Confession: Eating Something Bad

"Once I ate the worst thing ever! I have eaten bad things before but never as bad as what I'm about to tell you. I once ate a piece of kibble. I just wanted to try it because my dog eats it, so I did. It was terrible! It tasted like bad cardboard. I'll never, ever, in my whole life, eat kibble again.
PS. please don't tell my mom about this."

drawing

This is a drawing left on my desk anonymously a few weeks back. I'm so glad there were no children in the room when I found it, so I could laugh.

Oatmeal? Mold? Pet? What?

I always thought this kid was a little off, and this journal entry confirms it.

"Oatmeal, my pet slime mold, who hates light and eats oatmeal, is surprisingly a protist. It is small and yellow-orange colored. It is tree shaped and doesn't emit any sound. If you touch it, it feels bumpy, hard and moist. When you touch it you usually get wet oatmeal on your hand. It is also very odorly [note to self: go over that odorly is not a word]. It smells bad like a stink worm. Really, it is just utterly disgusting. Despite all of the negative things I said, oatmeal is one of my favorite pets. I only have two pets."

So many questions:
1) Will someone let me know if they believe oatmeal can actually be a pet? I thought oatmeal was just a breakfast food.
2) Are stink worms real?

Most importantly, will someone give this kid a real toy? He's playing with oatmeal !

A little sister and a dentist

I love that first morning that I get to sleep in. I feel like a new person! I know you're ready for another journal post, so here goes:

Title: Having a Dentist as My Mom

"Even though you would think that my mom would be so caring about my teeth at home, she's not. I like having her as my dentist thought because I would not want a stranger doing that kind of work on my teeth. In fact, that's how nine of my teeth came out."

Title: My Little Sister

"Sharing a room with my little sister stinks. She is the most annoying little creature. She sometimes keeps me up until 10, which is ridiculous. She also snores really loudly. Sometimes I read in bed, and I can never concentrate when she's talking, which is all the time. She makes me crazy. She still gets stories at night, and it is so annoying because they are like baby books. A good character trait for my sister is annoying. She is such a blabber mouth!"

Is anyone else feeling the love?
Happy Vacation! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate :)!

pee and some journals

Dismissal is by far the most difficult time of the day at my school. We have so many kids going to so many different places (busses from a wide range of districts, pick-ups, after school programs, library/study hall, tutoring, play dates). What happened today is one of the worst, if not the worst, possible errors for us. A kindergartener or 1st grader gets on a bus when s/he isn’t supposed to and goes home to an empty house. Today that happened to a 1st grade girl. She got off the bus and found herself locked out of her empty house. Think about how petrifying that is for a six year old. This little girl got so scared she peed in her pants. When the school realized their error, a teacher flew in her car and drove to the house to bring the child back to school. I just so happened to walk with her and another teacher to the library, where she was originally supposed to be. We had this interaction:

Girl: Oh man, these pants are really annoying.
Me: What’s wrong with them, honey? (totally oblivious)
Girl: They’re wet.
Me: Oh, were you walking in the snow? (still didn’t catch on)
Girl: Nope, I peed. Look! (Finally, I got the picture)

A teacher never knows what she’s going to encounter.

Here are some journal features for today:

“Who wants to sleep tonight? I do! I do. Have you ever tried to go to bed listening to your little brother sing ‘A, B, C, D, E,F...” That’s what I listen to going to bed. It’s so annoying. If you’re reading this, I need your help. Please help me persuade my parents to give me my own room.”

“I need freedom from the nerds! This year I happen to be put in the nerd class which is probably the worst, I repeat, worst class to put ME in the whole grade. It’s not fair!”

I have what I affectionately call “a kid disease.” I have a head cold to kick off my vacation. At least I can rest now...finally..

Journals

We had writing time, where we work on various writing skills through writing assignments. If the kids are finished with their required work, they can go on to their independent writing journal. The topics for their writing journal can come from themselves or an “idea basket” in the room that has writing prompts in it. Every now and then, I take the journals home to read to look at how they are applying the rules in their spontaneous writing. They are precious and, at times, hilarious! Over break, I plan to share some highlights...starting with the first journal I read tonight:

“I am scared that I need 2 of my teeth pulled out. I bet it will be very painful because when I was 1 years old, I had a tooth pulled out. My dad said he had to hold me down. That is why I am scared. If I get my tooth pulled out I think I would cry. I wish it won’t hurt.”

“I do not want to be a group up when I’m older. I want to stay a kid so then I can have a lot of fun. I don’t want to be a grown up because I will have to work everyday to make money. I don’t want to be a grown up because I can’t yell at my boss for a higher salary. When I am a kid, I can play with my friends. I don’t want to be a grown up. I want to stay a kid.”

“If I was caught taking money from my mom’s purse, my mom would be very mad. Once my dad caught me and my brother fighting. We always physically fight, and we fight a lot. I think me and my brother are enemies. My brother said, “we are like Cain and Able.” Sometimes I can’t even remember what we are fighting about, but I just keep punching. I am trying to remember to walk away, but we are like countries at war. We get caught fighting a lot.”

“Being a younger brother is sometimes really annoying. Sometimes it has a lot of advantages. Here are some examples. I don’t have to get the newspaper every morning from our driveway. My grandma treats me nice because I am the younger brother. Sometimes though I don’t get to do so much. When I wanted to go on a ride at an amusement park, I couldn’t go because I was too young and too short. Also, my brother gets to sit in the front seat of the car. We are sworn enemies.”

“If I were an icicle and the weather started to get warmer, I would be stressed out! I would be stressed out because I would soon die and melt. I would also be stressed out because I bet melting would hurt and burn.”

Any lines particularly move you?

$70

So there's this little boy in my class who can make anybody laugh just by listening to him. There's something about his facial expressions and tone. I feel like he really belongs in a cartoon and not in real life. Anyway, last week his mom told me that they were leaving for Florida and that he wouldn't be in school this week. Truthfully, I was kind of bummed, because I find him entertaining. What was I going to do all day (j/k)? To my surprise, he walked in to class today. We had this conversation:

Me: Hey! I didn't expect to see you today. What happened to Florida?
Boy: Our flight was canceled. I spent the day in the airport only to come home. I was boiling mad!
Me: Oh no! So, are you not going at all?
Boy: Well, not exactly...actually, we could have left late last night, but my dad wanted to save $70 so we are leaving very early tomorrow morning...like at 4 o'clock in the morning. The guy is just plain nuts! The only good thing is my mom said I can fly in my Superman pajamas.

I love how he was totally upfront about flying on an airplane in Superman pajamas and how shared that his dad saved $70.

As I ate my lunch today, I watched kindergarteners try to bundle up before going outside (15 minutes). I would lose my mind and probably make some kid cry by yelling at him or her. Another reason I'm glad I teach 5th.

From Seats...to Spark?

I was too annoyed about teaching to really post anything remotely upbeat about teaching and education. All I have to say is, "if you don't respect teachers, don't work in a school."
Now to something cute :)

Where you sit in class is kind of a big deal for kids. They are always hoping that somehow the teacher will make a "mistake" and put them next to their best friend. Obviously, since we actually want to keep our sanity, teacher usually don't do that (unless they are the rare, mature pair of ten year old that can actually handle such a responsibility). Anyway, it's about time to change seats in my class. I believe strongly in changing seats to mix up the group and separate anyone who developed a bond where they just can't focus anymore. Just before I'm about to change seats, I'll make random notes to myself like, "under no condition put blank with blank" or "desperately needs to sit in the front." I also have make an announcement the day before so no one gets overly worked up, "tomorrow morning you will have a new spot in the classroom because I'm moving around seats." So, I made this announcement just before dismissal. At the end of the day, I was staying with one of my boys who's mother was running late. We had this interaction:

Boy: Ms. Friedman, I can't stop thinking about my new seat.
Me: What are you thinking about? Are you worried?
Boy: It's that I kind of want to sit next to Sarah, and I think if any of my friends knew they'd make fun of me.
Me: Why would they make fun of you?
Boy: Helllllooo...she's a girl, in case you haven't noticed. We all usually hate girls.
Me: I know, why can't you be friends with a girl?
Boy: It's not that I can't be friends with a girl. I just don't want people to think that I LIKE like her. It's just that she's not that bad for girl, and we're reading the same book now.
Me: I see, so how does this relate to your seat?
Boy: If I'm sitting next to her, I can tell people we just talk cause she's next to me. I know you said you'd consider all request but make not guarantees, so maybe you can put me next to her.
Me: I'll definitely think about it..

Poor little guy! Anyway, I'm so glad that some of the boys and girls in my class might start to mix it up a little. Right now, my class is totally "anti-the-opposite-gender."

Surprise

I had a day where I was in meetings more than I was with students. Most teachers will tell you...we hate those days. Honestly, I don't mind the meetings themselves as much as I mind what they do to the kids. Here's a little hint about kids: they need consistency! When there teacher isn't there, it throws them a bit (even in 5th grade). When the day starts and they don't even get to see their teacher, they're day is already slightly off. Anyway, after my first meeting, I walked into the class and I felt so out of touch with how they were. I taught them for a little, and it was quickly time for recess and lunch. My next meeting was during that time, and due to what I see as poor planning on the facilitators part, the meeting ran over (even though she knew when I had to be back). So, my children were left unattended after recess. They came back to recess, and I wasn't there. They were in the room alone. Now, it was only for a total of 10 minutes, but that is plenty of time for something to happen. 10 minutes in child time is long.
To my pleasant surprise, they were in there desk reading when I got back! They wanted to surprise me as my Chanukah present. How sweet is that?! I feel really lucky to have the class that I do this year.

Lunches...Part 1 & 2

Part 1:
When a child forgets his or her lunch from home and we can't get in touch with the parents, the school lets them get school lunch (if you think about...what are we going to do?...let them starve). One of the boys in my class figured out that his parents are busy enough that if he forgets or loses his lunch, he can get a school lunch. One morning last week, his dad realized that he left the lunch in the car and drove back to the school with it. That day I heard this boy tell his friends..."I WOULD have had school lunch today if my DAD didn't realize that I hid the lunch under a seat in his car. "
A creative way to get the lunch he wants.

Part 2:
This morning that same little boy came rushing into the classroom saying, "Ms. F, I HAVE to call my dad right now...like on his cell phone." I asked, "why what's wrong?" I forgot my lunch in his car and today is fish sticks in the cafeteria. I thought it was grilled cheese."


haha! serves him right that little trickster!

Opps! It smells...

I left school today laughing out loud as I drove away. I had to speak to four of my boys who are in an after-school program at school and are misbehaving. As I was talking to them about their behavior and what is expected of them, one of my boys interrupted me with:

boy: "Excuse me."
Confused, I said, "excuse you for what."
boy: "just being polite because some silent gas slipped out.

It was hard for me to keep a straight face...somehow I did!

That interaction was followed this afternoon at the house of the girl that I tutor. This girl has a way of speaking honestly. I noticed something stank, but I didn't draw attention to it. We were working on some math homework, and she looked at me and said:

girl: "ooo! I can't even concentrate because my feet smell so bad. Do you smell them?"
me: "Is that your feet? Wow! You need to really scrub those in the shower tonight."
girl: "you mean like with soap?"

Today was a day of smells...

Beginning

I'm taking a leap of faith that people, both inside and outside the education world, will read this blog. My main goal is to share the things that keep teachers going. There are many days that I come home and think, "Why on earth am I dealing with this?" Teaching is filled with a whole lot of hassles and under-appreciation. Without actually becoming a teacher myself, I would have never understood all that running a classroom and being a dedicated professional in this field entails. The truth is there are these scattered moments throughout my day, in just interacting with these fresh bundles of life, that can be hilarious and inspiring. Read and enjoy!

To kick off, here is a quote from last week:

We are studying descriptive language, and I encouraged the students to use their five senses to help them describe something. This girl chose her dog and wrote:

"I love my dog so much even though from the front she smells like not brushed teeth and from the back like poop."