< book buddies >

One of the cool things they do at Jacob's school is partner each Kindergartner with a 5th grade "book buddy".... a mentor, so to speak. Every Friday, the 5th grade class comes into Jacob's class to help them with their work. They read their library books with them, help them with the computer for AR testing, assist them with any projects they are working on, etc. In turn, the 5th graders usually bring a project they've completed in to share with their K-buddy. A couple of weeks ago, they even had a "Manners Tea Party" where they got all dressed up and practiced their pleasantries together. Unfortunately, that was the day Jacob was sick... so he didn't get to party with his friends.

Last Friday, I got to go into the classroom to capture some pictures of the class with their book buddies. Jacob's pal is a little fella named Drew. I had already heard lots and lots about Drew, so I was glad to finally meet him. He seems to be a very sweet boy, and very much into talking to and helping Jacob – so I love him already. It really was quite remarkable to see all of these 5th graders so genuinely interested and involved in what their little Kindergarten friend was working on. Some of them held their K-buddies in their laps as they read books... or laid in the floor with them. They encouraged them when a word was difficult to read. They helped them when they didn't know how to spell a word. Very sweet indeed.

Jacob loves older kids... always has. This particular Friday, several of Jacob's classmates were absent due to sickness. That meant some of the 5th graders had no K-buddy, so they got to double up with someone else. When the teacher said "Ready, set, GO find your book buddies and get started" I looked up to find FOUR boys hovering around Jacob. And he didn't waste any time talking to them either! When I walked over to take a picture, he was asking each of them how tall they were...and telling them how many inches taller they were than him. That's our little numbers guy...