bestowed on her. she's such a truly unique little one.

1 comment:

Jenny said...

Her little sister borrowed an animal from last year's teacher and returned it as well. Good on them!