so that others could know the joy of reading
A package came in the mailbox today. My face lit up with a big smile when I saw who it was from. I only know one young lady named "Cori" and sure enough it was from her!
I became acquainted with Cori when I was her 3rd grade teacher at Big Pasture Elementary School in Randlett, Oklahoma. She was actually the very first kid I ever met after she and her mom came to visit me in the classroom before school actually began. I knew right away that she would be a wonderful student to have in class and I looked so forward to being her teacher!
During the course of our 3rd grade year together, Cori and the rest of her classmates (which numbered 19 in all) learned and grew together as a strong classroom community. We had many marvelous adventures that year and although my stay at Big Pasture was for one school term only, I packed as many memories as I could into it. One of the things that I did was to start a classroom Facebook page for them, pairing each student up with an adult that I knew with connections to my home state of Kansas. During the course of the school year, these adults would stay up with what we were doing on our page and check in with their 3rd grade buddies as they encouraged them to always do their best. My sister Sherry, newly retired from teaching but really hating to not have a way to connect with kids, had wanted to be a part of that kind of idea. I knew that Cori would be the perfect match for her.
And so they were.
Before we knew it, 3rd grade was over and the kids went home for the summer.
Sherry died a month later after school had dismissed for the year.
I took a special angel to Cori that had once belonged to Sherry as well as "Safety Sam", a gnome that Sherry had given our classroom to enjoy. Cori's tender heart understood and when I told her that Mrs. St. Clair didn't have to be tired and worn out any longer, she shook her head "yes". That young girl, precious in spirit, provided a dying retired school teacher with so much joy during that 3rd grade year. A visit about Cori was better than any medicine that a doctor could have prescribed for Sherry's ailing health.
I opened up Cori's package a bit ago and oh what a very nice surprise it was! Cori knows all about my little library because her class also benefitted from being the recipients of free books that were all their own with no strings attached. Inside the package were 7 wonderful books that looked brand new, ones that Cori had picked out for my new class of 5th graders in the fall. What a gift! These will be put into the hands of children who may not have any at home to truly call their own. Hard as it is to imagine, there are some young people who have none.
And as an extra special remembrance, she included a note for me complete with a Kansas Jayhawk at the top of it. I could have cried when I saw it. The children of Cori's 3rd grade class heard every single day something about my beloved Kansas and to see that she remembered it felt like an honor to me. My heart swelled!
So to a sweet young lady and her momma who live 240 miles southwest of me now, I say thank you for giving of what you had so that other kids could know the joy of reading, Your offering of a good book could be the very thing that sparks the interest of a reluctant reader who may some day grow up to be someone who changes the world for the good.
As an educator now for the past 4 decades, I have had the blessing to be called "teacher" by so many fine students. Sweet Cori is one of them!
During the course of our 3rd grade year together, Cori and the rest of her classmates (which numbered 19 in all) learned and grew together as a strong classroom community. We had many marvelous adventures that year and although my stay at Big Pasture was for one school term only, I packed as many memories as I could into it. One of the things that I did was to start a classroom Facebook page for them, pairing each student up with an adult that I knew with connections to my home state of Kansas. During the course of the school year, these adults would stay up with what we were doing on our page and check in with their 3rd grade buddies as they encouraged them to always do their best. My sister Sherry, newly retired from teaching but really hating to not have a way to connect with kids, had wanted to be a part of that kind of idea. I knew that Cori would be the perfect match for her.
And so they were.
Sherry and Cori
November of 2016
Sherry had kept tabs on Cori throughout the months that school was in session, often checking in with me to see just what was happening. She would always ask the same question and as I type these words, I can almost hear her voice once again.
"How's my special friend Cori doing? "I would always assure her that Cori was doing great and that I'd tell her that she was checking in. The final few months of the 2016-2017 school year were tough ones physically for Sherry. Hospital stay after hospital stay seemed to occupy most of her time. She was always hoping to be strong enough to come over to our classroom and volunteer with the kids and especially to see her "friend". Unfortunately it didn't happen because she just didn't have the strength to make the 80 mile trip over from Altus.
Before we knew it, 3rd grade was over and the kids went home for the summer.
Sherry died a month later after school had dismissed for the year.
I took a special angel to Cori that had once belonged to Sherry as well as "Safety Sam", a gnome that Sherry had given our classroom to enjoy. Cori's tender heart understood and when I told her that Mrs. St. Clair didn't have to be tired and worn out any longer, she shook her head "yes". That young girl, precious in spirit, provided a dying retired school teacher with so much joy during that 3rd grade year. A visit about Cori was better than any medicine that a doctor could have prescribed for Sherry's ailing health.
I opened up Cori's package a bit ago and oh what a very nice surprise it was! Cori knows all about my little library because her class also benefitted from being the recipients of free books that were all their own with no strings attached. Inside the package were 7 wonderful books that looked brand new, ones that Cori had picked out for my new class of 5th graders in the fall. What a gift! These will be put into the hands of children who may not have any at home to truly call their own. Hard as it is to imagine, there are some young people who have none.
And as an extra special remembrance, she included a note for me complete with a Kansas Jayhawk at the top of it. I could have cried when I saw it. The children of Cori's 3rd grade class heard every single day something about my beloved Kansas and to see that she remembered it felt like an honor to me. My heart swelled!
As an educator now for the past 4 decades, I have had the blessing to be called "teacher" by so many fine students. Sweet Cori is one of them!
May 18, 2017
Cori and her classmates on our last day of school together~
It was a wonderful year!
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