Scarves, animals, and MCAS

My 5th graders are still very young children at heart.

After Donnie and Isaac were so taken by my scarves on the first day of MCAS, I decided that maybe I'd bring a few more scarves for the next day of MCAS... just in case others were interested.

Before school, as I was looking around my bedroom for scarves to stuff in my gym bag, I started to realize I definitely wasn't going to have enough for all of my students (I guess I was trying to be really prepared). Several students from past years of teaching have given me stuffed animals - they are all propped up on my stereo - and so I decided to pack these in my gym bag as well... just in case.

Wednesday morning - second day of MCAS reading testing: My students were in a nervous buzz as they entered the classroom and tried to settle in. Once everyone had arrived, announcements ended, and desks were cleared, I pulled out my bag. I brought up that Donnie and Isaac had used my good luck magic speed writing scarves on Monday (sometimes I get carried away with adjectives) and I was wondering if those students and/or others were interested in such scarves for that day's testing -- I told them I'd brought more scarves from home.

I cannot tell you how cute the response was. Almost everyone wanted a scarf and an animal. I was horribly unprepared for this, yet delighted at the same time. Tiyori chose a dark brown velvety scarf my mother had given me for Christmas - I tried not to grin too much as I handed it to him. Kavoni, a boy with endless energy, chose my pink pashmina and a stuffed kitty a previous student gave me two years ago (the kitty sports a lovely pearl necklace - the student thought this would be a great girlfriend for my real cat, Oscar).

How endearing my students were during this testing session is basically inexplainable. Isaac wore a green scarf over his head like a sheik while he whispered to himself every so often about how he had just done a great job proving his answer. Kavoni worked very hard, but paused every once in awhile to resettle his kitty in the pink pashmina scarf. Sometimes he even set the kitty on his lap or shoulder, patting it lovingly. Nomar selected a small gray hippo, which had a lovely view of his day of testing from Nomar's lap, shoulder, head, and desk.

By the end of Wednesday's testing, my students had not only done an AMAZING job on their tests, they were so preoccupied with showing these little animals love that they weren't moaning about any of the test.

Which brings me to today.... Thursday - the last day of reading MCAS in 5th grade! I came fully prepared. As many scarves and stuffed animals as I could find from my house - as well as some stuffed farm animals I borrowed from another teacher.

This morning my students didn't breathe one word of fear or nervousness about the test... they were so excited to get a scarf and stuff animal and get settled. After announcements, we lined up to go to the bathroom before beginning testing. As we filed through the hallway, I couldn't stop smiling. The whole school was in a tizzy about testing, and my class was grinning as they walked down the hall. They were fully adorned in every scarf I own, with animals on their shoulders, arms, being held like babies, and one even wrapped up on Isaac's back like a backpack.

An adult passing by looked puzzled and asked me what grade I teach.

"5th grade," I said proudly, knowing that my students are fully embraced as the kids they are. I can't be sure, but I'd be willing to bet that my students were the only students preparing for MCAS walking around with genuine smiles on their faces.

The best part was seeing how hard they worked the entire day. Every once in awhile I'd see a student pause to reposition their scarf or animal... sometimes even petting or hugging an animal before getting back to work. I'm so proud of my students and their ability to find a balance between the children they are and the hefty tasks they are asked to complete.