I never understood why my teachers came to school sick until I became a sick teacher. It is probably the worst thing ever to go to school when you are sick... but I honestly think that writing up sub plans is the only thing that could top it. So here I am, sick as sick can be, and I went to school. And decided that this evening, I would watch a Christmas movie by the Christmas tree, drink Diet Coke, and write my blog post for the term (because I don't have enough time to write anymore).
THANK GOODNESS CHRISTMAS BREAK IS IN T-MINUS 8 SCHOOL DAYS. But before that, we have 5 singing practices, a gingerbread house making extravaganza, 2 school sing-a-longs,
1 class party, Grinch Day, a field trip to the care center, and a week's worth of lesson plans to get through.
The First Field Trip
Well... I survived my first field trip in October. It was pretty rockin' and I'm pretty sure I'm as old as the 2nd graders. We went for a hike on the Provo River Trail and fed the fish at Bridal Veil Falls. It was so fun to interact with my students in a place that wasn't my classroom (even though my pirate classroom is adorable). While feeding the fish, I handed each of my students a quarter to feed the fish. I told each student that the quarter was to feed the fish. One of my students turned and asked sincerely, "You mean you feed the fish the quarter?" I could not stop laughing and it is still a joke between us.
Mom in 2nd Grade
I probably have the best mom in the whole world. She is so supportive of my career and will do anything to help me succeed. I'm so grateful for her and everything she does. Right before Halloween, my mom brought the cutest vampire doughnuts to my class and watched the Halloween Parade. My kids had a million questions for her, but my favorite quote from her visit was, "Mrs. James looks like a grandma." My mom then explained that she couldn't be a grandma because I wasn't married and the kids began calling her Miss James' Mom. We love when Miss James' Mom comes to school.'Murica
We have been learning about the different countries and continents. It is something that is really hard for the students to understand and I get a lot of funny comments and questions, most of which relate back to the United States of America in some way. My favorite quote was said by a student who is probably overly informed about politics and the government because his dad is in the army and he reads A LOT. After asking which continent we live in, he exclaimed, "We live in America... where our president hates us." Speechless.
Too Old for Their Own Good
I love when my students make comments that they have obviously heard from an adult somewhere because there is no way they came up with it on their own. One of the activities we were doing a couple weeks ago related to an activity we had done earlier in the year. My student immediately sighed and said, "This activity is just like one we had in the good old days." You are too young to have any "good old days". I mean yesterday you were like, born.
Dietary Talk
Kids these days are allergic to EVERYTHING! I have to always have back up treats for when a students brings in their awesome birthday treat and four of my kids can't eat it because it isn't gluten free, it may contain nuts, and it was made in the same country as dairy. While announcing the lunch menu one day, the kids began to cheer because it was Wednesday which means pizza. Suddenly, a student declared, "Well, Miss James, it is a really good thing I'm a pizzatarian."Pizzatarian (n): someone who only eats pizza (thank you, 2nd grader, for finally creating a word that describes my dietary needs).
Sneaky
What animal do you think of when you hear the word "sneaky"? A black panther? A mouse? A spider? In the morning, I am often facing my computer when the first kids walk in the classroom. I was finishing up a last minute email, when I heard a couple of soft steps. I turned around and one of my students was standing right behind me. He was smiling, and stated proudly, "I was a sneaky little pony this morning, teacher!" I probably wouldn't define a pony as being sneaky, but if that is what he wants to be, that is fine by me!
The Aggies
I am the lone Aggie down in the BYU Cougar Territory. I live in Provo and wear my Aggie gear whenever I leave my apartment. I have my huge Aggie flag hanging in my classroom. I have a stuffed Big Blue that sits in my reading corner for every student to see when they go to choose a book. I wear my Aggie lanyard with pride. Every one in the school knows that I am an Aggie. So when I found out that one of my students had an uncle that played football for Utah State, I was ecstatic. I might even give him a treat whenever he wears his Game Day shirt. When he was sharing his autobiography with my class one day, he shared a picture of him and his friends at Merlin Olsen Field cheering on the Aggies. He described the picture by saying, "This is the Aggie stadium. We always pray for the Aggies." So do I, Son. So do I.The Hair Dye
I colored my hair a couple of weeks ago and I knew I was about to get some gold when it came to comments from students. The very first question I was asked the next day was, "Did you paint your hair, Miss James?" She was very worried about what I had done and said her mom would NEVER let her do that. I received many compliments that day, including one that I think is my favorite of all time. When taking my kids out to recess, one girl said, "Miss James, why are you so skinny? Also, your hair looks really pretty outside. I think you should stay outside with us because it looks so pretty." I probably would've been convinced if it hadn't been 30 degrees in windy Spanish Fork.
Thanksgiving
The day before Thanksgiving is CHAOS. Everyone is excited to see their family and to be out of school. We were writing acrostic poems with the word Thanksgiving right before we left for break. My kids couldn't think of anything to write with the letters that they were thankful for. My example for them was that I was thankful for my "H"andsome boyfriend. As I was walking around, I noticed that multiple kids had written "H"andsome boyfriend for their letter H. I asked my student why he was thankful for his handsome boyfriend (just to be funny and to hopefully make him realize it didn't work) and he passionately blurted that he didn't have a handsome boyfriend, but that he was grateful for my handsome boyfriend. So funny.
Elf on the Shelf
The new trend in elementary schools are for classrooms is for each class to adopt an "elf" from the North Pole. I jumped on board and started it this week. After finding the elf the first day, one of my students said suspiciously, "This is kind of creepy... he look slike a doll, but he smells like the North Pole. I don't know what to think about him." How does he know what the North Pole smells like? I have no idea, but it is making him suspicious of my elf.
Its Hard to be a Kid
My students often think that they have the hardest life in the whole world (which can't be true because their teacher gives them treats ALL THE TIME). While doing their handwriting this morning, I heard my student mumbling, "Once upon a time, there was a kid that was really tired and had the worst life because he had to practice his U's. The end." Wow, honey, it is so hard to be a second grader. :)
The Crepery
We are currently having each of the second grade students give a presentation on a country of their choice. Today, a mom came in to help her daughter present France and she brought in her two younger daughters. While she was presenting (she was also making crepes for the kids to try), I was trying to entertain the daughters. They were a handful, to say the least. I didn't hear any of the presentation. While the mom was packing up to leave, I went and stood by one of my students and sighed a breath of relief. She then turned to me and said, matter-of-factly, "Just wait until you have your own kids, Miss James." I really hope I have enough practice that I can handle my own kids when that time comes. Good thing I have a couple years before that can happen.
If you made it this far, you must have the humor of a 2nd grade teacher. I'm so grateful, especially in this holiday season, for my job. It can be a comedy show, Walmart on Black Friday, or a classroom, all in one day, and I LOVE IT. I couldn't ask for a better career for me and I am so thankful for the things I learn about myself that I couldn't learn any other way.
