I have to tell this funny story before I forget it. Our school has had a lot of changes this year, the biggest being that we are now two schools combined into one. Last year our school board decided that, in an effort to save money, we would combine our two elementary schools into one and put everyone into one building. A few other teachers and I were talking about a month or so into the year about how the changes were effecting everyone and I made the comment that I hadn't seen any of the school board members or district personnel at our school this year to see how things were going.
Lo and behold, a few days later my principal came into my room and told me that the next day the school board members would most likely be coming into my room and a few others to see how things were going. I wanted to prepare my students ahead of time so that they were on their best behavior. I told them that we needed to have an important talk. I believe in telling kids the truth, so I started by explaining to them why the two schools were put together and we talked about the changes they all were experiencing, etc. I told them that some very important people were going to be visiting our class the next day to see how we were doing with the changes. They asked who the people were. I figured that the words "school board members" wouldn't mean anything to them, so I explained that they were the people who made the decisions for us at school, such as what rules we should follow, and really important things like how much money we spend on things at school, and even sometimes what we learn. I then asked the class to tell me what kind of students they thought the school board memebers expected them to be. One boy who is so quiet and innocent and never yells out or anything, jumped up and said, "Idiots!" I was so taken back, I looked at him and asked him to tell me again. He said the same thing with such innocence on his face that I could tell that he was serious. I got the giggles and so did the rest of my class. This was one of the few times I haven't been able to "get a grip" - I couldn't quit laughing. This boy looked like he might start crying. I asked him why he thought that and he said, "You know, so they'll give us more money and won't make us learn as many hard things."

Show and Tell

Show and Tell just kills me. If you want a way to get your kids to think out of the box, just tell them that show and tell items have to be educational-something that we can learn from. I told them from the first that what they bring can be items they have made or bought, but absolutely no toys. I can't believe the creative ways they come up with to show a toy and make it "legal." A few weeks ago we had a toy cat whose owner told us that she had made the cat with her grandma. Grandma had allegedly bought the fur and stuffing at a craft store and they made it together. The cat's owner then proceeded to show us that the cat had a compartment in the bottom that you could put two batteries in and the cat would meow. The cat was then thrust into my arms as she produced the cat's matching kitten from her backpack. After we listened to the both cats meow a couple of times I said to the owner, "Are you sure you and your grandma made these?" "Yes, we did," she said. "Are you really sure?" I said. "Yes," was her reply again.
I then turned the cat I was holding over and held up the "Made in Taiwan" tag. I really wanted to say "so you must live in Taiwan, then." But being the nice teacher I am, I just gave her that look that we as teachers strive to perfect. You know, the one that says I know exactly what you are doing and you can't fool me. As soon as she saw the tag, she suddenly remembered that this wasn't the right cat that she and her grandma made, they actually made a different one that was still at home.

Another time a student brought a Hannah Montana eraser in the shape of a heart. Thinking that I wouldn't allow it, she told the class that her dad was a scientist (he's not) and that she and her dad had made this eraser from a "special" material that doesn't break. She told us how they had a mold and poured the solution in and then they painted a Hannah Montana picture on the front. She then proceeded to show us how she could bend the eraser back and forth and it wouldn't break. The kids were amazed! I thought, "hmmm, I need to talk to this student about telling the truth." But then as fate would have it, the problem took care of itself. The kids all asked if she would pass it around so they could see it close up. When the eraser came back around to the front, it was given back to her in two pieces.

I could go on all day about the show and tells we've had so far, but let me just leave you with what we had for this week's show and tell.

1. Aaron's rock collection. A plastic grocery bag filled with hundreds of rocks and each one had its own story.
2. A vending machine ring that we were told was a "very expensive" birthstone ring.
3. A pokemon card that when I told the student that it counted as a toy, he replied that he was showing it to us because the picture was beautiful art.
4. A "very special" pink Hannah Montana backpack. (We've seen this same backpack at three other sessions of show and tell.)
5. A dried and crumbling bread bowl that we were told was from the pioneer times when they didn't have plates and so they ate on stale bread. It broke twice during the day before show and tell and so it's owner and I glued it back together. I had to say no when it was suggested that everyone take a bite to see what it was like to eat in the "olden days."

This last one was funny to me, yet very true, and actually led us into a great discussion about the pilgrims and what people ate back then. It came from one of my very creative thinking students who always brings the most interesting things for show and tell. I love to see her mind at work.

Prisoners of ...

So, the most hillarious/embarrassing thing happened today at school. Our school put together a Veteran's Day program and invited all the veterans from the community to attend and be honored. Some of our students would be reading essays they wrote or performing patriotic numbers. I wanted to make sure my students would be on their best behavior in the program and show appropriate respect for the veterans. We had talked for about 20 minutes in class about what veterans are, and why we respect them, I explained to them that even though we do the Pledge of Allegience every morning, we would be doing it again when the flag was posted. I wanted to cover all my bases so that they understood what was going on and nothing embarrassing or "attention-getting" would happen during the program. We practiced our behavior and how we should sit and pay attention to the speakers, etc. I felt comfortable that we were good-to-go. Right after our discussion we filed into the gym past all the veterans young and old in their uniforms and sat down on the floor toward the front of the gym near the stage. Our principal introduced the program and then the beautiful music of the various armed forces played as a representative from each group of the military proudly carried a flag to the front and posted it. Along with the rest of the audience my sweet class stood at attention and I was as proud as a mama hen as they stood their with their hands over their hearts and gave their full attention and respect for the flags and veterans, then sat quietly down on the floor and folded their arms. During the time that the various flags were being carried up, I noticed a gentleman I know carrying a flag at the end that I have never noticed before. I was a black and white POW flag. I was caught up in thought because I didn't know this man had been a prisoner of war and I was thinking that I'll have to ask his daughter (a friend of mine) about it. I came out of my thoughts as the music ended and the audience sat down. Of course, I noticed how perfectly my students sat down without incident and was sure that others noticed their good behavior also. They were silent while we had a moment of silence for our fallen soldiers, they were attentive during the speeches, they were in fact-perfect. Soon the principal stood up to the microphone and said, "Could we have everyone who has been a POW stand up, please." Well....as if it was rehearsed, my entire class stood up! I don't know if any real POWs stood up, because everyone was looking at my class. Well, because of their "good" example the class behind us started to stand up. That class's teacher and I both jumped up and tried to quietly get all the kids to sit down. There were plently of chuckles in the audience and my face was beat red. I just looked at the teachers next to me and said, "Wow, I thought they liked school, but I guess they feel like I'm holding them prisoner." The program continued without further incident and school was out shortly after. As soon as the kids left I penciled in my plan book-"First thing tomorrow discuss the differences between a student and a prisoner of war." Apparently for some it's a gray area.

What are Parent/Teacher conferences?

I was standing at the front of the room giving a lesson, when our secretary walked in and set some papers on my desk. I had been expecting them to bring around notes to go home with the student's conference times on them. Of course, 2nd graders are curious and they all wanted to know what those notes were for. I explained to them that they were notes telling their parents what time they were scheduled to be at PT conferences. One boy said," So teacher, what exactly are parent teacher conferences? I told them that it was an opportunity for their parents to come to school and see what we do in our classroom. I then told them that the best part of all is that I get to tell their parents all the bad things I have learned about each student. Their jaws dropped to the floor and they began to look pretty worried. I continued the rouse for a little while until one of my little girls raised her hand and said, "Teacher, can you give us a break? I mean we haven't told your mom about the three times you have been on the wrong side of the page in math?" I began laughing so hard. But none of the other kids laughed--they were totally serious.