Homework Questions

I do not remember having homework in First Grade, however, I am finding that not to be the case these days. Big Sister came home with an assignment the other night that stills has me thinking. She was to fill a lunch size brown paper bag with four items that corresponded to questions listed on the outside. These items were to represent:

1. Something you did this summer.

2. Something that makes your family SPECIAL.

3. Something that you would like to learn how to do.

4. Something that you wish you could do better.

I thought these questions were fantastic and thought provoking. What a wonderful way to introduce yourself to your classmates and teacher. I immediately went into brainstorm mode throwing out ideas to Big Sister. I was so tickled as she quickly rattled off answers to 3 of the 4 questions indicating she had already given this assignment some thought. A hula girl magnet from our Hawaiian vacation was her answer to Question #1, a snack baggie with needles and yarn was to represent her desire to learn to knit (inspired by Aunt Andrea) for Question #3 and for Question #4 was a swimming fin keychain to represent her desire to swim better.

Big Sister was only stumped with Question #2...something that makes your family special? The Little Dudes quickly chimed in with "We have twins in our family." I agreed with Big Sister that although this was unique, it was not quite the tidbit she wanted to share. Many suggestions were thrown out during our ride home and during our afternoon snack. Finally, we discovered the "SPECIAL" element when we determined that everyone in our family had ridden an elephant. We quickly printed a photo from our Thailand vacation of Moloko Five riding on elephants in Chiang Mai to answer Question #2.

As she headed off with her treasures this morning, I wondered how her "show and tell" would go. She jumped in the car today and before I had the chance to ask, she declared that she had a "GREAT DAY!" She learned alot about her classmates today and found the exercise to be an extremely enjoyable experience. By the way, riding an elephant in suburban Virginia is not commonplace...her photo was a big hit!

If anything, this assignment has me personally contemplating Questions #3 and evaluating Question #4 in my own life. Keep the homework coming Mrs. Fahland!