"I call first to get a drink! And first to eat my snack!
I call first to go to gym, and first when we come back!

"I call first to leave for lunch! And first to switch the light!
I call first to read out loud the poems that I write!

"I call first to sharpen up my pencil, loud and slow!
And when we get to sharing time, I call first to show!

"I call the computer! I call the special chair!
And I call first in line each time that we go anywhere!

"And on the hill at recess, I get to be the king!
I call first forever and for every little thing!"
I said those things in class today until my teacher heard.
She sat right down and made a list to keep me at my word.

So now I’m first to dump the trash and sweep the silly floors.
I’m first to be the last in line—’cause I hold all the doors.

I’m first to wipe the tables off and scrape off clods of clay.
I’m first to pass the paper out and put the paints away.

I’m first to stack the stupid chairs and first to scrub the sink.
I’m prob’ly not the first to see that being first can stink!

Text © Ted Scheu, reprinted from If Kids Ruled the School published by Meadowbrook Press. Illustration © Stephen Carpenter. Any copying or use of this poem or illustration without consent is unlawful.

Click the cover below for more information or to buy the book.