Field Day
The Diary of a First Grade Teacher
Field Day - at our school – is a day given to our students at the end of the school year. It’s designed to reward our students for all the work they have done ...
And it’s also to celebrate that state testing is over! This fun day consists of games, sport competitions, refreshments, and other adventures.
End of the School Year
I told my students it was time for Field Day activities to begin. “We’ll START by going outside to join with all of the other first grade classes to sing.”
Opening the classroom door, I looked out. “Boys and girls, there are parents in the hallway right now. They have volunteered to come here and help us today, so let’s go down the hall, quietly.”
To stress my point, I said, “Let’s tiptoe out.”
As the children lined up, I saw Joe Joe lift his heels and stand on the front of his feet. With every step he took, he tried to stomp.
I stopped him at the door. “What are you doing? I asked you to tiptoe out of here.”
“Oh,” he said, looking surprised. “I thought you said, ‘Tiptoe LOUD!' "
"Tiptoe loud? ... Now, that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one!"
"Huh?"
"Never mind," I said, laughing and taking his hand. "Let's go celebrate the end of the school year!"
Around the Flag Pole
Outside – in the bright and glorious May sunshine - we gathered around the flag pole in front of our elementary school.
The music teacher – Ms. Joyson – said we’d be singing a medley of famous old tunes.
Then, she sang … leading us from one song into the next, without stopping.
Joe Joe was the only one I could see who wasn’t singing. Did he know the words?
With a scowl on his face, he stood - arms folded against his chest - listening to Ms. Joyson.
She spoke to everyone. “This is one of my all-time favorites. I want to see every person here singing because I’m sure this is one that all of you know. Ready?”
She broke into song … “She’ll be coming round the mountain … “
Joe Joe glared at me, unimpressed. “Hmmp! That’s nuttin,” he said, spitting on the ground. “I BEEN knowing that one!”
She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain
Field Day Problems
After a few games and a break for refreshments, Weesie rushed over to me.
“Teacher, Teacher, I got a problem.” She was holding a bag of chips, two candy bars, and a popsicle.
“I’m mad,” she declared in her tiny, squeaky voice. “My momma gave me TOO MUCH money!”
“Is that right?” I asked, amused. “What can I do to help?”
“I don’t know,” she gravely announced. “But my hands don’t know how to hold all this stuff."
Suddenly, Ema appeared beside her. She was holding two cupcakes – one in each hand – and complaining, too. “My mother ain’t fair! I’m post to buy TWO cupcakes and TWO Cokes.”
Totally frazzled, she tapped her foot. “I don't know HOW I'm post to do all that!”
Dutifully, she took a bite out of one cupcake, then the other.
Her upper lip and the tip of her nose were covered in a smattering of both chocolate and vanilla icing ... But somehow she managed to endure the punishment.
When I could no longer keep from laughing, she shot me a piercing glare.
“It’s true,” she insisted. “My mother thinks I can hold all this junk, but I can’t! NOW, I gotta go buy TWO drinks and DRINK ‘em.”
“Do you want me to find a spot for your cupcakes?” I offered.
She sighed as if she were exhausted. “No … I’ll just have to eat it all … ALL BY MYSELF!”
Bless her heart. She thought she had a problem.
But I knew she was simply hot, tired, and had eaten too much junk food and sugar.
Anyway, today was a FIRST ... It was the first time I ever heard a child complain about having too much money to spend on Field Day.
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