After all these years....

I received my first gift of an apple today!

Over all the years of teaching, I've never been given as an apple for a gift.

It was perfect because:

1) It was for 'no reason'.

2) The student who gave it to me wasn't trying to be a 'teacher's pet' about it.

3) It looked lovely on my desk until I ate it.

4) It was delicious!

It was a good day!! :)

The Village People are still alive!

During an activity yesterday, I hear the following song coming from a Grade 3 student, singing away while working:

(Sung to the tune of YMCA)

"Inukshuk .... why won't you marry me?
Inukshuk .... oh how happy we'd be!
Inukshuk .... why won't you marry me?
We'd. Be. So. Happy!"

A logical explanation....

Me to a Grade 1 student: "Billy, why did you kick Bobby?"

Billy: "Well, you see, I know Kung Fu, Karate and Tai Kwon Do, and Bobby only knows Karate - so I kicked him in the face!"

Obviously?!!?

An Ice Cold One....

A grade 3 class and I were playing 'hot and cold' with big notes on the musical staff that is taped onto my carpet. The class had fun shouting out 'hot', 'warm' or 'cold' as students moved the notes to the correct (or incorrect) spot.

One little guy shouted out as another neared the correct line:

"SO hot you'll need a beer!!"

These are the moments that they didn't teach you in teacher's college on how to properly react to! :)

Hide your kids, hide your wives and hide your husbands..... cause there's Grade 1's out there!

I just HAVE to share this story from a Grade 1 colleague.

Yesterday afternoon my colleague got a phone call from one of her student's fathers. He told her that he was concerned and wanted to talk to her about it. My colleague started racking her brain. It was only the third day of school and she couldn't recall any issues with this particular student.

The dad went on to say that he found a scratch on his son's backpack. He said it looked as if one of his son's classmates KEYED his son's bag. He asked my colleague to please keep an eye on the kids to see if she can find out who did it.

KEYING a kid's backpack??? Is this guy for real? How many grade 1's does he think a) have keys b) bring keys to school c) enjoy scratching backpacks?

So apparently, when dropping off his son at school this morning, he approached my colleague to show her the bag in person. She saw it .... a tiny little scuff, no bigger than a dime's width on the bag. She asked the dad if his son could have maybe dragged his bag on the pavement after school to get the scuff mark. His father was adamant and said "My son would never drag his bag.... he loves his superhero backpack too much! It definitely looked like another Grade 1 keyed it."

Obviously, I had a good laugh in the staff room this afternoon when I heard about this one.

Watch out world, the Grade 1's are coming - and they mean business!! :)

Welcome Back (and R.I.P. Alvin)

Happy New Year!

As always, it's my favourite time of year. The air is crisp, my new pens and post-it notes smell FANTASTIC and there's a buzz of excitement in the air! Yes, it's back to school time.

The first day was a busy one. In some ways, it didn't feel like I have been off for such a lovely and long amount of time. It's truly amazing how quickly 'reality' snaps back.

I would love to share this little gem of a nugget with you....

A grade 5 "Billy" asked me today: "Mrs M! Wanna see something?"

Me: "Sure!" (wrong answer!)

Billy then proceeds to take out a chipmunk skin from his backpack. Yes, a real live (well, once live) flattened chipmunk skin, fur and all.

Me: (insert shock and awe here) "What is that?????"

Billy: "It's a chipmunk I caught and skinned this summer. Oh, no, it's missing it's tail!!" (Billy proceeds to put the once-chipmunk on my carpet and dig through his backpack for the tail). "Here it is!" (the removal of the tiny tail occurs...and it too is placed on my carpet). ****Note to self: disinfect or burn classroom carpet immediately.******

Me: (still shocked and now disgusted) "Where did it come from"?

Billy: "We found it at camp and skinned it ... and ATE IT!"

Me: *Thinking, but too afraid to ask, as I'm tasting the beginnings of vomit at the back of my throat* What the hell kind of camp is this??

Me: (asking the obvious question, after the bile subsides) "What did it taste like?"

Billy: "Chicken! Gotta go - BYE!" (throws chipmunk and tail back in his bag and leaves)

WOW! Really, there are no other words.....

How was your day at work today??? :)