Pen Pals

A few months ago I asked Madison's teacher if our classes could be pen pals. She liked the idea so we have been writing back and forth over the past few months. I had my class draw names and we sent the first letters. Since I have helped out in Madison's class this year, I was pretty familiar with the kids in her class. I couldn't believe how some of the kids matched up! This past week our classes met up at Stubb's Park in Centerville for a picnic so that they could all see their pen pals in person. I was a little anxious (surprise, surprise:) because I have a very rambunctious class this year. They can be challenging to control, especially when they are out of their element. But I was relieved that they were pretty well behaved. I had a few parent chaperons so it was also a little pressure having a few of my student's parents see how my own child behaved. Luckily, Madison did well to. Of course she gravitated to the active boys in my class. We are so focused on academics all the time in school. It was great to just let the kids be kids and play at the park. We started with lunch, then the kids played on the playground. We brought bubbles, balls, jump ropes and side walk chalk. We ended with a couple of rounds of tug-o-war. Madison's class won both times! It was a lot of fun. The kids intermixed so well and everyone had a great time. Hopefully down the road I can do the same thing with Molly and Mallory's first grade classes.