Who You Talkin' To?

Here's a conversation I had recently with some first-graders...*names have been changed for privacy reasons*

Me: "Betsy!"
Sally: "I'm not Betsy"
Me: "I know that Sally, I wasn't talking to you"
Sally: "Oh, who are you talking to?"
Me: "Betsy."

That Snot'll Kill Ya

I believe I'll be transforming this blog from a missionary blog to a kid-space, as that seems to be the majority of what I've written lately. I do spend a majority of my time with, learning about, and listening to kids. I've even starting making anecdotal notes in the margins of my fieldnotes to share later....here's one from Friday.

The class just began reading Charlotte's Web when they stumbled upon a word they didn't know...the word was "runt". The teacher asked if anyone knew what runts meant, here are some answers:

Student #1: "to kill someone"
Student #2: "a pig that doesn't listen a lot"
Student #3: "someone that has a runny nose!"

Yes, they did eventually learn the correct definition...

As I write, I'm sitting at Starbucks...there is a mom and her two boys at a table nearby. One of the boys is singing "Down By the Bay, Where the Watermelons Grow...." (classic kids' song!). He has repeated the same two verses (dragon pulling a wagon, and bear combing his hair) about 27 million times in a row. His mom just looked over at me and said "I'm sorry, are you getting any work done??!" I told her not to worry, I plan to be a first grade teacher and I know that song. Then I looked at the boy and said "What about the llama wearing pajamas?" and he was so surprised that he forgot that part! He has now added that to his repertoire. Cute :)

Bathroom Lessons

Today I learned my lesson about kids and the power of suggestion...

This morning our children's choir was performing a few songs and a skit they had put together. Before they were about to go on stage for the first service they were discussing all the things that could possibly go on (what little adults they are!), the oldest girl (5th grade) jokingly asked what we would do if she peed her pants on stage. I said we would laugh at her. (Don't worry I told her I was kidding...eventually)

BUT, right before they were about to go on stage for the second service, I jokingly asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom. This was a mistake. The littlest girl (preK) and the two boys proceeded to rip off their costumes and run to the bathroom! Of course right as they did this the cue for us to go on stage came. So...I sent the other kids down the aisle and waited for the other three at the restrooms. Needless to say we made a bit of a bedraggled entrance. One of the boys got so nervous he couldn't get his belt fastened! Poor kid!

All that to say, I learned my lesson. The power of suggestion is a strong one, especially when it involved peeing one's pants in public!

Who needs a social life?

As you may or may not know, the choices I've made regarding working all the time, commuting to Seattle, going to grad school, volunteering at Helen Haller, taking guitar lessons, and trying to work out often, don't leave me a ton of time for a social life. However, I've discovered the solution - my newest bff (best friend forever, for all you old people out there ;)) is one of the first graders in the classroom I volunteer in. Her name is Paola. She and I started our bffship last week during library time because she asked me to read her a book at Quinceaneras (the special 15th birthday celebration of girls in the Hispanic community). This week in class, I got to spend some time with Paola working on her own reading. After that I was the constant object of her affection throughout the day. After a copious amount of hugs and invitations to come play at recess, I knew Paola was my newest best friend. The funniest part of my day though, was at the end of the day, after all the kids were dismissed to go home. Paola grabbed my hand and tried to guide me in the direction she was going. I said, "Alright Paola, have a good weekend, I'll see you next week, ok?" She said, "Aren't you coming to my house? We could play and even read some more." I laughed and explained that I couldn't go home with her but I'd see her soon...her response, "But I thought we were friends!!"

There you have it ladies and gentlemen, who needs a social life when first graders give you all the validation you need??!

;)

Are there frogs in space??!

Conversation I overheard in the first grade class today:

Boy #1 (reading): Frogs are amphibians and...
Boy #2 (interrupting): What's amphibians?
#1: You know, amphibian, like... "To amphibian, and beyond!"

6 year old evangelist?

Mormons. We all know them. We've all seen them at our front doors with their ties and bike helmets. They evangelize, it's what they do. But at what age do they begin?! Here's a conversation I had with a first grade little boy on Friday:

W: "Teacher, do you go to the Mormon church?"
Me: "No, actually I don't."
W: "Well, why not?"
Me: "I go to a different church."
W: "But the Mormon church is better, I LOVE it!"
Me: "Oh yeah? Why do you love it?"
W: "You learn about Jesus and stuff..."
*pause*
"Oh! And sometimes you get to go the Bishop's house and he gives you cookies!"


I had two thoughts:
1). Yikes! This kid is really an evangelist. At what age is it appropriate to teach your kids to prosthelytize? Apparently in the Mormon church they come out with tracts in hand. Gotta give them credit for enthusiasm.

2). What does the bishop do after he gives you the cookies? Does this SCARE ANYONE ELSE??!?!?!?!?! Please tell me he doesn't take you in a special back room :S

Math Conondrum (is that how you spell that? I think so...)

Alright everyone, so this quarter I am teaching a class on Teaching Elementary Mathematics. At the beginning of our first class this Tuesday, the teacher posed this math problem to us. Now, I must admit, I'm a little rusty in my math skills - the last math class I took was my freshman year of college... that would have been, oh, 2003. eek! I struggled to write out an algebraic equation for this problem, and in the end came up with 27/20 of a person, so I know that's not right. Granted, no one else in the class was confident in their answers or knowing how to solve it either. There was one girl at my table who came up with a solution that seems plausible to me, and I'm curious to see what YOU will come up with. I know there aren't a ton of people who read this blog, but we'll see if I get any answers back.

Here it is:
If 2/3 of all the men in a condiminium complex are married to 3/5 of all the women, what fraction of the people living in the complex are married?

Let me know what you get and how you got it! Happy calculating ;)