Holiday craze!

Oh man... surviving the last week of school before Christmas break is quite the feat. The kids are bubbly, excited -- and just crazy! But, to be completely fair... so are the teachers. I know I, for one, can't wait for the break because somebody is having their first Christmas!!

This week has been a week of playing catch-up -- and laughing at their funny antics. It's a week when the kids are truly happiest coloring and listening to Christmas music. In those moments, I just have to sit back and remind myself to rejoice in the sweetness of childhood. It's in those moments when as a teacher, you have to make the decision of A. do I fight for their attention and attempt to do this planned activity? or B. do I just let them be happy children? It's usually B. I just can't get enough of their sweet, innocent, and wide-eyed Christmas spirit.

Here's just a little recap of the cute, funny, and strange things from this week...

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Student quote: "Hey Mrs. A - do you know what I notice about the word 'table?' It has an animal name in it -- bull."

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Mrs. A (doing report card assessment) - "Okay, honey. I want you to start counting out loud at 1 and just go as high as you can go."
Student: "Really? Do I have to count past 1000? Because I can, but I really don't want to."

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While sharing what we want for Christmas (most of them said "iPads" -- yikes!!)
Student: "I want a Kindle Fire. Oh, and to go to the North Pole."

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An adorable kinder joke (love their cute humor)
Student: "What do you call a mummy who eats crackers in bed? A crumby mummy!"

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This is SUCH a cute Christmas card one of my little kinders gave to me. What a super author -- adorable!!

[Santa, Santa, what do you see? I see a elf sitting on a tree. Elf, Elf, what do you see? I see a reindeer pulling me!] SOOOO CUTE!

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This was a funny little book one of my kinders wrote. She obviously took some coloring sheets and thought of what she could do with it. Can't decide if this is cute or strange... or both... ha ha ha!

[What is the gingerbread man eating? The author is Mallory.]

[Gingergerbread, what will I eat? A cupcake.]

[Gingerbread man will you eat a gingerbread?]

This is where it starts getting a little weird... LOL!

[Gingerbread man will eat a dog.]

[Gingerbread man will eat a bells.]

[What will I eat last? A person.]

What a cute little weird book. :)

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I found this adorable note tucked into my mailbox. It was an "I miss you" card from a former student while I was on maternity leave. Notice my pregnant belly. Ha ha ha!

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And THIS. This just melted my heart. Honestly, if I ever doubted why/how I do this job -- this is it. So sweet and genuine -- and completely melted me.

The 2nd graders at our school were working with the principal in the computer lab to create "advertisements" for our school by coming up with their favorite things about Morton. Our principal had this little one -- one of my favorite former students... even though we aren't supposed to have favorites :) -- bring me his rough draft card. I nearly cried. :)

You can see the advertisements here on our principal's Twitter: https://twitter.com/jk_bergstrom/status/545765142634725376

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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Today was just funny

Today was just funny. And I think I really needed it. To say that coming back from maternity leave has been hard would be a total understatement.

Don't get me wrong -- I still love my job. A lot. It keeps me so busy, inspired, entertained, and challenged everyday. But, leaving my new little one was harder than I expected. And, returning to a classroom and a class that was not "mine" was harder than I expected, too. Things are slowly getting better around here, but I've had a lot of work to do! :)

So, today was a funny day. I laughed -- a lot. And I really, really needed that. I needed a couple laughs to remind me to just take everything in stride. Sometimes, even when things aren't perfectly controlled in here (like I'm used to), it's best to just laugh when something is funny. Today, my kids reminded me to not take things so seriously.

First of all -- and most hilariously -- one of my little boys walked right up to me while I was teaching and dropped two one-dollar bills, some nickels, and a few pennies on the cart I was using. He said, "Here. This is for your baby." I kind of chuckled and said, "Well, okay - thanks!" (I, of course, was just going to give it back to him after I was done with that lesson.) He then added, "You know - it's for your child support." WOW. I just laughed out loud. How could I not?! He obviously has some previous experience with this subject...

Then, their writing just made me giggle today. It was so cute. Teaching kinders to write is so difficult and challenging at times. They have to learn SO MUCH and concentrate on so many things. It's the hardest subject to teach this age -- for sure. However, today, their writing just made me giggle. I just had to enjoy the cuteness of it and forget all the other stuff. Thought I share a few cute ones:

[I am big and strong!] -- it's a elephant. Cute, huh?! Can you tell we are learning about exclamation marks and talk bubbles?

[Do I like Easter? I love it!] -- so funny because you know... it's Christmas. :)

[I am brave! On the roof!] -- I adore this picture. Look at this little cutie stringing up the lights on his house. Plus -- they are even patterned. Too cute.

Ahhhh... take a deep breath. It will all be okay if you just remember to LAUGH a little everyday.

The Rainbow Fish story

Time for an "oldie" but a "goodie." This is my sister Jessica's favorite story from my classroom. She literally cannot stop laughing when I tell it. 

My first year teaching, I was really excited to use everything I had learned in college -- including all the materials I had acquired and been saving for my first classroom. Late in my college career, I took an amazing drama class about play through drama. It was amazing -- all about using imagination, pretend play, and drama in the classroom and other therapy settings. We played drama games, created improv skits, and just had a wild, fun time in class.

As our final project, we were put in groups to create a puppet show for the local library storytime. In groups of 4-5, we adapted popular children's picture books into elaborate puppet shows. We even learned how to make our own puppets! I'm not talking paper bag or sock puppets -- real puppets. Fabric, working mouths, movable arms... they were legit. My group did the story, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type. 

Strangely, I was the only elementary education major in the class. It seemed bizarre to me because the content fit so perfectly! So, at the end of the semester, all of my classmates graciously donated their puppets to me for my classroom! I was pretty excited and couldn't wait to use them with my own kindergarten class. One of my favorites was the Rainbow Fish puppet. This character, from the popular Rainbow Fish series, is perfect for the kindergarten classroom. I always utilize these books for social studies at the beginning of the year. Rainbow Fish is a special fish because he is the only one who has sparkly scales. He realizes, however, that even though he is beautiful, he is lonely because he doesn't have any friends. He ends up sharing all but one of his scales, but is happier because he has friends.

After reading the story, I decided to get out the Rainbow Fish puppet. I thought this would be a great way for the kids to recall the story and discuss what Rainbow Fish did and how to make friends. So, I told my students to close their eyes while I went to get our "friend." They did.

When I came back, their eyes were as big as dinner plates. They excitedly turned to each other saying, "Oh my gosh! It's Rainbow Fish!" It was seriously hilarious. This was my first year teaching, so I honestly didn't think they would be this excited/naive. I thought they would say something like, "Wow! A puppet!" Nope. In their minds, it was legitimately Rainbow Fish.

So, I played it up. I changed my voice for Rainbow Fish, talked to Rainbow Fish, nodded his little head -- the whole deal. I asked the kids questions about the story from Rainbow Fish's perspective, like "Why was I so sad at the beginning of the story?" I (Rainbow Fish) would call on the kids by what they were wearing. Something like, "You, pretty girl in the pink dress." They would immediately look down at what they were wearing, and our little friend in the pink would say, "Me?!" - totally shocked he was speaking to her. It was classic.

Keep in mind, my elbow is literally hanging out of the bottom of the puppet. Literally. But that, of course, did not matter.

It was time to wrap up the lesson and move on. So, I told the kids to say good-bye to Rainbow Fish. One little guy in my class was waving his arm and just about to jump out of his skin if he didn't get to say something to Rainbow Fish. So, I (Rainbow Fish) turned around and said, "Yes, Jason - what do you want to tell me?"

Poor little Jason turned white as a ghost. His chin nearly hit the floor.

After a moment of silence, I said (from my voice), "Jason, are you okay?"

Poor little, scared-to-death Jason nearly started to cry and said, "Umm... how did he know my name?!" 

Hilarious. I nearly exploded with laughter. Before I let myself go, I immediately remedied the situation: "Well, of course, I whispered it in his ear."

Never underestimate the trusting, innocent, and adorable nature of early kindergarten. Their ability to suspend reality is truly amazing.

Kids are funnier during the holidays

I honestly think it's true. The kids are funnier around the holidays. My kinders have been on FIRE lately. Seriously hilarious. A little sampling for your reading pleasure:

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Student 1: "I love Santa."
Student 2: "Me too."
Student 1: "I love Santa because he's the nicest guy ever."
Student 2: "Yeah because he leaves everybody lots of presents."
Student 1: "Yeah, but only if you're good. If you're bad, you get coal. And coal is just another word for poop."

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Mrs. A: "I'm going to Jamaica to be in Miss Mayhan's wedding. I get to be in her wedding. I'm going to wear a pretty dress and stand next to her while she's getting married in her beautiful white dress."
Student: "Oh! I get it. You're going to be that guy up front with the book."
Ha ha! Nope, not that part, buddy.

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Mrs. A: "This movie (Rudolph) is really special to me. It's a very old movie -- I even watched it when I was a little girl at Christmas!"
Student: "You mean like at the first Christmas? Like when Jesus was born?"
Mrs. A: "Nope... I'm not that old."

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And, last but not least, I am not proud of myself, but I just pulled out my cell phone to call Santa. Yep, it happened. But... it WORKED!!! :)

How DO you cook a turkey?

This is one of my favorite things I do with the kinders each year. We do a big Thanksgiving unit in our classroom, so we have been learning all about the first Thanksgiving, current Thanksgiving traditions, turkeys, etc. We also have an amazingly adorable kindergarten feast the week of Thanksgiving! [Check it out HERE.]

This week, I pulled each one of my little ones and tell them this: "Let's pretend YOU are supposed to  bring the turkey to our Thanksgiving feast. I want you to tell me everything you would do." Then, I write down their words word-for-word. 

In a word, they are PRICELESS.

I thought I'd share them here -- I've bolded my favorites. [I mixed in a few of the cute pictures, too!]

• Go to Baker's. Get a turkey. Go home and cook it. Eat it with your family -- that means sharing!
• Catch it with a net. Pick up the net. Put a top on it so the turkey doesn't get out. Take it home. Cook it. Eat it.
• Cook it with the stove. Check the time. Take it out. Cut it into 20 pieces and eat it.
• Buy a turkey. Bring it home. Cut it with scissors. Put stuffing on it. Turn the oven to 60 degrees. Cook it for 4 hours. Eat it.

• Kill it with a gun so it dies -- so that you can eat it. Take it home. Put peppers and tomatoes under it. Put cheese on top. Then, eat it.
• Buy it at the store. Bring it to your house. Cut it a little bit. Put salt and pepper on it. Put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool. Then, eat it.

• Go buy a turkey from the store. It should be around $5. Put it in a pan and put it in the oven. Cook it for 7 minutes. Eat it.
• Find it in the woods. You know -- go in the bushes and use your eyes to find a turkey. Then, find it. Then, eat it.
• Get a turkey out of the freezer and put it in your truck. Bring it home and cut it into 13 pieces. Take out the bones. Put all the pieces on a plate. Then, everyone eats it!
• Look for a turkey outside. Take it home. Cook it. Eat it.

• Buy a turkey at Wal-Mart. Put some vitamins on the turkey so it doesn't get sick. Bake it for 10 minutes. Carry it to the party, open it, and everyone will have a great feast.
• Get a turkey at the store. Smooth it. Put it in a pot. Cook it in the microwave for 15 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for a little bit. Then, eat it!

• Hunt for it. Cook it in the oven for 13 minutes. Cool it down. Add some pepper and eat it.
• Go to the pumpkin patch. Pick a red turkey. Pet it. Put it in a pan. Put sprinkles on it. Put it in a 40 degree oven. Cook it for 100 days. Eat it.
• Go get it from the store. Put it in a pan. Put it in the oven. Then, eat it.

• You are supposed to add some like vinegar or something. You add stuffing on the bottom. You get the cold turkey at a store. You put it in the oven -- it has to be pretty hot. Don't forget to use that squeezer thing.
• Mommy and daddy do it. 

• Try to catch a turkey. Shoot it with a fun. Put it in the oven. Cook it until it beeps. Get it out and cool it. Put it in a bowl and eat it.
• Buy it, put it in the oven. Take it out. Put the dressing on it.

The last one needs an explanation. We sent home paper turkeys last Friday and challenged the kinders and their families to "disguise" the turkeys to save them from becoming Thanksgiving dinner! The kids then brought them back to school to share. For example, this little girl disguised her turkey as a Christmas tree:

I think this last little guy got these things a little mixed up... I just laughed! :)

• Put it in the oven for 5 minutes. Take it out and put clothes on it and color it with crayons so it looks like you. Then, bring it to school.

On the days when this job is really hard... and please don't be fooled by my love for my career, there are days when it is really hard... well, on those days, I need to read these and just remember to smile.

Recent funny and happy things

We have had some great days in kindergarten lately. Here's a recap of the funny and happy things that have been happening in kindergarten lately...

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Hilarious, random comment from a student...

Student: "Hey Mrs. Anderson, do you miss Michael Jackson?"
Me (quite shocked): "Sure."
Student: "Me too. Because I didn't see him never. And he died because he was a zombie."

Oh... and the story continued! Any primary teacher knows what you do when a kid says or does something really funny like this... you parade them to your teacher friends and make them tell them, too. 

Me: "What do you know about Michael Jackson?"
Student: "He was a really great singer."
Me: "Yes, he was. Did you know he was a good dancer, too?"
Student: "Yeah! Here's my favorite move." (spins and grabs his crotch - ha!)
Me: "Wow. So, tell me more about how he died."
Student: "Well, he was a zombie. But he was a good zombie. Like a zombie that killed the bad zombies."
Me: "Oh, I see. And how did he die?"
Student: "Duh. The zombie master."

Time to stop... this is just too funny!
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Today, a little girl from the kindergarten classroom next to me went down a wet slide at recess. So, she headed into the health room to get new pants.

The health room para handed her a pair of blue sweatpants. 

The little girl looked at her, held the pants up to her shirt, scoffed and handed them back. She said, "Ummm... these are NOT going to work with this shirt." Ha!

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My little author is back! She just keeps bringing these great little books in -- probably because I make such a huge deal of them. :) But, they are just amazing! It's like watching a little mind unravel the intricate nature of language right before my eyes.

Here's her latest creation -- seriously adorable! [Kinder translation provided!]

[The worm and her friend.]

[One day, there was a worm and she lived in the dirt.]

[And she met a boy worm and they ate leaves together.] -- See the bow on her head?!

[Until they were full.]

[And then an anteater was going to eat the little worms.]

[But, the anteater could not eat the worms because they were too wiggly.]

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Random comment from the end of the day... honestly not related to anything we were talking about! (That's just how kinders think.)

Student: "Hey, Mrs. A, you know that kindergarten Thanksgiving feast we're going to have?"
Me: "Yeah."
Student: "Well, I can't eat mashed potatoes because of my gag reflex."

???? ha!
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And, last but not least, a happy art project -- cute and successful! Last year, my class had so much fun decorating a poster based on the book Bear Snores On (see it here). It was for a school event. This week, Bear Snores On was our "book of the week" so I decided to have all of my kinders make a fun bear hibernation scene.

To say the kids loved it would be an understatement! They LOVED the fluffly "snow" (Elmer's glue + shaving cream). Plus, they turned out soooo cute!

The runaway eye

So, this is seriously hilarious. An oldie, but a goodie. I'm pulling this one out of the vault for you... it's just a good story.

We were sitting around the dinner table last night and this story came up. I could not tell it without laughing out loud. I really need to go back and tell some of these old stories on my blog. I don't want to forget them, and I know they'll make someone laugh. So... here we go.

My second year teaching, I had an awesome little guy in my class with a unique medical history. He had a glass eye -- but honestly, you would never know! It was so real -- looked just like his other one. I moved when he looked different ways. None of the kids even noticed. In addition, he wore sports goggle-like glasses to protect it.

Because it didn't hinder him in any way, and because it was so realistic, there was no reason to have a discussion with the kinders. They didn't ever notice, and honestly, he was too young to explain and probably to truly understand why he had it. Having this eye was all he had ever known, so it was simply normal to him. No need to make a big deal with the class... he was just a normal everyday kindergartner with cool glasses. :)

The only "issue" he would ever have with his eye is that it would occassionally turn or maybe get a little uncomfortable. He was a very intelligent and responsible little guy, so him and I worked out a "deal" -- he didn't need to ask to go to the health room if his eye was bothering him. He could just wave to me and go out the door. Easy enough. No one noticed, no disruptions to the class, and best of all, he was developing great independent self-care skills.

Well, one day around Christmas, that all changed. One fateful day that I'm pretty sure traumatized one of my students for life.

The kinders and I were doing an art project. I love the last couple weeks in December at school -- a time when I feel fully comfortable embracing the season with my class through art projects, service projects, and gift-making. It was a warm and fuzzy type of day in our room -- Christmas carols playing on our CD player, kids singing while they were cutting and gluing, me complimenting students on their darling work.

My little guy with the eye suddenly stood up and quickly walked towards the door. No big deal. He was heading to the health room -- standard practice in our classroom. I moved along with other students and made a mental note to make sure he returned in a few minutes.

After about 2 minutes, I noticed one of my other students had turned ghostly white. I had noticed he had his hand over his mouth earlier, but attributed it to a sneeze. But, the hand hadn't moved. His eyes were bulging. His face was white. I walked over to him and asked him, "What's wrong, bud?"

No response. His mouth moved, but no words came out.

Hmm... curious. I asked again, "Are you sick? What's wrong?"

No response. He was seriously shocked. Just staring.

That's when I realized it. He sits directly across the table from my little guy with the eye. Everyone else in the class was coloring away, singing and laughing. Not this one. He was sitting with his hand over his mouth staring at the empty seat.

Oh no. What happened?

I told the teacher next door I was leaving for a minute and I rushed down to the health room.

When I reached the office, I found a couple more confused and shocked kids and a couple hysterically laughing co-workers.

Long story short... his eye fell out while he was coloring. Literally fell out. Imagine the little guy across from him's shock. He had no idea the eye was fake. Out falls his eye. BUT... not only did his eye fall out, in his rush to get to the health room, he dropped his eye in the hallway. Naturally, the round little thing rolled away from him. So, now we have a shocked little guy in my room who just witnessed his friend's EYE FALLING OUT and a couple more kids who just witnessed a kid chasing his eye down the hall.

So, after the laughter and the explanations died down, I pulled my ghostly white student to the side. I thoroughly explained to him that his eye could never fall out. However, it took a few days and a couple e-mails to his mom before he believed that that could never happen to him.

One of my funniest moments teaching.

Why you shouldn't smoke - a.k.a. big kids do funny things, too

Kindergarten is the best. I'm totally biased. But, it is. 

However, this is a great post of hilarious pictures brought to you by BIG KIDS! :) 

Last week, our school celebrated "Red Ribbon Week" -- a week full of lessons and activities promoting a drug-free lifestyle. The big kids at our school made posters for a poster contest. The theme was: "Why you shouldn't smoke."

I honestly walked around the hallways today with my camera. These are some of my favorites. They made me laugh so much. They're blunt, to the point, and funny in a way my kinders could never be.

Enjoy! :)

The bottom left caption says: Last coin in the vault.

The caption says: This is a not right thing.

Blow up cigarettes with firecrackers if you see a cigarette.

This one is my favorite...

Ever wonder what my job is like?

Have you ever wondered what my job is like?

Besides the cute and funny things they say?

This video shows it better than I could EVER explain. I cried I was laughing so hard. I feel like this all the time!!! :)

Enjoy!

http://safeshare.tv/w/rfpovHMDfV

Birthday portraits

So, today is my birthday. As a grown-up, your birthday is pretty much just another day. But, I get to spend my birthday with a bunch of five- and six-year-olds who think birthdays are really important. So, that's kind of fun. :)

I always have the kiddos guess how old I am, and today, like always, it was entertaining. The guesses ranged from 8 to 81. 

But, today, I had the kids do something really funny. At this point in the year, our "writing" time exists of beginning journal routines -- how to find a new page, how to write the date, how to draw a detailed picture, how to tell about your picture, and some labeling (mainly copying letters from me -- or maybe listening for some sounds for advanced kinders).

So today, for my birthday, I had all the kinders draw a picture of me in their journals. They are to die for! I love them all -- they are all so different, but equally sweet and cute. Some of the kinders wrote my name, and some even wrote happy birthday ("HB" in kinder-writing). 

So... here they are. Enjoy!