"There's a 1st Grade Class"

The 2012-2013 school year has come to a close. I spent time volunteering in a 1st Grade classroom and concluded my time with the 1st Graders on a fun note by presenting them with a poem I wrote. It's a dedication to the wonderful students they all are, and, I hope, continue to be in the years to come. It's also dedicated to their teacher, who's now an official retiree!

There's a 1st Grade Class

There's a 1st grade class that's funny, smart and sweet.
In this room there are 16 pairs of feet.

    One time there was a day for Fancy Nancy,
    And they dressed up and looked trés, trés fancy!
    Some of the boys wore ties and looked like young kings,
    The queens wore skirts, tiaras and pretty, shiny rings.

        The class learned some history with the help of dolls
        Of lifetimes long ago when there weren't any malls.
        It's great that the dolls made them very chatty --
        Can they name the four they met before Addy?

There's a 1st grade class that is so much like yours.
They learn in a room that's without any doors.

    They received postcards in their Postcard Project.
    Each postcard that came was a special object.
    How exciting that they posted all 50 states,
    Plus D.C. and some countries -- so cool, so great!

        The students visited a place called Quarry Hill.
        They had fun even though the day was gray and chill.
        They saw an owl, snakes, fish, ducks, toad eggs,
        And many bees: a bee has how many legs?

I know a 1st grade class; I'm with them right now.
Their teacher, Mrs. Follmuth, is wonderful and wow!

    Gage runs fast like a Greyhound; it's a breed of dog.
    Weston's as fast as a cheetah when he's on a jog.
    Adalia and Whitney are little fairies.
    They fly with sparkly wings and are very merry.

        Landon's strong like the Hulk, but is his skin green?
        Mattix has a monster-scare-away machine.
        Sammy flies around like a graceful butterfly,
        While Taylor rides a dragonfly high up in the sky.

            Logan and Skylar are as tough as bears,
            And Maysen keeps a pet dinosaur upstairs.
            Avery and Ruby wear puffy, glittery gowns.
            Since they're princesses, are they wearing their crowns?

                Marshall has a hat that is shaped like a French horn,
                And Kennedy and Haylee have twenty unicorns.
                For you, 1st Grade, I give you this rhyming depiction.
                Can you say which part was fact ... and which part was fiction?

Thanks to Mrs. Follmuth, you've learned lots of things new.
I hope some of you become teachers like her, too!

Lisa "Rutabaga"

May 2013