The darnedest things.

Like a blossom in spring beckoned from its winter dormancy, the funny remarks are finally spilling out into my classroom.

J: Miss F, where do you get your earrings?
M: At the store.
J: Oh, my mom goes to the mall.
M: Oh, that's nice.
J: And it's a place called Secret. It has the word Secret in it.
M: [mental laughter] That's where she gets her jewelry?
J: Oh no! She gets her stockings and leggings there.

Well, you *and* I both know which store in the mall J was talking about. The randomness and completely innocent remark made me smile. I know his mom, so it makes it even funnier. I'll have to mention it to her when I speak with her next.

Kids are the World's Best Repeaters of All Things Spoken. You mention, say, reprimand, teach, or explain anything, and you can guarantee that you will hear it again from another pair of lips.

Over the past two weeks, I have heard more things that I have said from my second graders than I have actually spoken myself. Thank goodness that I don't worry at all what I say. I may say some quirky things (i.e., "We're going to breeze through this worksheet like a tornado!" or "NJ, put on your make-pretend seatbelt! Click click!"), but never any thing that would be deemed mean or inappropriate.

When Ms. R told me that I had the "nicest" kids last year, that had me thinking about the underlying lessons I'm teaching. I indirectly push character education; I know I do. I could teach them how to estimate sums, but that won't mean anything when they're in the real world. I did my own math and calculated that I see my students more than they see their parents during the school year. 8 hours out of the day, my second graders are under my influence. (The other 16 hours? About 2 hours spent at home with family unit. About 1 hour for dinner. About another 9 hours are all about sleep (we hope). About 1 hour for getting ready and eating breakfast. And the additional time... at a daycare or a before-school program.)

So, I'm bound and determined that for year two, my students will know how to treat other people. They will know how to apologize. They will know how to work together. And I'm really excited to see that it's already been happening.

Kids cheer themselves on when they work together. They are picking up random litter on the playground. They check to see if their fallen classmate is okay. They help each other clean up spilled crayons.

Yes, my students still drive me crazy with the spurts of misbehavior, but it does me proud and brightens my stressful day.

-- Miss Chelsea :)