Josiah participated in a Speech Meet on Friday. It all started with memorizing a poem and reciting it for his class then he came home excited that he was selected out of his first grade class to advance to the Speech Meet. This meant that he would go to another school and recite his poem there.
I didn't know until last week that it would be an all-day event. When I brought Josiah to the school Friday morning I learned that there were seven other schools involved and over 200 students. The day would be packed with speech, science, math and reasoning.
His group was to recite during the first session and I was able to stay and watch. After finding the correct classroom, there were 24 first through third graders reciting their selection to the other 23 students, three judges, and the parents that were there.
I was nervous for him. He knows that poem extremely well but I wondered if he would recite it clearly and loudly or if he would rush through it. I noticed his face blush when it was his turn... but he did it! He recited the poem clearly and loudly enough. (When I was in school I purposely misspelled a word in our Spelling Bee so that I wouldn't have to advance and do it again in front of a big crowd. I was that shy.)
At the end of the day, John and I were able to come to the award ceremony where he got a ribbon for doing an "excellent" job. 
You may notice in this picture how much he loves being in front of a crowd. (Did my sarcasm come through?) How did all the other kids do? Pullease. I'm sure they did fine but I only had eyes for my son. I am so proud of him!This is the poem which he chose to recite:
Chums
by Arthur Guitterman
He sits and begs, he gives a paw,
He is, as you can see,
The finest dog you ever saw,
And he belongs to me.
He follows everywhere I go
And even when I swim.
I laugh because he thinks, you know,
That I belong to him.
But still no matter what we do
We never have a fuss;
And so I guess it must be true
That we belong to us.
And this is Cairo, Josiah's very own chum. And mine.
2 comments:
awww cute! I would be SO NERVOUS to do that hahahaha.
What an absolutely perfect poem! All children should have to memorize poems like that. They'll remember them when they're 100!
My sons would be the same way. I was so embarrassed in front of a crowd that it wasn't until I had taught composition classes in graduate school for half the semester that my eyes stopped pooling and I looked like I was going to burst into tears! LOL
It's amazing how we outgrow those things with experience. And it's amazing how our heart just wraps around our children who feel the same way we used to!
Congrats on a job well done!
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