Funny from another teacher....(Erin's class)

Ok, so clearly I'm not the ONLY teacher out there that has funny-ass stories to share.  Here are a couple from my friend Erin's 1st grade class.  She really gets some gems =)

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Here is a funny convo I had with one of my students:

In our small group we were talking about initial sounds (it's my group of 1's [lowest students])

 

Me:  "Ok, V, what is the beginning sound of the word CAT?"

V:  "Cat, cat, cat"

Me:  "Right, the word is 'cat', but can you tell me the beginning sound in 'cat'?"

V:  "Cat!"

Me:  "The word starts with a "C" (I point to the letter) and the initial sound is /k/.  Can you say that?"

V:  "CAT, CAT, CAT..."

Me:  (frustrated) "Yes, that's the WORD, but what's the sound??"

V:  "Meow!"

(Thank you ladies and gentlemen...) hahahahahaha

"She's HOTTTTT!"

said by one of my students as he opened the book "Sleeping Beauty".

(no joke...I about peed myself laughing)

I am thankful for...

My wonderfully brilliant little first graders who make me smile (and sometimes cringe) every single day. =)  I am thankful for my husband...the true love of my life!  I am thankful for my family, immediate and extended.  I am thankful for my friends - you keep me sane.  I am thankful for my health (which gets better with each mile walked/jogged on the darn treadmill!! ha ha).  I am thankful for having a job in these crazy economic times.  I am thankful for all of you who read this blog and enjoy sharing these experiences with me. ;-)  I am thankful for SOOO much more, but instead I'll share some of the things my students are thankful for....

"God"

"my family"

"school"

"recess"

"friends"

"homework" (wha???  this kid got an "A" - lol)

"learning"

"food"

"my home"

"Mexico"

"Barack Obama" 

"Grandpa and Grandma"

"my brother"

"my dogs"

"my cat"

"animals"

"nature"

"Mrs. Eklund" (ahhhh...I didn't even bribe them to say that...they just did!!)

So, once again, I have the sweetest, cutest class IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!  

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!  My love to all!!!

22 ego boosts every day...

Here are some of the reasons I love teaching...

"Ms. Eklund...you are sooooo pretty!"
"Mrs. Eklund...I like the way you smell."
"Ms. Eklund...could you come to my house to watch movies?...Saturday? Sunday?? Here's my number...you call me when you can. Ms. Eklund...you're "gorgs" (pretty sure he meant gorgeous..ha ha)
"Ms. Eklund, you're the best teacher EVER!"
"Mrs. Eklund, you make us smart!"
"Mrs. Eklund, thank you for making us learn."
"Mrs. Eklund, will you be my friend forever???"
"Mrs. Eklund, you have the softest arm hair ever!"
"Ms. Eklund, you have pretty lipstick and it makes you look lovely!"
"Ms. Eklund, you give great hugs."
"Ms. Eklund, you are really, really smart."
"Ms. Eklund, will you be my teacher in second grade? (No, sweety.) Then I don't want to go."

and my all time favorite...

"Mrs. Eklund, I sure love you."

"There's a lizard in my pants..."

Let me tell you...without this one particular student in my class, I think I would have somewhat of a boring class this year.  Not that all my students aren't funny and sweet in their own ways, but this one student seems to have the monopoly on funny in my class!  Today his table group earned their way to the treasure box and he chose a yellow, stretchy toy lizard as his prize.  Not 10 seconds later he comes up to me yelling, "Mrs. Eklund, there's a lizard in my pants...there's a lizard in my pants."  So, I turn around and look at him....sure enough...there was a lizard in his pants.  He had unzipped his zipper, put the lizard in half way and then zipped up his pants around it.  Oh my!!  So...yes, he did...he did have a lizard in his pants.  :)

I'm so glad it's Friday!  ;-)

"He did it! He did it!!!!"

Those were the words of my students on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 as we discussed who won the election.  The one student who realized that he was "just" like Obama, came up to me and said, "It's true, huh Ms. Eklund?  I could really be president some day now!!"  It was SO neat to see my students excited about the election.  Another wonderful thing happened right after I told the students who won...all the students that voted for him during our classroom election started jumping up and down yelling, "We won!  We won!  I voted for the person that won!!"  

I hope they remember someday how excited they were in first grade over our first African American President! =)

Voting and the Presidential Election...a first grade point of view....

You might think that first graders don't know too much about what's going on this year, but you'd be wrong. This week I've been speaking to my students about the election, giving them unbiased information. (Yes...unbiased...no matter how hard it's been...it's the right thing to do.) I've answered their questions, read biographical information about each candidate and used the big maps; we even held our own classroom vote. It has been a wonderful journey to take with my students. You get a wonderful insight into how their parents are voting through the questions they ask and the statements they make. You even see how these kids can take both sides in and make their own decisions (sort of - ha ha) Here some of the comments so far...

"I'm not voting for Bobama, because he wants to take away our guns."

"I'm not voting for Obama, because he wants to get rid of our military."

"I'm voting for Obama, because he cares about us."

"I'm voting for Obama, because he looks nice."

After clearing up some misconceptions in their comments and answering further questions, inevitably I rec'd this question.

"Who are you voting for Mrs. Eklund?" (You're probably wondering if I answered them...of course I did! These students need to know that it's ok to disagree with someone, and that even if the person you want to win doesn't, it's still your responsiblity to work together for the common good. So, of course...I made it a teaching moment and answered them honestly. I said, "Well kiddos, I believe that Obama is the right choice for our country." I received a couple of "ooohs" and "ahhhs", and one or two "I'm telling my mom." ha ha ha...

Then there was a comment that really struck me and it actually brought tears to my eyes. We were discussing each candidate and how regardless of who wins, that this election would be historical. If McCain wins, it would be historical for two reasons: 1) he'll be the oldest person ever elected president, 2)with Palin as his VP, she'd be the first woman elected to an executive position in our country. For Obama, if he wins, it would be historical because, he'd be the first African-American person ever elected president. When I was describing this to my students, I explained that Obama is African-American, but that he is actually half-white (Caucasian) and half-black (African American), which makes him Mulato. When I said the word "Mulato" one of my students spoke up and said, "Hey...that's what I AM...I'm Mulato. My Mom is black and my Dad is white. So, he's like ME and he could be president!!" He said this with such amazement and wonder...it kind of left me speechless. So I looked at him and asked, "Well buddy, how does that make you feel knowing that someone just like you could be president of the United States?" He replied, "Like I could be President some day...just like that...like I could be President."

So, here you have a little kid, a first grader...who gets it, he really gets it. He's a poor kid from the wrong side of town. His Dad has instilled in him an amazing work ethic, he's truly wonderful and he understands what the US is all about. He understands that anyone who works hard enough can become anything they want. I'm not saying that at this moment, at 7:36pm on Nov. 4th, that we know Barack Obama will be our next president, but we do know that the mere idea of it is inspiring hope in people as young as 6. And if...just if Obama really does become our President, then we really do know that anyone can become anything they dream of in the US.

I love teaching. I love moments like this...I love the hope, the inspiration and the wonder.

So, whatever your political affiliation, just keep in mind how important all of this really is...BOTH sides.

Oh - and if you're curious...my kids voted 13 to 9 for Obama. =)