We Share Everything

My kindergartners' new favorite book is We Share Everything by Robert Munsch. In the book it's the first day of kindergarten and the children don't know what to do. They are fighting over blocks, paint, etc. and the teacher comes over and says in a sing-song voice, "Now look, this is kindergarten. In kindergarten we share. We share everything." The kids say, "okay, okay, okay." So the kids decide to share their clothes. When the teacher discovers this, she gets angry at the children. They children remind the teacher that, "This is kindergarten. In kindergarten we share. We share everything." The teacher faints and the kids start stripping off their clothes and sharing them with their classmates. You can hear Robert Munsch telling the entire story here.

I gave you that synopsis of the book to share what one of my ESL kindergartners said yesterday.
I kept dropping my marker, eraser, etc. and I made a grrrrrrr sound. My student said, "Now look, this is kindergarten" in a sing song voice. And of course I replied, "okay, okay, okay." It was one of those moments I won't forget. This student with limited English made a connection with that book and we made a connection with each other.

Never underestimate the power of reading aloud and reading favorites over and over. The language and repetition of this book creates patterns that appeal to children and help them learn. Book language becomes a part of us and a part of our classroom community.