Poem

Yesterday one of my new little students came to school and handed me a piece of white paper while stating she had written me a poem. She was so excited! As I scanned the paper I realized there were not words on the page--just pictures of eyes, ape/monkey, trees. I have to admit the first thing I thought was that the little girl didn't really know what the word poem meant and was probably confused. So of course I said, "Wow, it looks great," Of course she said, "Wait there is more!" She was fishing around in her bag and pulled out an apple. By this time I am completely confused. She then said, "OK, here is the poem I wrote for you last night...Your eyes are brown, just like the ground. Just like an ape, you are great. Apes like apples, so here is an apple for you." I was speechless---no really, I was SPEECHLESS! I asked her to say it again so I could write it on the back of her pictures to me. I have to admit--even though having ones eyes compared to the ground isn't necessarily appealing---she did an amazing job! I can tell this is going to be an amazing year!