catch up--with an attempt to capitalize

So many funny things happen on a daily basis here at R.E.S. I truly believe that any and all elementary educators should write books of quotes and events in their career(s). For instance, I was talking with a guardian of one of my students who told me that she (my student) asked her this summer if she could change her name legally to Justina Bieber. First of all, what first grader knows about being able to legally change your name. Secondly, doesn't that little girl know that Selena Gomez would kick her butt?!
I had two boys approach me during a transition between two reading stations to tell me, "when you get fired, Miss. Smidt, we'll come be students at your new school. You're the best." Heart warming? Yes. Disturbing? More so. I overhead the kindergarten teacher that shares the modular classroom with me tell a group of her kids to "Clean up your elevens." After hearing that over, and over I asked her what elevens were. She informed me that it referred to students who had boogers hanging from their noses down to their lip. The boogers formed two narrow lines that resemble the number eleven. So flippin' gross, yet hilarious. Sometimes I struggle to believe that this is my real life, and am forced to call my parents for a reality check. Thanks D&D for always answering.
Lets talk about picking favorites. Any and all teachers I have had in my life are liars. It is simply impossible to not have favorites. I mean really. Those kids that sit and watch you for directions, because they know that's what you want them to do-- those ones kind of creep me out. I love the ones that are so naughty I have no idea as to what I should do with them. For instance, last Friday during their music class (which is held in my classroom by a traveling music teacher) one of my boys punched another boy in the nose. When I took them aside to discipline/discuss I simply asked, "What happened?!?!" "Well Miss. Smidt, I punched him in the nose. On purpose." Like, how do you react to that without a smile?! The kid who got punched most likely deserved it. But you've gotta lay down the law anyways. What a battle.
Last week I ended up going with the green hair. It was such a hit with the kids. They couldn't believe I had done it. Thursday afternoon, I raced home at 4pm and washed my hair three times to make sure the color was fully removed. The parade was an interesting experience. Our school reserved four buses to ship us to Mission for the annual TCHS homecoming parade. We packed our class, a second and a third grade class onto one bus. The behavior going to, from and during the parade astounded me. I rewarded my kids with giant dill pickles when we returned to the classroom that afternoon. Wow, if you ever need an idea for keeping 17 six and seven year olds quiet at the end of a candy and event filled day give 'em a giant dill. We jammed to the Kidz Bop channel on Pandora and ate our pickles in silence until it was time to load buses to go home.

Here's a picture of one of my kids with red hair, and myself with green!





Oh yea, I had a student tell me that he has a cat that bathes with him everyday. I called him a liar and told him not to tell stories. When his dad came to pick him up, I told him about that story and some others that he's been telling the kids-- he informed me that their family does, in fact, have a cat that bathes daily.
That's just weird, and freakin' gross. *cough*hairball*cough*.