The fat cat sat on the mat

The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat

When first grade children are learning how to read many of the books they begin with use rhyming and pattern words, which make decoding a sentence easier. By following a pattern students are able to develop confidence in their reading. Many of these books contain three letter words that have short vowel sounds, such as can, fan, cat and sat. A common pattern in many primary primer books contains the -at family including cat, rat, sat, mat and fat. Many of the beginner books in my class contain phrases such as "The fat cat sat on the mat."
  I have been a primary teacher for the past 4 years and have never thought twice about the impact the word fat may have on my students. Indeed the pictures portray a plump cat that is sitting on a mat. However this past week I encountered a potential problem with teaching this phrase.
Currently our class is learning about our school community and who works at our school. When visiting the high school my class got to meet Mr. B. a man of large size and stature. Upon returning to class we reviewed the people we had met that day; when we got to Mr. B's name on the list one of my little girls stated matter-of-factly, "He is fat." I quickly reacted to this statement by agreeing that Mr. B. is a big man but that it is impolite to call someone fat. We had a wonderful teaching moment about how God has created us all to look differently and to be different shapes and different sizes.
  When I shared this with some of my colleagues at the end of the day it got me thinking about the terms we use to describe different things.Now in North American culture there is no harm in pointing out the obvious obesity of a cat; although in our politically correct era you would never dare point out the size of another person.
The joy of teaching small children is that they call things the way that they see them. Just that now I feel a little more for that fat cat on the mat.

Confessions of a First Grade Teacher

I often tip my hat to middle school teachers and sing their praises as I believe it takes a special person to pour into the lives of pre-teens. However, each year that I continue to teach primary I recognize it too takes a special person to delight in caring for the small children. I seem to look past the runny noses and dependence on needing coats zipped and not being able to write a paragraph. Rather than seeing all the things they can't do I see all the things they are learning to do. Successes in sounding out letters to decode words, learning how to put letters together to write sentences and tell stories. SO much to discover and learn about their world.

Everything that is commonplace to us adults is new and fascinating to a young child. Perhaps it is somewhat like being a parent and watching their child grow and become aware of the world around them. Some days I do get tired of the runny noses and that they can't remember what comes after 29. Yet for all those moments there are many more wonderful ones where you get to watch them delight in how a fan can make a pin-wheel spin and how air pressure can make a syringe stopper fly across the room. Those moments where they are working on a colouring sheet and singing how they have hidden God's word in their heart. Those moments where if I don't write them down I am afraid I may forget them. It is in those moments that I smile and remember this is why I love my job and how God has made me special to be a primary teacher :)

Winter Is Finally Here

Although I was born on "The Island" and grew up with a number of green Christmas, for me, the winter season has always been equated with a good snowfall. This week the prayers of my students were answered with a days worth of snow, which stayed for more than a few hours. Enough to play with and to blanket the city in a refreshing layer of white. I think the songs that sing about being whiter than snow are striking when you think how white and how clean a fresh snowfall can be.

After a steady days worth of snow I ventured out into the city to capture the beauty of my first Prague Winter (even if it was a few months late in coming).