Poems:

"Teacher's Prayer"

I want to teach my students
How to live this life on earth
To face its struggles and its strife
And to improve their worth.
Not just the lessons in a book
Or how the river's flow.
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go.

copied

"Teacher to Parent"

You've sent to me your little child
And from this time he's partly mine
'Twill ease my task if you have taught
The love of God and truth divine.

But if the way I teach seems wrong
And I in error seem to be
Speak well of me before the child
Then come and reason it with me.

I hope that you will find in me
A friend who loves to teach the truth
I would not have him lose his faith
Nor disappoint his eager youth.

If in the days that are to come
Some evil thing our child should do
Remember that 'Twould pain my heart
And I'd be just as sad as you.

"A Word to Parents"

"I got two A's," the small boy cried,
His voice was filled with glee.
His father very bluntly asked
"Why didn't you get three?"

"Mom, I've got the dishes sone!"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother very calmy said,
"And did you sweep the floor?"

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away!"
His mother asked him with a shrug,
"Did you clean off the clay?"

The children in the house next door
Seem happy and content.
The same thing happened over there,
But this is how it went.

"I've got two A's the small boy cried,
His voice was filled with glee.
His father proudly said, "That's great!
I'm glad you live with me!

"Mom, I've got the dishes done!"
The girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said,
"Each day I love you more."

"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said,
"And put the mower away!"
His mother answered with much joy,
"You've made me happy today!"

Children desire a little praise,
For tasks they're asked to do.
If they're to lead a happy life,
So much depends on you.

by Vivian Herrikan

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at the nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt someone. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfishes and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane liveing.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk, about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

by Robert Fulghum

The Miracle of a Beginning Reader

"I wiggle and I jiggle

And I rock upon my chair.

I wiggle my loose tooth ,

And I twirl a strand of hair.

I chew on several fingers

And I sometimes suck my thumb.

I tap the reading table,

Like I'd play upon a drum.

I kick my foot with rhythm

Lose the place where I should look.

I rub my nose and clear my throat

And sometimes drop my book.

I look outside the window

And I look down at the floor.

I pay very close attention

When someone's at the door.

I close my eyes and rest my head:

My teacher's heart must bleed.

But in spite of all this

I'm learning how to read!"

-------Author Unknown