#1: "I'm Going to Kindergarten"

http://kendra-wordsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/2010/06/i'mgoingtokindergartennote.html

Write This Down, Take a Little Note…“And when you’re done shut up!”

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Writing is my outlet. Words are my power. Grammar is my fascination.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010

Yesterday, I stood in Factory Card Outlet. Yes, I stood there for probably a half hour. Okay, it was more like forty-five minutes. But really, I just couldn’t help it. I had to go in there and get a card for my cousin’s graduation. But, most of the graduation cards were sold out anyway. Luckily, I found one “For a Very Special Cousin.” Unfortunately, I didn’t find one for Mom and Dad to give him. They didn’t even have generic ones. Ridiculous, I know. I found a bunch of “Thank You” cards for a graduate to give to his favorite teacher. Then, I happened to find one for my favorite professor who just retired from Lake Michigan College.

Well, since I was already in there, I figured I ought to buy Father’s Day cards before all those were sold out too. So, I found one to give to Dad from all of us kids. Then, I looked for one to give to Dad’s dad and one to give to Mom’s dad from all of us kids. I found one for my brother-in-law too. I informed Mom on the phone that I would not be picking out cards for her to give to her dad and Dad to give to his Dad, nor would I be picking out a card for her to give to Dad.

When I pick out cards, it takes me a long time. I get really annoyed when I need a card “from all of us” and find the perfect card but it’s only from one person. Can’t they just print two cards? One that says I, my, and me and another one that says we, our, and us? I also get annoyed with sing songy cards. And I really don’t like it when I can’t find a card to fit a person, which is likely the reason I stand there searching for so long. I pick up a card, read it, put it back, read another one, keep it as a possibility, go back to the first one, find another one, and end up buying two cards for the same purpose because I can’t decide which is better. These greeting card companies really do make a lot of money…

So, why is the act of buying cards so important to me? I pondered this thought for awhile, and came to the following conclusion: I think it stems back to writing notes. I’ve always written notes and saved notes that someone else wrote to me. When I was a young girl, I wrote notes before I even wrote notes. Sounds strange, right? Well, as I looked back in my “Special Box” – a box of childhood memories filled with notes, postcards, cards, etc. that people wrote to me – I found a note that was from my pre-kindergarten era.

As I analyzed the writing with Mom, I realized that most of it wasn’t really mine. Yes, the words were mine, but the handwriting was not. I had merely scrawled three words on it: my name Kendra (with the horizontal sticks on the wrong side of my lowercase n and lowercase a – in fact, my a actually looked like a lowercase p), Mom, and Dad on it. Other than that, the only thing I put on the paper were some hearts. However, the message – we determined – was written by my older sister KyLee. Even though she wrote the note most likely in fourth grade, her handwriting is still essentially the same. My note was taped to another note from my parents. Their note was in response to my note to them, and their unique handwritings were quite evident as well.

So, why is this so important to my development as a writer, let alone how does it relate to me as a teacher? Well, several elements stand out in my mind. The first is that even before I could literally write notes, I wrote them in my head and through my spoken words. I had thoughts that I dictated to my sister. I told her exactly what I wanted her to write: “I’m going to kindergarten this year, I’ll miss you.” As a future teacher, a student may need to dictate his thoughts as well. This is a way to help a student begin writing.

Another thought that I realized: I don’t stand in Factory Card Outlet for nearly an hour for no apparent reason at all. I stand searching for the perfect card because I care. The words on the card are supposed to be my feelings about that person. This is probably the reason I leave the store saying to myself, I should just write greeting cards. I would do such a good job at that. I would write good ones too, not stupid ones that don’t really say how you feel. The point is that writing can be an expression of my feelings for another person as well as just my feelings in general (which is probably the reason I write rough drafts for notes I write). I own my writing. I hope that one day my own students will feel this way as well.

Finally, just like each individual has his own unique handwriting, each individual has his own unique voice. Mom and I identified my handwriting and KyLee’s handwriting because we recognized the uniqueness of both. As I write, I think about my own voice. Students will have their own voices as well, but it may take them awhile to find their voices. It is my job to help them develop themselves as writers, because every writer is unique.