Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Maria. She was a happy little girl who lived a happy little life with her parents and three siblings. She spent her days playing outside like every other little girl on the planet. Every day, she would wake up, eat some cereal, watch some cartoons, and then head outside to play in the warm sun with her best friend in the whole world—the tiny, stuffed monkey, Meatball. Meatball and Maria had been inseparable since the first time they met. Meatball had been a gift from Maria’s Godmother after her surgery. Maria instantly loved Meatball and was grateful for her companionship in that cold, quiet hospital. After leaving the hospital Maria thanked Meatball for staying by her side for that entire horrible week. She promised Meatball that she would take her everywhere she went so she would never be alone. From that day forward, Meatball never left her side. If Maria went grocery shopping with her Mommy, Meatball sat next to her in the grocery cart. If she went to the movies, Meatball sat snuggly in Maria’s purse. During storms, Maria clung tightly to Meatball and Meatball hugged her back. At dinnertime, Meatball sat on her lap, but did not eat (she only did that while Maria slept). So you see, Maria and Meatball lived a great life full of happiness and love.

One day, Maria’s Mommy told her that she was going to start school. Maria was terribly excited about that because her brother and sister always told her stories about how fun school was. She was a little nervous, but she knew everything would be alright—especially with Meatball by her side. The day before school started, Maria’s Mommy and Daddy took her shopping for a new backpack and a dress. When they got home, Maria’s Mommy made Meatball a new dress to wear on their first day of school.

The second Maria stepped into the classroom, she fell in love. By the end of the week, she knew she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. She was so happy! School was the best thing ever! Then something terrible happened. During recess one day, Maria was playing with Meatball, when some of her classmates ran over to her. “She is so cute!” they gushed. Maria smiled. She always loved it when people complimented her Meatball. “Can I hold her?” asked one girl. Maria felt hesitant to hand Meatball over, but she remembered what her Mommy always told her: SHARE. So she did. Before Maria knew what was happening, the girls were fighting over Meatball. “I WANT TO HOLD HER!” “IT’S MY TURN!” “GIVE HER TO ME!” Maria stared at them, not knowing what to do. “Um…guys…can I have Meatball back?” she asked in a shaky voice. RRRRIIIIPPPP!!! Meatball’s arm fell to the grass. “Noooooo!!!” shouted Maria. “Look what you did!” Maria grabbed Meatball and her arm and ran as fast as she could to the nurse.

Maria cried quietly at her desk the rest of the day. The nurse had not been able to do anything for Meatball, except put a band-aid on the hole that was where her arm used to be. The hours dragged on and finally the bell rang. Maria ran to her seat on the bus and quickly took Meatball out of her backpack. “It will be okay, Meatball,” whispered Maria as a tear rolled down her cheek and onto Meatball’s face.

When Maria got home, she rushed over to her Mommy and cried. Her Mommy held her close and asked, “What is the matter, mija?” Maria held out Meatball and her arm. “Look, Mommy. Look what they did to Meatball.” Maria’s Mommy took Meatball’s arm and Maria’s hand and they walked to her room. Within a matter of minutes, Maria’s Mommy had sewn Meatball’s arm back on. Maria was thrilled! “Thank you!” she shouted as she grabbed Meatball and turned to run outside. “Mija, wait!” her Mommy shouted after her. Maria turned around and walked back to her Mom. “Mija, we need to talk,” she said in a serious voice. Maria sat on the bed with Meatball on her lap. “Yes, Mommy?” Her Mom looked at her seriously and took Meatball from her lap. “Look Maria.” She pointed to the bald spot on the back of Meatball’s head. Then she pointed to Meatball’s new stitches. “You have had Meatball for a few years now. I know you like taking her everywhere, but she is starting to fall apart. I think it would be a good idea to leave Meatball at home from now on. I would hate for her get so messed up that I could not fix her.” Maria began to cry. “But Mommy, I promised Meatball I would always take her with me. What will she do without me? She will be so sad and she will think I don’t love her anymore!” Maria cried for a long time, but she finally decided her Mommy was right. She and her Mommy decided they would go to the store the following weekend and buy Meatball a friend to play with while Maria was away at school. Maria took Meatball to her room and sat her down on the bed. “Meatball, I’m afraid you won’t be going to school with me from now on. You will have a new friend to play with while I am away, but I promise we will still spend every moment together when I am at home. Also, I will always think about you at school and will not make another best friend, okay?” Maria kissed Meatball’s round little head and set her on the dresser. Then she cried herself to sleep.

As time passed, Maria felt better and better about leaving Meatball at home. She knew it was for the best and was determined to keep Meatball informed about everything she did. Sometimes, when Maria missed Meatball terribly, she would pull out a piece of paper and write Meatball a letter. Sometimes she wrote about everyday things that were just part of a regular day, like catching a ladybug during recess, or about playing with her friend Tabitha on the monkey bars. Other times she had more exciting news:

And so it continued throughout the year. Maria was loyal to Meatball and kept her promise. She continued to write to Meatball, with more frequency, sometimes twice a day. One day, Maria graduated from high school. By that time, Meatball was surrounded by many new friends she had made through out the years. There was David, the Smiley Blue Thingy, Softball, the other monkey, Lemon, Maria’s sister’s baby doll, Sherbert, the piggy, and last but definitely not least, Butterball, Meatball’s long lost twin sister which Maria’s sister had stumbled upon at a garage sale.

Maria grew up to be a very motivated girl who went to college to become a teacher, just like she always dreamed. She went to a great college, where she got to experience many great things. She made many new friends, but always kept her promise to Meatball. She continued to write letters to Meatball about all the exciting experiences she had. Maria was always busy and sometimes got home very late from school, so Rosie, Maria’s little sister read the letters to Meatball.

One day, Meatball received a happy letter from Maria:

So Maria’s fourth grade adventure at St. Mary-Basha began. She was always excited and giddy about going there. She loved working with the children and loved to watch and learn from the excellent teacher that taught them. One day, however, while she observed the physical aspect of the classroom, she noticed something that really bothered her. There was no literature corner in the classroom. Maria was taking a Children’s Literature class and she knew the many benefits of having a special place for students to read. Maria suddenly had a vision. As soon as left St. Mary’s she wrote two letters:

Dear Santa Claus,

Do you remember me? Probably not, it has been quite a while. It’s me, Maria! I hope you are doing well. I didn’t get many presents from you last year…I know, I know, how are you supposed to know what I want if I don’t write to you anymore? Well, Santa, I can explain myself. You see, lately I haven’t had time for much. Every day, I get up and go to school where I learn how to be a teacher. Then I go home and do tons of homework. By the time I am finished, the only thing I have time for is dinner, and then it’s straight to bed. But there are special times, when I am neither at school or at home, that I go to elementary schools where I observe teachers and interact with children so that I truly get a feel for the wonderful profession I am about to enter.

It is precisely at one of those schools, Santa, that I realized it was crucial that I contact you. You see, after visiting St. Mary-Basha Catholic School, I had a vision. In my head, I saw a beautiful classroom. The walls were colorful and cluttered with the work of the students. The bulletin board showed the scores of the latest test the students had taken—all A+’s! The class hamster was happy and well fed. The teacher sat at her desk cheerfully grading papers. The birds sang and the sun shone through the open window that let in a warm, gentle breeze. It was truly a dream classroom.

Then suddenly, I turned to the students and saw a startling vision. Although the classroom seemed like a wonderful place to be, the faces of the children showed no excitement or happiness. They got out of their desks and walked unemotionally to a corner of the classroom. I watched intently as they reached the corner which was the only part of the room with no color. The walls were white and blank. The only thing in that corner was a small table with a small stack of books on it. The children walked to the table and randomly picked up books. They did not bother to read the titles. They simply picked up whatever book was nearest to them and walked back to their desks. Once they sat down, they pretended to read the books, but I could sense their lack of interest. The girls fiddled with their hair and stared out the window. The boys yawned and stared at the ceiling.

“What is going on?!” I thought to myself. How can the children be so unhappy in such a wonderful classroom? Then I received the shock of my life. I watched in horror as the teacher looked up from grading her papers—it was me!

Santa, I just about fainted! How could I let this happen? Was this my future? Was I going to be a crummy teacher? Then I had a light bulb moment! “I KNOW WHAT’S WRONG!” I thought. The classroom was missing a literature corner!

This is the purpose of my letter, Santa. I don’t want my students to feel bored during reading time! I want them to be excited and passionate about reading—just like I was when I was a kid, remember Santa? The Christmas list I have this year is not really for me. This year, I want a reading corner for all of my students. I want books, Santa, tons and tons of books—picture books, chapter books, biographies—every kind of book about all kinds of things, so that my students can be certain to find a topic of interest. I also want furniture. I want lots of bookshelves where I can organize our books. I want a huge, comfy couch and two or three bean bags for my students to lounge on when they read their favorite books. I want bright paint and colorful literature posters for the wall. Last but not least, I want thumbtacks, Santa, lots and lots of thumbtacks, because I plan to proudly showcase my students’ work all over the classroom. I will hang my students’ book reports not only in the reading corner, but throughout my beautiful classroom.

So you see, Santa, my Christmas wish is not for me, but for every child that ever sits in my class. If you can give me these things for Christmas, I will have the most wonderful classroom in the world. Most importantly, I will have happy students who are excited about literature and school, and that will be the only Christmas gift I will ever want. Thank you, Santa Claus. Send my best to Rudolph and Mrs. Claus!

Your Friend Always,

Maria

P.S. Meatball really wants a skateboard. Just thought I would let you know.

That weekend, Maria was lucky and had no homework. Both she and Meatball were thrilled, because they had not spent time together in a very long time. In order to celebrate this most joyous occasion, Maria told Meatball that they could do anything she wanted. Meatball told Maria that she wanted to make cookies. Joined by Rosie and Meatball’s sister, Butterball, they began to read the instructions on how to make awesome, yummy fortune cookies. While Rosie began to read the instructions, Maria began to sort the ingredients. Meatball and Butterball started mixing the ingredients. As everyone got to work, Maria glanced at the instructions again. The whole time Rosie read them, she had been thinking about how similar baking cookies and having a successful classroom was. The recipe reminded her of her service learning classroom at St. Mary’s, and in her mind, the following recipe was formed:

“MARIA!!!” called Rosie as she waved her hand back and forth in front of Maria’s face. “Oh! What?” said Maria snapping out of her dreamy recipe. Meatball and Butterball looked at each other and giggled. Rosie rolled her eyes. “We’re ready to write the fortunes for the fortune cookies. Come on.” They worked hard for about thirty minutes and were very proud of their results.

As Maria started to write her fortunes, she thought about her time at St. Mary’s. Suddenly her thoughts went to Mrs. Baker,* her mentor teacher. Her fortunes suddenly turned into reflections of what she had learned about teaching from her.

Maria and Meatball had a wonderful time making cookies that day. When they were finished, they all went outside and played in the grass. Then it was time to get ready for bed. That night, Meatball asked Maria to tell her a bedtime story. Maria thought and thought. She had read Meatball every single book they had in the house and she wanted that special day to finish in a special way. So she cleared her throat and began to tell Meatball a story. To Maria, it was the story of realizing that she was born to teach, but to Meatball, it was just a brand new tale.

Maria looked down at Meatball. She was fast asleep. Maria smiled. Her story was just another bed time story to her little monkey friend. To Maria, it was the story of her overcome fear, the day she delivered her read-aloud at St. Mary’s. Things had started out shaky, but once she forgot that Mrs. Baker was watching her, she read her heart out and the children loved the book. They sat mesmerized at her feet watching her every move. That day, Maria knew that she was born to teach and as she fell asleep next to her Meatball that night, she dreamed about the day when she had her very own classroom, and Meatball could once again join her at school.