CLASSROOM TALK

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I so enjoy overhearing kids talk all day. Usually, what makes what they say so darn funny is the fact that it is said with such serious sincerity...as if they were little adults. I especially love it when they don't know I'm listening in. At these times, they aren't trying to be silly or just "putting on a show"...their cute personalities are simply coming out in their purest, sweetest forms. A few recent examples:

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1. Two boys were busily working on a craft together. As I casually walked by, I heard one ask the other:
"Do you believe in Santa Claus?"

"Yes," was the confident reply.
"You do?"

(sounding surprised and even hopeful)

"Do you?" the other boy asked sheepishly.

"Yes... (hesitating) but I

don't believe in the Easter Bunny."

"Me either (very decidedly)."

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2. It is yet another inside recess before school, for below zero temperatures. Two boys are hanging up their coats and backpacks while I work at my desk.
"Do you know what frostbite is?"

(this kid is our constant stream of random trivia)

When his friend didn't answer, he proclaimed:

"It's when your skin is dead and it won't ever grow back. If that happens to your fingers you'd have to chop them off!"

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This last statement hooked the other boy's attention. He looked thoughtful for a moment before saying,

"Not if we drink hot chocolate. It will go through your nerves and to your fingers and make everything alright. It will warm them all up!"
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3. I walked by a boy, full of personality, who was deeply absorbed in his assignment. Sitting at his desk, he talked to himself as he worked. He suddenly stopped, stared at his paper, and exclaimed in a whisper, yet full of exasperation:

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"Dang flabbit!"

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I smiled as I walked by, his page ferociously being attacked by an eraser.

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*The silly things students say will have to become a regular installment of this blog. I have so many of them..

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Another zero-degree thermometer reading brought us inside for morning recess. Later, I overheard, between two boys, the following conversation in class:

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"If you could go anywhere in the entire world,

where would you go?"

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"Hawaii."

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"Me too, my friend. Me too..."

(shaking his head with a sigh)

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I love these cute kids talking like little adults...so serious like. But I have to say, I wanted to respond with an, "Amen, little brother." Just a few days ago, I drove to the grocery store with the window down. It was my way of celebrating an incredible 47 degrees outside.

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SUMMER SCHOOL

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I have been working in a summer school kindergarten class since the beginning of June, and the last day was Friday (hooray!). Cool thing to happen this week: The principal arranged for an Apache helicopter to land on the school grounds. The captain used to be a third grade student of my principal's back in the day!

Here it comes!

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You wouldn't believe the wind this machine picked up! It was blowing over large speakers and small children.

After the captain got out and introduced himself, the students were able to walk around and touch the helicopter. The kids...not to mention I...loved it!
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ALSO:
I wanted to share a few things. Kindergartners I have learned, are VERY different from the 3rd graders I am used to.

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1. I had to get after a kindergarten student for repeatedly licking the bottom of her shoe . She was just sitting on the ground with her foot up to her mouth...licking away like it was an ice cream cone. What possessed her, you ask? Only goodness knows.

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2. I also wanted you all to take part in the following conversation. Maybe you can help me make sense of it:

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I am sitting at a table painting with 5 kindergartners. They notice a boy pouting on the floor (who was recently in trouble), and they begin to discuss amongst themselves what could be making him upset.

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BOY #1: Oh, he's just depressed.

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{pause}

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(to the rest of the table) Do you guys know what depressed means?

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BOY #2: No...what does it mean?

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BOY #1: {very matter-of-factly} "It means he's in love with someone, but he's just too sad to admit it."

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MRS. ASHMORE: (To BOY #1) Have you ever been depressed? (I just had to ask)

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BOY #1: No...I've just been pissed at my brother.

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{pause}

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If you're depressed to a cop than you'll go to jail.

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MRS. ASHMORE: What does that mean?

(I'm kind of confused at this point)

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BOY#1: You know (with a shrug)...it means he's being a pouty bum, or he's in love.

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Can any of you shed light on this poor child's logic?

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Water Sprites

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Andrew called for me to come quick one afternoon as I was busy with school stuff in the other room. When I got to a kitchen window, he pointed this out to me:

Some neighborhood children had sneaked into our backyard and started playing in our sprinkler. We really enjoyed listening to their squeals and watching them desperately try to avoid the water as it rotated directions. When they saw us watching however, they thought they were in trouble and quickly ran away. We felt bad, called after them, and invited them to play in our sprinklers anytime. At this news, they celebrated and brought the rest of the neighborhood back to play with them. This must have made quite an impression on them, because now, we get knocks on the door to random kids all the time. They are either on the stoop with arm fulls of flowering weeds for me or asking poor Andrew questions like:

"Is the lady here?"

or:

"Can you turn on the sprinklers?"

or our favorite:

"Can we have a treat?"

Recently, I got out of my car to three smiling children standing in a line on my driveway. They stood in a way that kind of blocked me from going anywhere and they just stood there...staring at me. They didn't say a word and would only respond to my attempts at conversation with giggles, nods, and shrugs. They even resorted to ignoring my questions altogether and whispering secrets in each other's ears. It was one of the most awkward experiences of my life. I stood there for several minutes trying to decide: Do I continue to remain on the driveway while we smile silently at one another? Or should I excuse myself and go inside?

The cherry on top though, is the tendency for these kids to waltz right into out house now and wander all over as if they own the place. We once made the mistake of leaving the door open on a warm evening. I happened to be in the back room getting dressed after a shower when I suddenly heard little voices in our kitchen! Andrew chased them out before any innocent eyes were sullied, but holy heck! I guess that is one of the problems with being nice to kids...then they like you! The real question is: How do we get rid of them now?

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"So...what are you in here for?"

This is what I heard one of my third graders ask a classmate the other day. I had to laugh to myself, because they both sounded so serious and forlorn at the time. If they weren't 8 years old, I would have sworn I was overhearing a conversation between two jail mates behind bars. I suppose I can see how at that age, having to work on homework (you failed to do the night before) during the same 15 minute recess that your friends are using to run free in the sun...might seem just as dramatic as a real live prison sentence. =(