QUOTE
A quote about children that is especially meaningful to me as a parent and as a teacher is:
"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children.  One of these is roots; the other is wings."                                                                                            
                                                                                                            Hodding Carter

CHILDREN'S BOOK
One of my favorite children's books, to begin the school year, is Tacky the Penguin.  Tacky is a very different kind of penguin.  He dresses differently, talks loudly, counts differently, etc.  In the end, Tacky saves the other penguins from some hunters who have come to hunt them.  As I am reading the story, I really get into the character of Tacky, and the students love it.  Afterwards, we discuss the story.  We talk about how Tacky is different from the other penguins, and we discuss how we are different from each other.  This leads to further discussions on accepting other people's differences whether it be their clothes, hair color, skin color, favorite sport's team, etc. 


SPECIAL STUDENT
There was a child who touched my heart during my student-teaching experience that I have never forgotten.  I was teaching in a kindergarten class and getting the students ready for their afternoon centers.  For the third day in a row, I was explaining what the expectations were for each child at each center.  Well, this particular week, at the "Housekeeping Center", the students were using plastic knives to cut cherries, pears, and bananas to make a fruit cocktail snack.  I was in the midst of going over the expectations when *Jonathon's hand shoots up in the air, waving wildly, as he calls out, "We makin' fruit cottontail today?"  Well, I just couldn't correct him, especially when he was so proud of his contribution. So I replied, "Yes, Jonathon, we sure are!"  A big smile spread across his face, and I dismissed the students to their centers.  That was in the spring of 1991.  To this day, whenever I see a dish of "fruit cottontail", I chuckle and remember a special student.
*name changed