Funny things kids say in class--

I wish I could remember all the funny comments students make in the course of a year. My sister is visiting this week from far far away. I've been telling funny student comments and thought, Oh, why not put them in my blog? So here they are: Comments from the little people:

How does a teacher get the attention of her students? As a librarian I have tried a number of methods. Each works at various times. Sometimes this is what I get:

One method that nearly always works is counting backwards from 5. Usually, I get total attention by 4 with all heads turned toward me and sounds dropping off immediately. Because my students feel so comfortable with me (I am wild and woolly as a reader)--well here's what Kindergarten did one day. I started the backward counting and they joined in and counted backwards with me. So, ha ha, they made a game of it. I had to beg their pardon and ask what they thought they were doing. There, that settled them!

On another occasion I just looked at them--you know, the evil eye that teachers can give. One girl asked, "Are you going to say 'Grrrrr" now?" Oh my gosh! That Grrrr is  a throaty, impatient sound I obviously picked up from my mother. I didn't even realize I did it, too! I asked, "I make that sound"? "Yeah, you do." Anyway, I had to laugh at that one!

And the last one I can remember for now happened just last Friday. I have a treasure box (a small trunk about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide) filled with knick-knack, doodad type stuff costing one dollar or less. I dole out these little "treasures" based on good thinking, good behavior, special kindness one shows another, and the like. One first-grade girl has made a game of it. Every week she asks, "Can we go to the treasure chest today?" I give her all sorts of answers. On Friday as I sat and checked out books, she asked her weekly question. I looked at her and said, "Blah blah blah blah blah," over and over, each time she asked. She kept asking, "What does that mean?" Another girl looked at her, looked at me, and said, "Blah blah blah blah," also. This may sound rude out of context, but it wasn't meant to be. The original girl, the one who asked, finally said, "Oh, I get it. I'm not supposed to ask." Right! My rule about the treasure chest is that it is opened based on spontaneity, not planned (except in rare cases).

Also on that same Friday with that same first grade class, I received a funny comment from a seventh grade student. The language arts teacher and I have an arrangement: On Sustained Silent Reading days, she can send a couple of students to check out books (if I don't have a class at that time). Well, first grade girls were there--we had finished story time (a children's abridged Black Beauty) and they were searching for their books. One seventh grade boy said to me: "Why are you letting them run around and you don't let us?" He was perhaps exaggerating a bit, but the point and I said it: "They are not really running--they're skipping. Besides, they are excited about books. How can I fuss when they're that excited about finding just the right book?" But the funny part is based on his own comment: Why would boys old enough to be in the seventh grade want to run around the library? (Incidentally, they would and I have to have them cease and desist.)

Those are just a few of the funny things say!