Out of the Mouths of Babes - part 3

I seriously should just create a whole new blog for the "Out of the Mouths of Babes" series.

Geoff didn't do much this week, though he is still cute as ever.

BUUUUUUTTTT, on two different occasions this week I have heard and/or experienced some very laughable moments. Now, without further adieu:

Occasion #1: A little background first--In February, a girl in Kindergarten got moved up to first grade Dual Immersion. Why? Because mom threw a fit until she got her way. Basically, this mom wanted her daughter to skip Kindergarten since the beginning of the year. Elena did average in the Kindy test, but nothing spectacular. Since mom is PTA president and Diane promised her we could test her again in January (DO NOT ask why she promised that, please), she threw her share of royal fits until--long story short--Diane moved Elena into mine and Silvia's class. UGH!

Okay, now that you have your background here's the story: Silvia was at a table in the back of her classroom with a student named Anthony. Anthony is the kind of kid you just want to squeeze cuz he's sooooo cute, but he'll make you crazy with his incessant talking. So, Elena has a tendency to lose her pencil many times per day. Well, this was one of those times and so she went back to the table where Silvia was working with Anthony and told her that she had lost her pencil. Silvia had about had it up to here (raise hand to about eye level) with Elena so she said: "Elena, part of being in first grade and being a first grader means you are responsible for your things. It means you don't lose your pencil. (More firmly) Go back to your desk and look for your pencil. You need to look really good for your pencil." Of course Anthony is listening to this whole conversation and he turns to Elena and butts in with: "OR you could just go back to Kindergarten." WHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT? Oh my gosh!! Anthony just moved up like 10 points on the "super cool kid" scale. I was laughing so hard when Silvia was telling me and she was laughing so hard that she didn't stop Anthony from making further comments. Well, Elena, much like her mother, wouldn't have any of Anthony's "attitude" so she puts her hands on her hips and starts chewing him out with phrases like: "my mom says I'm supposed to be in first grade. She doesn't want me to go back to kindergarten. I'm not going back to kindergarten." Then Anthony says: "Maybe you'll be in first grade again next year then!" OHHHH!!! Loving Anthony right now. I-was-dy-ing when Silvia was done telling me this. Let's just say, in my book, Anthony is now the coolest kid EVER. This is the one time when his talking has totally paid off. Oh man! Every time after that when I saw Anthony, I just giggled. He has no idea how much Silvia and I have both wanted to say that to Elena or her mom. Sweet, sweet children. *sigh*

Occasion #2: Tonight we were watching that new show called "Minute to Win It." Basically the contestant has 1 minute to complete a task and moves up a scale until they reach $1 million. Well, the lady on this show had a pretty hard task to do--blow cards off a pile of cards that were balanced on a class bottle, but only leave the last card. It looked VERY hard. So, I'm downstairs at my in-laws watching and Jase comes down while this lady was on her 2nd attempt of the task. He looks at the TV and says: "That looks like a damn hard game!"
Me: "What did you just say?"
Jase: (matter-of-factly) "That looks like a damn hard game."
Me: "Where did you learn that word?"
Jase: "Other people say it."
Me: "Well, it's not a nice word and we don't say it."
Jase: "Then why do other people say it?"
Me: "Because they don't say nice words sometimes."
Jase: "Mima (Lynne) said it."

After that, I told Lynne the story and she and Jase had a talk about it. She didn't say that word, by the way.

Sometimes I wonder how well a book of my stories would sell....

good-hearted people

When the day comes when I am not teaching anymore, there is one thing I will not miss: mourning a loss...especially when there's a direct connection to me.

I hold back tears right now, thinking of my dear, sweet, CUTE Kayden who is now in second grade. No, he didn't die...but his dad did. Killed in a car accident, a very tragic one, last night. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=9972168

At first I thought Katie was joking when she told me; then Summer confirmed it. In a way I wish Kayden was at school today so I could just hug him and hold him and tell him, well, tell him he's a great kid. He and his two older sisters have had a tough. They have had to grow up REALLY fast. Biological mom lost all parental rights to her children a while ago. Stepmom adopted the three kids just last year. Both dad and stepmom have good hearts and are trying to raise their children properly. The first time I met them, I was scared. They don't look like the most approachable people plus Elaine had Kayden's sister in her class my first year of teaching and she was slightly weary of the parents as well. But can I just tell you they are the most good-hearted people and try SO hard to be the best parents?

Oh my sweet Kayden. This incident makes me so grateful that Kory comes home safely from work and other places. I don't know what I would do if my husband died. The worst is that these kids are old enough and smart enough to understand what had happened and it's not going to make life any easier for them. I hope they know they are loved.

RIP Mr. Goins

Out of the mouths of Babes-Part 2

Let's see if I can get this posted before "24" comes on in about 5 minutes.

Well everyone, Geoff struck again--3 times to be exact. During "Come Follow Me" we were practicing a part of the second verse and I kept choosing different helpers to "stretch" the word effulgent while we sang. The Jr. Primary pretty much thinks they're rockin' because they can sing that word. And pretty much, I agree with them!! :) Anyway, I chose a helper and all of a sudden, Geoff gets out of his chair and starts trying to actually come up to me and tell me: "And then I'll be your helper next, Sister S." Oh, precious, precious Geoff. I told him he had to sit and help us sing if he wanted to be my helper (plus I was drawing sticks so luck didn't work in his favor). Then a few minutes later, we were still working on the same song and he said (never raising his hand, by the way): "Sister S., make sure you don't mess up." About this time, all the adults in Primary are rollin' on the floor and I can hardly contain myself with laughter. So, a few minutes later, Geoff's sister was my helper and Geoff got all excited. His face lit up and he started waving and saying: "That's my sister. Hi Elle..., Elle, hiii!" Okay, about this point his teacher finally realized he needed to move and sit next to Geoff and let him know that he needed to be reverent.

Oh dear! I just love Primary.