Treehouse Man & Some Casts

This is a crazy time of year for me because it is the end of school and the start of camp. At my school, I have to completely pack up my room. As a department chair, I am preparing two "training" sessions. I'm also finishing report cards, preparing lessons, going to camp meetings and, of course, I got summoned to jury duty (I'm all for being a good citizen, but seriously?). I was smart enough to bring journals to grade as I sat in that ridiculous waiting area. Here are two entries that made me smile. Although sometimes I think these writing pieces are only funny to me because I know the children and can imagine them actually saying these things, but I hope some readers out there enjoy them (let me know with a comment :)). I especially like this student's style because it totally matches the way he actually speaks and tells stories.

"A treehouse! A treehouse! Sure, my dad has built us stuff before, but nothing like this! He even did this all by himself! You know what that means, no help! My mom wouldn't even help him. He even might add a slide someday. Don't get me wrong and all. I'm usually not this hyper, but in my opinion this is something to hype about. I mean, not everyone has a dad who will take this own time to build his kids a tree house. I might be scared of heights but I'm going to forget about that fear when I'm in that treehouse. I might even forget my fear entirely. You know, I'm thinking of renaming my dad: The Treehouse Man!"

"My name is Mike, and I've had twelve casts! Now, I know what you are thinking. What on earth does this kid do in his free time?! Well, the answer to that is : falling off monkey bars, tripping over tree roots and a whole lot of toe-walking. Casts 1,2,3: When I was three, I was trying to do a trick that goes like this: step 1: get on the monkey bars, step 2:swing really high off the monkey bars, step 3: land on your feet! I screwed up on#3. That little incident landed me in the hospital with three casts at one time! Cast 4: Everyone loves camp, and so do I. But, I used to like it more. If you are wondering why I don't like camp so much, here's my story: my friend Seth and I were playing a game called "Steal The Counselors Hat". Apparently, karma decided then to visit me. While I was running from my counselor, I tripped on a tree root and smashed my arm into the ground, leaving my arm in yet another cast. Cast 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 &12: ever since I was in kindergarten I would walk on my toes. No harm you say? Think again, reader! Your hamstrings get super tight. These casts on my legs were the only other choice besides surgery. My advice is to avoid all of these things."

It's almost Moving Up! I'm going to miss these little guys.