Surprise and Drama Queen

This year, I have an exceptionally sweet class. I don't know if I've mentioned this previously, but last year was a rough group (they were needy, whiny and often didn't get along). This morning two girls came over to me with a sign they made on a play date. It was a belated happy birthday sign and some cake they made. This sign was one of the greatest things I've ever seen, and it was not just because it was a sign made for me. It was because they took pictures of themselves in funny poses with their thumbs up. Underneath the pictures it says, "we give you two thumbs up." The fact that they spent time doing this, took cheesy pictures of themselves and wrote a cute message will mean that I will cherish this sign always. This is one of the things that keep me going (certainly not the money ;)).

Here's a free writing journal entry one of my students wrote about herself:

"I am one major drama queen. I even got a fake ID card at a bar mitzvah that says "Drama Queen" on it. Then there is a picture of me over the words. It is my official Drama Queen ID card. It is not just the ID card that makes me a drama queen though. My parents call me that because I am a big mouth. I also fake cry sometimes or act like other people. Really, I just like to stand out. I love acting. It is something that you can suddenly do to entertain yourself. If you get mad, I recommend that you imitate that person. If you are upset with yourself, you should make yourself laugh. Also, when you are happy, you should act out whatever made you happy. My parents say I could be an actress, a lawyer, or a comedian when I grow up. At least I have some sort of future."

Wow! There are so many troubling pieces of this to me, but it is just funny how honest she is. I wonder how often she imitates me....hmmm

Perpetually winking

Work has been very busy lately for a few reasons...1) it's report card season (teachers spend hours writing narratives and filling out chart that don't really give a good picture of the child) 2) it is conference season (not only do I do more paper work for that, but parents constantly want to change their time) 3) I am giving a workshop on professional development day and needed to prepare for that 4) oh yeah..lessons & grading 5) I have to coordinate this chesed project for my class to go to an old age home (seriously?). I promised myself that I wouldn't use this blog for venting, but I guess the occasional venting will be okay. All in all, it is so nice when I get to do my job and actually teach (instead of all this other garbage).

Anyway, of course there were some things that made me laugh this week..for instance:

A little boy in my class had his hair grown over his eyes for a long time. He told me that he was finally "getting a hair cut" yesterday. I was excited to actually see this kids face for once. What happened with his hair is absolutely ridiculous...he got a haircut that only shows one of his eyes! So, I kid you not, it's like he is perpetually winking. Unbelievable!

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!