Wednesday I paid my first official visit to AJ�s school as a classroom volunteer and I have to say that I can hardly wait until my next one.

When I arrived, the classroom was empty. The children were still in gym class and their teacher, Mrs. D. was making copies down the hall, so I had a chance to wander around and really look at the room. It was eerily quiet, which stood in stark contrast to the busyness of the room. Everywhere you looked there was student art or posters or books or toys. There was a big science table in the middle of the room with rocks and feathers and pine cones and an enormous piece of brain coral as well as a box of science books, a box of magnifying glasses and a microscope. All around the perimeter of the carpeted area were books leaning up against the wall where the children could see them and get to them easily. There were posters of the food pyramid and a food alphabet taped to the blackboard, relating to this months unit on nutrition. One wall was covered in people made out of heart-shaped pieces of paper. I found AJ�s. It had a big crooked orange smile.

Mrs. D. came in and apologized for not being there when I arrived. We talked a little about AJ and about what I would be doing and then she ran down the hall and brought the children back from gym class. In they all came, their white shirts with their names on them over their clothes, all eerily quiet, all giving me the eye. AJ flashed me a big grin and a wave as he walked by. I waved back.

One of the girls lagged back and walked over to me.

�Whose mom are you?�

�I�m AJ�s mom.�

�Oh. Can you help me with my shirt?� She had two shirts on before the gym shirt as insulation against the cold. She could hardly bend her arms to take off her gym shirt. I held her sleeves while she pulled out her arms. �Thanks, AJ�s mom.�

�You�re welcome.�

When the children were all settled at their tables, I went over to AJ�s table and asked them if I could sit down with them.

�You can sit next to me. What�s your name?� asked a freckle-faced boy missing so many teeth that I wondered how he could eat at all. I recognized him as J., the boy who is usually at the front of the line going into school.

�Mrs. Spy. I�m AJ�s mom,� I said as I pulled out a miniature chair and sat down about a foot from the floor. My knees were above the top of the table.

�I think that chair is a little too small for you,� giggled the girl to my left in a quiet voice. I knew who she was because AJ talks about her a lot. She spent most of December and January visiting her family in India and AJ was fascinated by the journey and by the stories she brought back on her return. She leaned toward me. �I like your earrings.�

�Thank you.�

�Um, I have some earrings kind of like that but they are green and gold.� She said.

�Those sound very pretty.�

�They are. I have lots of jewels,� and she nodded and patted herself on the chest to show she meant it.

In addition to AJ, the other two kids at the table I knew well. One was AJ�s good friend M and the other was The Girl Next Door.

�When�s my mom going to come to the classroom?� asked TGND.

�I don�t know. You�ll have to ask her,� I replied.

�Mrs. Spy,� asked M, �can AJ come sledding with me after school?� He has asked this question of me every day for the last week, heedless of his hockey practices and skating lessons and other after school activities.

�Not today, M. We have to go somewhere, but maybe tomorrow.�

AJ was clearly getting impatient with all these questions. He flapped his hands nervously. �Mommy, what are we going to do?�

�I think Mrs. D�s about to tell us. Let�s all listen.�

My table quieted down as Mrs. D. told the class that each of the four tables was assigned a different project to work on. One did puzzles, another listened to stories at the listening center and two worked on making books. Our table was one of those. Because they�re studying nutrition, they were making a book about healthy food. On each page I was supposed to help them write a grocery list of foods in the food group listed at the top of the page.

�Okay. I want each of you to start cutting out the pages of your book. I�ll come around and help you write your list.� I started with the girl to my left, who was impatiently tugging on my sleeve and saying, �I�m ready! I�m ready!�

�What kinds of fruit do you want to buy at the store?�
She looked worried. �I don�t have any money.�
�It�s okay. This is just pretend. What are your favorite fruits?�
�I like strawberries��

An enthusiastic chorus swelled up around the table.
�Me too!�
�I love strawberries!�
�Strawberries are my favorite fruit.�
�I wish I had some strawberries right now!�

�Shhh!� warned the girl to my left. �No shouting!�

They all shot a look at their teacher, but she wasn�t paying attention to them. They looked relieved.

�What else?� I prompted her.

�Apples and bananas.�

I moved on to M. while she worked on her cutting.

�M., what kind of fruit do you want on your list.�

�Strawberries.�

�Just strawberries? You don�t want anything else?�

�Nope. Just strawberries.�

I leaned over AJ, who was cutting furiously, trying to finish all of his pages before I got there and flinging the finished pages in the middle of the table.

�What fruits do you want on your list, AJ?�

�Strawberries.�

�How do you spell strawberries?� I was a little uncomfortable about asking him this, but this is what we do at home. I didn�t want to put the other kids on the spot since I knew from Mrs. D. that most of them aren�t reading yet, but if I do this again, I really need to figure out some way to be equitable, maybe by having them work together on spelling.�

�S-T-R-A-W-B-R��
�Not yet. You need another letter first.

�I!� shouted J, the boy with the freckles.
�Nope, but that�s a good guess. It�s another vowel.
�A!� shouted AJ, getting excited by the mass participation.

�Nope. Try again. Think how you spell berry.�

�E!�

�Good. What next?�

�R-I-E-S.�

�Good, but there are two Rs.�

I wrote it down for him. �What else?�

�Apples.�

�I know how to spell �apples,�� chirped P, the girl who had been on my left. �A-P-P-L-E.�

�S,� added AJ.

�Good job!�

�I don�t like apples with skin,� opined TGND.

�I remember,� I said, as TGND had had lunch with AJ the day before.

�But you like them with peanut butter.�

�Yeah! I want to put peanut butter on my list. Is it my turn yet?� asked TGND.

�In just a minute, when I�m finished with AJ.�

J., who was supposed to be working on his cutting until I got to him, had dropped his scissors in excitement. He wanted to be part of the conversation, so he changed the subject. �I�ve got a loose tooth!� he said.

�That�s great!�

�Is it my turn again yet?� asked P., �I�ve been waiting and waiting.�

�Not yet.�

�TGND, what fruit do you want to put on your list?�

�Peanut butter and apples.�

�Apples are a great idea, but peanut butter isn�t a fruit. Which page should we put that on?�

We leafed through the other pages. Fruits. Vegetables. Bread group. Milk Group. Meat Group.

�I think it should go here.�

�Yuck! I hate meat!� (TGND and her family are vegetarians).

�Well, a lot of people call the meat group the protein group now, because not everyone eats meat. Peanuts have protein so we could put them here.�

�Oh. Okay.�

P asked, �Is it my turn now?�

�Almost. First I have to help J.�

J. flashed me one of his huge infectious grins. �I like strawberries and apples and watermelon��

M. hit himself on the forehead, �I should have said watermelon!�

�That�s okay, M. We can add it to your list when I come back around.�
J. continued, �and baked potatoes with butter.� He rubbed his tummy to show how much he liked them.

�Potatoes are a vegetable, not a fruit. Why don�t we start your vegetable page.�

P. interrupted, �I�m ready for vegetables! I like cauliflower!�

M. made a face, �You like to eat flowers? Ew!�

AJ corrected him, �Not flowers, M., cauliflower. It�s white and it looks a little like broccoli and it smells really bad.�

TGND joined in the fray, �Mmmm! I love broccoli. I want some broccoli right now!� She began to mime eating broccoli. Soon they were all pretending to eat their pages.

We still had five more pages to go.

We made it through most of them before it was time to clean up. Mrs. D. rang a bell and they all quietly packed up their things and put them away. Mrs. D. called one table at a time to go get �their things,� (AJ has been very amused by the fact that his teacher calls their coats and boots and backpacks �things�). They dressed nearly silently and got into two three lines: one for the walkers and car riders, one for the early busses and one for the late busses. AJ grabbed my hand and guided me towards the line for walkers and car riders.

�Are we walkers or car riders today, Mommy?�

�We�re car riders.�

�Yay! We don�t have to stay in the line. We can just go because you�re here.�

I looked at the teacher to make sure � clearly this class runs on rules. I didn�t want to be the one to rock the boat. Mrs. D. nodded and AJ and I were halfway down the hall before the first bell rang and children began pouring out of classrooms on all sides of us. Swept up in the crowd, we emerged unscathed into the arctic air of the playground. My forty-five minutes had flown by in a heartbeat.

[Second entry today; click back to read my mail]

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