Paper, rough play, a proposal, and licking dirt off our fingers...

Today was an interesting day. It started out with one of my students, I shall call him "J", informing me that he can smell through paper. "Ms. Eklund, did you know I can smell through paper?" (you can??) "Yep, I just put the paper up to my nose and smell right through it." haha

Then there came the "rough play" at recess. Four boys decided to play rough with five 2nd grade girls, which involved all five girls going to the nurse for various injuries. Hugging and pushing and shoving. The boys' reactions to getting in trouble? One was mortified, truly repentant - crying hysterically - knowing that he had disappointed not only me, but his parents as well. He even asked for his apology letter back so he could add more detail to it, explaining he knew how upset and disappointed his parents would be in him. (awwwe) One was sort of repentant - knowing it wasn't right, but gave me the "eh, whatever" look. One turned himself in - wasn't implicated at all, but he knew the right thing to do was to admit fault. The last one laughed at me...to my face...and smiled the whole time, even writing his apology letter in the 3rd person. (This was the boy who pushed a girl down and then stomped on her stomach.) Hmmmm....All four boys received the appropriate discipline for their actions.

(Something to ponder? I hope to know these students in 20 years...I really want to know they grow up to become. ;)

Then came the romantic proposal on the playground. Imagine a boy wearing his CTR (Choose the Right) ring, pulling it off his finger, getting down on one knee and proposing to a girl in our class - offering his ring to her. She replied with a polite, "No."

And how did the day end you might ask? Me having to tell a student to quit licking the dirt off his fingers. Seriously. Not joking.

Which leads me into a non-comprehensive list of things I never thought I would have to say in first grade...

1) Please quit chewing on your clothes.

2) Please quit sucking on your shirt.

3) Please quit cutting your pants, shirt, hair, or anything else non paper related.

4) Our hands do NOT go there.

5) Friends, we do NOT eat crayons, glue or lick our desks.

6) It is not ok to stab our friends with pencils.

7) It is not ok to tell your friend you want to have sex with them.

8) It is not ok to hump our chairs and make fake orgasm sounds.

9) You are NOT a werewolf. (yes, I am). No - I promise you, you really aren't.

This last list did NOT happen all today...but it's all happened so far this year :) These are just more reasons I love being a teacher. ;) And how was YOUR day?

The love continues...

Here are a couple of gifts I've received this week. Two Oregon BCS bears (one new and one gently loved) and one slightly used "LOVE" eraser with a piece of sparkly thread wrapped around it (pulled out of her own scarf, I might add), because "I just loooooove you Ms. Eklund. I can't explain it - I just love you! You make my heart sing!"

Awwwwww - come on...adorable, right? and the fact that the eraser is used...and the thread is from her own scarf...geez...she totally gets an "A".

Just a couple more reasons I love being a teacher. :)

A total disservice...

I just read through my entire blog - from start to finish - and I have to admit there are some seriously funny stories here and some very, very serious ones as well. I have been doing a huge disservice by not blogging more about daily teaching life. This has to change! So here are some of my favorite things from the past two weeks.

Today:

Our class projector stopped working last week and I put in a help desk ticket to have it fixed. The update said it would be fixed by this Friday, so I informed my students that we would need to be patient. They have been very excited to watch a Martin Luther King, Jr. video and see his picture, so every day they ask if the projector is fixed. So - it just so happened that today a gentleman came while the students were at lunch to fix the projector (the lamp was blown out apparently). When my students returned from lunch, I had them sit down and I turned on the projector...they sat at their desks with their fingers, toes, feet, EVERYTHING crossed just willing the projector to work. As it turns on, the class starts clapping and jumping up and down and one of my students blurts out, "Mrs. Eklund - you fixed it! It's like teacher magic or something!" hahahahaha I then faced the very obvious dilemma of letting them believe in "teacher magic" or confessing the truth to them. Hmmm....what to do?? Don't worry - I told them the truth. As for "teacher magic" they still don't know how white out works, so I still have that going for me ;)

Tuesday:

"Ms. Eklund - I just can't go to second grade." (Why honey?) "Because you won't be my teacher anymore." (It's ok, sweety, I'll still see you every day. You'll be too smart to stay in first grade by the end of the year!) "That's it! I'm not learning ANYTHING else." Awwww... :) how cute is that!

Monday:

"Ms. Eklund - my dad can't come to see me anymore." (Why honey?) "Because he doesn't have any papers." Hmmm...try explaining immigration to a 6 year old. It's a tough, tough thing. He got extra hugs from me today.

From January 13th:

I had one of those "this is why I teach" moments today - you know, the kind that reaches into your chest and grabs your heart and shakes it. I was teaching about MLK, Jr. - I was absolutely "on fire" about him, downright "preaching" about his "dream" and what segregation was/is, about how and why he was killed, how he fought for peace using his words, and etc, when one of my students raises his hand and says, "Ms. Eklund...so, did his dream come true?" As my eyes filled with tears, I asked him to look around the classroom, then asked him, "Look around - what do you see? Do YOU think his dream came true?" He looked around at his room full of racially diverse classmates and said, "Yep - I think it did."

Wow. It was a powerful moment. My student teacher and I had tears in our eyes and were consoled by young sweet ones telling us, "it's ok...no need to cry" while they handed us Kleenex. :)

Yea - today was a good, good day. My love/teaching cup runneth over.

Call it a New Year's Resolution - but in February...

So - this is it...I need to get back to blogging. I have a friend who blogs every day...so I'm inspired now to get back to sharing my feelings and thoughts about teaching and life...OUTSIDE of Facebook. Let's see how this goes, shall we? Today is day 1...I hope I'm still blogging on day 2. ;)

You know you make an impact when...

one of your former students from your first year of teaching (4 years ago) - who changed schools three years ago, runs across the basketball court to come give you a hug. Especially when the basketball court you're on is NOT at the same school. Awwwwww. He melted my heart and gave me an instant reminder of exactly why I teach.

I coach the girls jr. high basketball team and we had an "away" game at another school last night. My former student saw me and ran across the court to give me a hug. I love this little guy so much and have missed him since he moved after first grade. It's wonderful to know that he still thinks of me and misses me too. For those of you who know this story, he is the little guy whose father was injured, left behind by his group, then eaten by coyotes while crossing the border into the US two years ago. He is amazingly resilient, sweet, loving and kind. He is the kind of kid that makes me feel "lucky" to be a teacher.

The Impact of Involved Parents...A or F, you decide...

I recently saw this article online and posted it to FB - I would like to have an honest and real discussion about parental involvement. Take a look and let me know what you think. Be honest and ready to have a good discussion.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/01/26/florida.grading.parents/index.html

Facebook and blogging...

So - with Facebook suddenly being the rage now, I've found myself not blogging at all, rather using FB as a blog. That needs to stop - people that are my friends on Facebook are now going to have to come HERE to find the cute and interesting stories about my firsties. :) Additionally, this gives me more freedom and space to write what I'm really thinking about and not be held back by length limits. As with this new post, you'll also see a new design and layout. I like this layout better, because it fits with my "window on the world" philosophy.

I want to use this blog as a discussion board of sorts - soliciting and gaining feedback from you, my intelligent friends, on educational and school issues that may or may not effect you personally. I hope to spur thoughtful and interesting discussions AND share with you the funny or serious stories of my class. I am inspired not only by their grace and humility, but by the insights of others.

I hope you come back to read my blog often and comment on things that inspire you.