We walked through the parking lot, past the big yellow buses, and approached the red brick building. Pushed the buzzer to be allowed in. Then we knocked on the principal’s office door.
“Hello. This is Ernest. We’re here to visit the first grade today.”
The principal smiled and jumped out of her seat to greet Ernest. “The boys and girls will be so excited,” she said. She led us down the hall to the room. All along the way teachers and students stopped to pat Ernest. He sure enjoyed that!
The kids in first grade were all smiles and wide eyes. The teacher had everything organized and ready for us. Ernest laid down on a quilt and the kids sat beside him one at a time and read him their stories–they’d written original Halloween stories all by themselves!
The Mummy who Lost his Bandages.
The Vampire who Lost His Teeth.
The Ghost That Wasn’t White.
The Witch Who Couldn’t Fly. These kids could write!
Ernest listened attentively while they read. Some of the kids were a little afraid of dogs–they didn’t want to get too close, but they all showed him the pictures.
Afterwards Ernest gave the kids each a trading card with his “stats.”
The class gave Ernest a card they’d all signed, and two Halloween toys. He played with the spider right away. One of the girls gave Ernest a note that said “I Love You.” One of the boys asked Ernest to come back. And guess what? He will come back! We’re going to visit the first grade once a month. We can’t wait to hear the stories again next time.
