Mating and news travels fast

We are done with genetics in science and are now talking about animal adaptations. Today we were talking about how some animals have coloring for a particular purpose like camouflage. The whole point of this unit is to notice the purpose of certain attributes on organisms. Anyway, we were talking about how some animals have coloring that attracts a mate. One boy veers slightly off topic and shares a comment that sparks a little discussion. Here goes:

Boy raises hand and I call on him-

Boy: "I am very interested in mating. I think it's alright that they can attract their mate with their coloring, but I prefer the way crickets do it. The man use their feet or wings to make a noise. Then the woman cricket falls under the trance of his noise and can't resist him."
Me: You are right about them making a noise, but I'm not sure about the trance part.
Another boy: "Whales do it that way too, Ms. F"

I'm still waiting for some boy to make a noise and put me under a trance...hehe

I got the best present today! I got to go to a meeting at the middle school (the meeting wasn't the present..believe me). Seeing my former students was! I loved seeing how much they've grown and really just how well they're doing. There was one little girl that I was really hoping to see. I was so proud of her growth in my class, and I can't wait to see all that she's going to do. Just as I was about to leave, a seventh grade student came up to me and was like, "You can't leave." When I asked him why, he said "Michelle (a former student of mine) really wants to see me and would you please wait for her." She, however, was no where in sight. I asked him where she was, and she mentioned a different part of the campus. I was confused, because I really didn't know how she knew I was there (this was kind of a last minute meeting). So, I asked him. He said, "Ms. F, having you here is kind of news, so I texted it to my friends. We're allowed to use our phones after dismissal. News travels fast around here."

So cute!

a comma shirt

Every teacher has topics they are passionate about. Topics that they won't let their kids leave their room without mastering. Mine is the comma. I joke with the kids and tell them that I should be the leader of the comma fan club and walk around wearing a comma t-shirt. They think this is ridiculous, and I knew they would; that's why I said it :). Anyway, sometimes they'll say they have something to give me, and then I'll say "is it a comma t-shirt?" It's become an odd classroom joke. Some kids actually drew pictures of comma shirts for me today! Here they are:

This is so cute to me! The fact that they took the time to draw these pictures to make me laugh touches my heart.

Special Toys

I was actually excited to see my little dudes and dudettes this morning. Over vacation I drastically cut my hair, and it was interesting to see who noticed. Rather, it was interesting to see how long it took some kids to notice :). It was a true test of who was observant.

Anyway, before break they wrote reports on a "Special Toy." It is supposed to be inspired from a book I read aloud to them. They liked the book (and the voices I do with it) until they realized there was a writing assignment they had to do. The focus of the assignment was to have them practice descriptive writing. It is interesting to me how young they sound in these writing pieces (especially the ones who try to seem tough at school). Here are some highlights:

A boy describing his bear: "It has limo black eyes and a hot chocolate brown nose." How does one go from limo black to hot chocolate?

Another boy wrote, "The reason I still have him is because I would be heartbroken to never saw my little buddy again."

Or, "there's something about his smile that just melts my heart."

I don't know what to make of this one: "Sometimes Lamby would get punched because he was my shield in the war against my family." With your brothers and sisters? I hope...

"My bear doesn't have a nose anymore because I ate it when I was young (at least that's what my parents told me)." Yum?

"Softy is a toy for snuggling only and not playing around. Most people don't understand that about him. He's not that kind of guy." I guess some toys are not for playing.

"Eilat is special because if you give her a hug when your sad, she won't ruin the moment by making some annoying squeaking sound." Yeah, you don't want to ruin those sad moments.

It was our first day back after vacation. I made the decision that I have to put an end to Butt Boy's exposure. I'm going to need to find a way to gently talk about it with him soon. It is just too much!

Vacation Memory

It's vacation, and I made myself a list of all the activities I'd like to do while I have some time off. I feel like I'm my own cruise director. It's fabulous! Like all teachers though, I am going to have to pause the party or end it early to do some hard-core planning. I don't have any journals to entertain you with this break. I do have this memory of an interaction I saw in the hallway between a student and my principal. It happened a long time ago, but it randomly puts a smile on my face. Maybe it can do the same for you:

Scene: Little boy (like 1st grade ish..aka 6-7 years old) walks down the hallway toward the bathroom. My principal walks down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Principal: Hi, Tommy.
Boy: (Stops, looks really confused and just smiles...walks a few steps and says) Hey, I know you! You're the lady I had to talk to after I said those bad words to my teacher.
Principal: Yes, isn't nice to just say hi when you're not in trouble?
Boy: I guess.

Haha...I know you!

Studying, Backstage & update

I tutor this little boy who is actually quite bright. He cracks me up because for the longest time he flat out refused to study. Then, he'd sit down with me and tell me how he "forgot" everything during the test, and it was really hard. I would always tell him that if he studied the test would have seemed easier. He made my day today because he found me at school and said, "Ms. F, you're right, studying does make tests easier." Honestly, it is those little moments that make it all worth it.

I had trouble not laughing out loud today during my kids MacBeth rehearsal. One of my boys can't really be backstage without an adult yet. Every time I think he is ready for the "responsibility," I end up regretting it. Anyway, I decided to avoid any regrets and wait backstage for his part. While we were waiting, a bunch of girls were on stage. He points to one and whispers, "Ms. F, it scares me that one day some of the girls in our class will be moms. If that girl were my mom, I'd hang myself." I, of course, told him how mean spirited that comment was (inside I was laughing). To which he responded, "all I'm saying is maybe she'll grow up if you know what I mean." I only reply, "SHH" Thankfully, his cue was soon, so I could laugh to myself.

And now for an update: The butt is still out and exposed. Each time it stares back at me, I'm reminded that I really should do something. Why doesn't this little boy get a clue? How many times does a teacher have to quietly ask you to fix your pants for you to think about talking to your parents about it? Honestly, doesn't he feel a breeze?

Snow

So, it's a snow day! My kids had declared it a snow day long before the school announced it. I love how superstitious some kids get with it. Some come in and decide, "Ms. F, I will not see you tomorrow. Don't miss me too much." Other kids get angry at those overly confident kids in fear that they will "jinx" the whole weather pattern. They say things like, "nice job, now that you keep saying that, we're all going to be stuck here tomorrow." Then, they spend part of the day discussing how to reverse the "jinx." Jinxed or not, I'm happy to get the chance to catch up on laundry and sleep late :).

A little girl I tutor told me that she was going to be very busy skiing today. Her family has a house on some very flat land. Nevertheless, when I got to her house yesterday, she was preparing to go "skiing" at her house. Today I can totally picture her making circles around her house on her skis. How cute!

Questions

Hi to all-

I am going through some notes about the week before I start to lesson plan, and I am faced with some funny situations that I have to decide what to do about. I am reaching out to my readers to write a comment on this blog and share their opinions on the following situations:

1) I have a student who's butt is constantly hanging out of his pants when he sits down. If we are doing partner work on the rug, the butt comes out. If he's at his desk, the butt comes out. In the lunch room, the butt comes out. It is everywhere! I have unfortunately seen more of this kid's rear end than I'd like. We have a serious plummer butt situation in the room. Usually, I quickly whisper to him to fix his pants, and he does it. The other kids in the class are starting to have a field day with this and some truly cannot concentrate when the butt is out (do you blame them?). Do I mention this to his parents coming from "a concerned teacher?" Do I just stay out of it and hope the kid mentions to his parents that he needs new pants or possibly a belt? Any thoughts?

2) Issue two: This is personally funny to me, because my parents used to say: "Make sure you brush your teeth so you don't kill your teacher with your breath." I used to say back to them that there was no way they'd smell my breath. But enough about my life...there is this child that I work 1 on 1 with who's breath is killing me. To give you picture of what kind of breath I'm talking about, if I work with her before lunch, I loose my appetite. That's hard to do with me! Anyway, I tried to gently bring it up with her two days ago, and the conversation went like this:

Me: (conveniently we had a morning tutoring time) Sweetheart, did you forget to brush you teeth this morning?
Girl: Nope
Me: Are you washing your retainer (the girl does have an unusual amount of appliances in her mouth) ?
Girl: Yeah

The little bugger denied it! So, I feel like to have take this battle to the next level. Do I grit my teeth and bare the stank? I could send her to the nurse who helps me with the deodorant boy-cotters that knock me over. Or, do I offer her some peppermint patties? I would invest a few dollars in the patties, seem like the nice teacher and help myself. Keep in mind, while this option is tempting it is further destroying her oral hygiene. I could also straight talk her, but she's such a sweet one. I'll feel bad.

Readers, these are the issues of our time (hehe)! Where do you stand?

Where'd you get that test?

I started tutoring a boy after school in math, and his teacher gave me a test that he scored a whopping 53% on. We sat down for a session today and had this interaction:

Boy: So, what are we doing today?
Me: We need to go over your last test in math.
Boy: Oh, I don't have it anymore.
Me: That's okay cause I do!
Boy: Wait, how do you have the test?
Me: Mrs. C gave it to me.
Boy: Where'd she get the test from?
Me: I'm not sure...let's get started.
Boy: No really, are you kidding with me? Where'd she get the test from?
Me: Why?
Boy: As soon as I saw that thing, I got rid of it. I was hoping no one, including me, would ever have to see it again.
Me: (opening my folder and pulling out the test) well, lucky for you, I have a fresh copy.
Boy: You teachers are crazy! This is just freaky.

Mirror Reading

not sure if you can read this but it cracks me up!

Babies of Teenagers

Science class today was really just reviewing and a chance for the kids to ask questions before their test this Friday. One boy raised his hand with this questions:

Boy: I get that offspring get half of their genes from each parent but what about babies from teenagers?
Me: What do you mean?
Boy: I've seen a pregnant teenager before. Is it the same for babies of teenagers? Or, do they get their genes from some place else?
Me: the science is the same no matter how old the parent is.

WOW! Where else would they get their traits?! hehe

1986

I was working with this girl I tutor on her explorer project. I was checking the work she had done before I got there and saw:

Henry Hudson
Born: 1986

When I told her that can't be right. We had this interaction:

Me: I love the project, but I think you are off on his birthday. Let's take out your research notes and check the year of his birth.
Girl: No, I know I'm right. 1986 was a long time ago. It's olden times.
Me: Hmm, how do you know it is olden times?
Girl: Any year that starts with 19 is old.

We ended doing a little math before she agreed to go back to her notes and book to check her information. I guess to a girl born in 2000, any year that starts with a 19 is "olden times."