Thanksgiving? Yes, please! Not only is Thanksgiving a great time to stop and think about all that we have to be thankful for (more on that later), but it's a much needed break for teachers to catch our breath before the next insanely busy 3-4 weeks before Christmas.
And I do have so much to be thankful for, one of those things being my students! They light up my life and make it interesting.
We started learning multiplication in math class, and I gave them flashcards to cut out. One girl was cutting them out extra carefully, and it delighted me to hear her say to another student, "I'm being so careful because I'm going to keep them and someday when I have kids, I'm going to tell them about how we made flashcards, and I'm going to make them use them!"
The boys talk about cars. A lot. Usually about which car is the fastest and the type of engines they have. I'm ignorant - I can't even pronounce some of the cars they talk about. I guess the girls are in the same boat as me, but the boys are not so understanding if they don't know what kind of engine the fastest car has. "Everyone should know that!" one boy proclaimed in disbelief.
Another thing the boys do is "drum" by tapping their pencils on their desks. It drives me nuts, and often I'll stop in the middle of whatever we're doing and say, "STOP TAPPING YOUR PENCILS!!" One day one of the boys responded by saying, "I wasn't tapping a pencil." (It was an eraser.) I said, trying to choose my words carefully, "Don't be smart." I knew that was a bad choice of words as soon as they were out of my mouth. I was hoping no one noticed. But immediately another boy turned to the classmate next to him and said in fake disbelief, "We can't be smart?!"
Any teacher will understand that when one person tells a story, it triggers 10 more hands in the air to tell their stories. Same goes for prayer requests. One day this week we were praying for five people with hurt fingers.
Yes, much to be thankful for. A job. The opportunity to influence these students' lives. The joy I get from doing what I love. Thanksgiving break. :)
I asked the students to write in their journals today about what they are thankful for. One boy wrote this: "I am thankful for the closts (clothes), food, house, and water because we born nakied..." Yes, we were. Add clothes to the list!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Time flies when you're having fun
Wow, I haven't posted in a month! Where is the year going?!
We've been keeping busy as usual in the third grade. The normal battles continue to be fought (especially with the boys).
"Keep your hands to yourself."
"Sit in your chair the correct way, please." (When they tip back on two legs. Or when they kneel on their chairs with their feet in the air. Or when they randomly stand up and turn their chairs around and sit on them backwards in the middle of class.)
"Keep your hands to yourself."
"Keep your hands to yourself. I don't care if it's a game you've invented called 'banana touch.' KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF."
"Please don't spike your sweaty hair. (What would your mom think?)"
"Oh, you brought a mustache to school?" :)
"Wait a few minutes until recess and then you can go to the bathroom."... "You don't have to go anymore? Hmmm..."
And then there are always the amusing comments.
"Please, God, let it snow a lot today."
Looking at a distorted picture of herself in the school newspaper, one very unimpressed girl commented, "They did something to my head to make it big."
And always the entertaining lunch conversation:
"I keep getting wedgies."
"My dad loves wedgies."
"Who likes wedgies?"
"Did you ever have a wedgie war?"
(Finally the teacher had to step in and stop that conversation from going any farther.)
My favorite laugh-out-loud moment happened this week when I was asking the class for suggestions for the prize box. They suggested a few things which made me ask, "Really? Would you actually pick that?" ...like a balloon, or a jolly rancher. I mean, it takes them a month to fill up their sticker charts. Anyway. The laugh-out-loud moment came when one boy, who had just happened to be at the dentist the day before, suggested floss. I expect that my class will soon have very clean teeth, as the floss begins to fly out of the prize box. ;)
We've been keeping busy as usual in the third grade. The normal battles continue to be fought (especially with the boys).
"Keep your hands to yourself."
"Sit in your chair the correct way, please." (When they tip back on two legs. Or when they kneel on their chairs with their feet in the air. Or when they randomly stand up and turn their chairs around and sit on them backwards in the middle of class.)
"Keep your hands to yourself."
"Keep your hands to yourself. I don't care if it's a game you've invented called 'banana touch.' KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF."
"Please don't spike your sweaty hair. (What would your mom think?)"
"Oh, you brought a mustache to school?" :)
"Wait a few minutes until recess and then you can go to the bathroom."... "You don't have to go anymore? Hmmm..."
And then there are always the amusing comments.
"Please, God, let it snow a lot today."
Looking at a distorted picture of herself in the school newspaper, one very unimpressed girl commented, "They did something to my head to make it big."
And always the entertaining lunch conversation:
"I keep getting wedgies."
"My dad loves wedgies."
"Who likes wedgies?"
"Did you ever have a wedgie war?"
(Finally the teacher had to step in and stop that conversation from going any farther.)
My favorite laugh-out-loud moment happened this week when I was asking the class for suggestions for the prize box. They suggested a few things which made me ask, "Really? Would you actually pick that?" ...like a balloon, or a jolly rancher. I mean, it takes them a month to fill up their sticker charts. Anyway. The laugh-out-loud moment came when one boy, who had just happened to be at the dentist the day before, suggested floss. I expect that my class will soon have very clean teeth, as the floss begins to fly out of the prize box. ;)
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