Playing House.

We were having recess inside today and some of the kids were playing "house."  The dad of the house, Bode, came running up to me and said,

"Mrs. Overman, I am soooo not ready to have kids yet."

I was already cracking up.

"Why's that, Bode?"

"Well, see my kids over there? [points to a group of kids sitting in the corner]  They're not going to bed like I said, so they're just going to have to sleep in their pretend puke.  I wish they'd just go to bed.  I think I might just never have kids."

"Bode, you know, it doesn't get any easier when you're a grown up.  Good luck."

This is just too cute not to post.

Ah, finally something funny.

I love my class this year.  They rock.  But they're just not...umm...hilarious.  Usually.

Today one little guy, B, was late because he went to the dentist.  It kinda just wrenched his whole day, really.  He's a perfectionist and hates messing things up; he especially hates when I circle incorrect answers on his math papers for him to correct.

"I think you just like circling things today, Mrs. Overman!" he'll say.  "Those aren't really wrong!"

Today he missed a lot on his math facts paper, so I circled them to be corrected.  He went back to his seat and cried.  Poor kiddo.  I finally had the sense to lighten his situation with some humor, but he ended up lightening it for me instead:

Me: B, what happened to you at the dentist? Did they clean out the math part of your brain in addition to your teeth and that's why you missed all your facts? 

B: Well...you know, I did feel something tingly up toward my brain after they cleaned this tooth [points at molar].  And you know what else happened there? I got ceilings on my teeth so I don't get cavities!  Guys, did you hear me! I got ceilings!  Yeah!

Yeah...you mean sealants.  But whatever.

SMART Board.

I have a SMART Board, a.k.a. God's greatest gift to teachers in the digital age.

A.k.a. an "interactive whiteboard."  

Just picture a giant computer screen that you use digital markers with.

Well, much to our disappointment, our SMART Board isn't interacting with us.  *sniff*

The tech people were in my room making a last-ditch effort to fix it before they called the SMART company people, and one of my boys goes, 

"You know, for being a SMART Board, it's really not so smart!"

Sometimes we wish we didn't have our own bathrooms.

Don't read this if you think bathroom stories are inappropriate--or you're opposed to the word "butt."

My colleague in first grade shared this with me today.  She has a squirrley class, to put it mildly.  She'd finally gotten them calmed down and working quietly on their math papers when one little boy asked to use the bathroom.  He went in and apparently was in there for a very, very long time.  She finally heard a little voice in there saying:

"I'm wiping my butt now!!!!"

Sometimes you have to laugh or you'll just cry.

My wonderful colleague has a doozy of a class this year.  This is what she told me today:

"Oh my goodness...today has been really stressful...so I decided to put on some soothing music for the kids when they came in from recess.  Totally didn't work.  One kid was under his desk playing, another girl that never is quiet was screaming that he was under his desk playing, another kid was trying his darndest to dance to the soothing music...then I look back, and guess what Glue Eater's Friend is doing?  Oh yes...she is cutting up paper towels and her math paper that has yet to be completed and is glueing them to another paper.  So I asked what she was doing, and she said, 'I'm glueing because my friend Glue Eater likes to eat glue so I'm making her something to eat.'"

We had to stop our converstation because two boys were trying to kill each other before our very eyes.  Repeat after me:  "I will get through this day, I will get through this day..."

Bearded lady.

We were sharing our work from Writing Workshop today.

You know from some past posts like this one about a dead cat in a dryer that this can get really...interesting.

Here is what T said today:

"Okay, guys.  This is a map of my house.  Oh...I think I forgot to draw the other bathroom...oh well.  Okay, so here's my dad.  Here's me.  Here's my sister.  She has a moustache because I don't like her."

Of course, the other boys thought this was the most ingenious idea they'd ever heard and suddenly were begging for more work time to add moustaches to their own much-despised sisters. 

I congratulated myself on teaching drawing detail and writing how you really feel after this lesson.  I see the glass half-full, don't you think?

*wink*