The Little Girl With a Huge Heart

Last year, I taught first grade at Benny Russell Elementary School. I had some precious little ones in my class. There was one little girl in particular that impressed me. Her name is Christy. She is a little blonde-haired, blued eyed, precious little girl. Close to Christmas, we were starting to exchange gifts. Kids brought me flowers, candles, and bath stuff. I just loved getting little gifts from my students. It touched my heart.

One morning, Christy came in with two small packages. One for me and one for the person I co-taught with. Inside my package was a little bear. It was obvious that the bear had been someone's toy. It was a little dirty and matted. I hugged Christy because the gift was so sweet. A day later, her mother wrote a note to us. Her mother said that Christy wanted to give us a gift and since they did not have money, Christy looked through her toy box and found two stuffed animals that were special to her. She gave us two things that meant so much to her. I was so touched by that one little girl who gave so much to me. I still have the bear. I will always keep it and treasure it.

The gift is not what matters. It is simply the heart with which one gives a gift. The bear is like gold to me. So precious. To be young again and have the heart of child. A heart that is not hard- a heart that digs deep and gives everything it has.

Sawing Pumpkins

The kids came home in great moods today. Logan, Sydney, Gracie, and the neighbor girl, Alianna, were playing happily in the back yard. I watched them as they climbed trees and read books. Since they were playing peacefully, I decided to do some Christmas shopping online. I bought a couple things for Sydney, Gracie, Luke, Logan, and Marty. I was proud of myself. I spent 30 minutes online and found some good deals. During my shopping time online, Sydney was outside with a little keyboard singing "The Star Spangled Banner". She loves to sing.

So, it got kind of quiet and I decided to investigate. As I walked out the door, I noticed several small pieces of pumpkin on the picnic table. Gracie was filling a small glove with water. Logan was playing with Alianna. Logan and Alianna were standing close together with their hands behind their back, looking quite suspicious. As I moved closer, I noticed Logan give Alianna whatever was behind his back.

To make a long story short. They had one of Marty's little saws. They had been sawing pumpkins. While I thought it was humorous, I also thought about the safety factor. So, I told Gracie that she had time out. She proceeded to scream at me, so she ended up with ten minutes and two stikes (three strikes and you're out!). Logan ended up with fifteen minutes time out and two strikes because he was the one playing with Daddy's saw without permission. There were many tears and complaints, but they finally chose to submit. They cleaned up their mess and faced their punishment. See, if they got three strikes they would miss "SpongeBob Squarepants: Truth or Square" (movie) and roasting marshmellows.

What makes kids decide to do stuff like saw pumpkins?