Funnies from my Classroom

I was reading a child's writing piece he had started earlier this week. I was editing it but noticed as I read along, one of his sentences didn't make a whole lot of sense. It made me laugh, but didn't make a whole lot of sense. At least, not the point he was trying to make. The story was about a boy who falls off a boat and is attacked by a shark. The solution was the father came to the rescue "with a rope and some boards to make a fart". Wait a second. I asked the boy how he could make that from a rope and boards and how that helped the boy get rescued from the shark. He responded he accidentally added a line across the letter in the beginning. Even then, it wouldn't say raft.....

There is a boy in every classroom who likes to do things for attention, a class clown what have you... I had 2 for awhile, one moved but I still have 1. This kid usually drives me bonkers, but today he was actually quite funny. I'm constantly asking him to spit things out of his mouth. Usually he is chewing on paper. Apparently I don't understand how tasty lined paper could be. He saw I had a rice cake on my desk (left over from a previous lesson on using salsa verbs instead of boring rice cake verbs in a writing piece). He asked me if I actually eat them. I told him I did. He explained how rice cakes didn't have any taste. He continued by saying, So you eat rice cakes like I eat paper...so you don't get hungry!

This same little boy, who isn't a very big kid at all. Actually he is quite tiny, even for a fifth grader. I was helping another student but jumped when something touched my leg. I looked under my desk to find this little boy curled up in this tiny space. I told him to get out from under my desk and that no one should be touching my legs! He laughed, and expressed how he was going to tell the guy I am dating that he should rub my feet. Where they get these ideas, I don't know.

One little girl (rather a mischievous, but not in an annoying way at all...) found out I was dating someone. We were studying our vocabulary words for the week, one being disengage. I explained how that meant to unhook or take apart. She raised her hand and asked what engage meant then and why we say people get engaged. I explained that it meant to join into something, in the case of engagement means to join in purpose and marriage. A few minutes later, this same little girl expressed "When your boyfriend comes to meet us, he is going to engage you! He's going to get down on a knee...." She then acts out someone opening up a ring box... "and then you are going to go...Woohoo!" (With her jumping in the air with both hands in fists punching the air...)
I laughed and sent her down to PE.

The past several months have been difficult at times because my boss sets some unrealistic expectations. This week, however, has made it all worth it!