Why Does Going Back to Work Make Me So Happy?

I get to see my funny students, that's why.

We often start our day out with P.E., which makes for a quite smelly day but that's beside the point.

Today we played kick ball (the game that broke my toe last year) with another class.

As the sides are switching, my precious JD runs up to me.

JD: "Miss J!  I figured out my reason to live!"

Mrs. S, my sister and I all burst into laughter.  As we regain our composure I say, "Please tell me, JD."

JD: "My reason to live is to find a reason to live because if you didn't have a reason to live you'd just be dead."

As the game is ending, JD says to my sister, "I would be able to run a lot faster if I didn't have this contraption."

My sister looks at her like "What are you talking about?"

JD: "You know, this contraption." as she tugs on her bra strap. 

How I've missed this little ones!

Style Sense

JD, of this hilarity and this gem, keeps me laughing all day.

Today, we had a mom come volunteer at our school. As I was explaining what she should do with students while in the hall, JD comes up to her and asks, "Who are you?"

"I'm A's mom."

JD: "Oh. My mom says I don't have any fashion sense." (As a side note, JD was wearing a bright green--think neon 80s green--shirt with a hot pink, screen-printed horse on it, black jeans, and tennis shoes)

A's mom: "Oh, really?"

JD: "Yep, my mom likes plain colors like these." She proceeds to pull her pants up so we can see her socks, which are dress socks but one is black and one is khaki. "Well, these don't match but she likes plain things and thinks I should wear them too...But I don't." And then she sauntered back into the classroom on her tip toes.

Math Time is Swear Time

I have some students who struggle with math a lot. We were working with numbers with decimals today. JD (of this amazing post) says, "What are these dots in these numbers?"

Trying to be a responsive teacher and teach to all students and teach what each student needs, I began to explain decimals and how they work to her.

JD promptly interrupts me with, "I don't know what the hay-ell is going on here."

In unison, the whole class, "What?!"

JD: "I said, 'I don't know what the hay-ell is going on here.' You know, like the stuff that falls from the sky."

F: "That's hail. Not hay-ell."

J: "I think you mean hell. JD just swore in math. HA!"

Oh, gosh.

Fridays are Odd

Fridays are always odd days at school. We never know exactly what's going to happen...maybe there will be an assembly, maybe there will be a fire drill, maybe Hannah Montana will show up and help us play a game with doughnuts...Fridays are unpredictable. So, today being Friday, I was ready for the unpredictability to ensue...which I guess would make it predictable, right?

To add to the craziness of this Friday, my class was on Safety Patrol. Safety Patrol is an optional before and after school thing where basically 6th graders stand watch and make sure that kids stay outside.

This week, 6th grade teachers also have bus duty so I spent 25 minutes outside making sure kids are being appropriate and respectful. And I came into my class about 5 minutes after my students.

I came into many interesting sights and stories.

1. Another teacher tells me as she was walking back to her classroom from the office she sees two of my (huge) 6th graders being beat up by a 1st grader. Classic. I guess the little girl was walking through the halls before school. My boys told her she had to go outside. She said, "I will if you just move." They said, "No, you need to turn around and go out your doors." She responded with a punch to the gut of one of my boys and then the shin kicking began. Priceless. I wish I could have seen it. **Only 6th grader pride was injured in this story.**
   
2. As I walk into my room, one student is sitting quietly in his chair. "Ahhh, bliss," I think. Then I look to his head and realize that he had his shoe sitting on his head. Ok, completely normal. **This is completely normal because I make my students give me a shoe if they need to borrow a pencil. I only do this because I don't have the money to continue to keep buying pencils for all my kids and this way I always get my pencils back because no one will leave school without their shoe...genius!**
3. Then I get bombarded by JD. JD is a special, funny child. She is the one who wrote this gem. JD: "Miss J. I've had a day full of bad luck already!" "Oh, really JD? What's happened?" "Well, it started with seeing an owl." "I didn't know owls were bad luck." "They are if you hear two hoots." "Oh. Ok. What else happened?" "Then a black cat crossed my path and a black cloud has been following me for a week." I look around only to see blue skies. Ok, maybe she's talking figuratively? "And I ran into S., my arch nemesis." I was laughing so hard I had to walk away because I didn't want her to think I was laughing at her.

Yippee for Fridays!

Kicking 'A' Holes

My school has a discipline program called Think Time.

When a student does something that is unacceptable in the classroom, he or she is sent to Think Time. While there the student fills out a form telling what he or she was doing, what he or she should have been doing, if he/she is ready to go back to class and then it's signed by another teacher.

Today, I sent a student down because she kicked another student.

Here is what she wrote:

Why were you sent to Think Time?

for kicking a a hole for blowing and spiting

What school rule does that violate?

Kind respect

What were you supposed to be doing?

Stand in line.

Is there anything else you would like to share in this note?

no nothing but he is a a hole sorry for swering in this note.


This note brightened my day.

I was going to put a picture of the note in here but I decided to keep all parties involved anonymous.