False Alarm

If you have ever wandered down an elementary school hallway, you have no doubt noticed the wall art up and down the corridors. In the kindergarten class where I am substituting for the day, we are making a mural to be displayed in such a hallway. Each child has been assigned a very specific part (a character from the story, trees, flowers, etc.) One girl is working very meticulously on her piece when her tablemate says to her, "It doesn't have to be perfect. I mean, it's not like it’s going in a museum or something." 

Later this same afternoon, the fire alarm goes off. I mutter to myself in a voice that is barely audible, "You have GOT to be kidding me." Upon hearing this, one of the little girls gets up from her desk and in her most exasperated voice repeats, "You have got to be kidding me." They are little sponges. 

Stage 3

We are about five minutes into recess one day when a group of second graders rushes over to me. "Miss! Miss! Look at the caterpillar we found!" A little girl proudly displays the caterpillar she is cradling in her hands. I ooh and aah, and then encourage them to put him back in a tree. As she gently places him on a leaf she says, "He's pretty close to stage 3 anyway." We had just finished a Science segment on the stages of a butterfly, and I was proud of her like a mother in that moment.

Recess

During 4th grade recess I am talking with some of the other teachers when one of them makes an announcement: "Attention 4th grade teachers, please be aware that your students are playing 'stripper' on the playground." Sure enough, I look over and a group of girls are taking turns dancing around the pole - some of them are even going down it upside down. When we put a stop to their dance party and asked them where they had learned their moves, they said "Miley Cyrus."

Fashionistas

I like to consider myself a pretty fashion-forward person. But teaching has given me an entirely new appreciation for kids' fashions. I still remember my outfit for the first day of school in third grade. I was starting a new school and wanted to make a good impression, so I meticulously laid out my outfit the night before: pink shorts to compliment a glitter tie-dyed shirt. True story. I thought that this outfit was so amazing that I wore it at least once a week. I am pretty sure that it was from JC Penny or Bealls, our only two options at the time.

When I got to high school, I decided to step it up. My freshman year I spent my entire back-to-school allowance on two outifts: one was a Pepe Jeans t-shirt and Girbaud shorts, and the second was head-to-toe Guess. Now the kids I teach wear Ugg boots and Burberry scarves. I was teaching basketball and soccer relays to a group of 2nd graders when one girl refused to take off her floor length coat. After I complimented it, she thanked me and added "It was $200." Really, Suri Cruise?! Is it bad when the kids I teach have better clothes than I do?

So Far in 2011...

Has anyone ever thrown up on themselves at your job? Unless you are an ad man from the 1960s (Mad Men, anyone?) or a doctor, probably not. One minute the 1st grade class that I am substituting for is enjoying their snack time, and the next a little boy is approaching me with vomit all over the front of his shirt. As I try to suppress my own gag reflex, he tells me that he is feeling much better. I reply that while I am glad to hear this, he still needs to go to the nurse and get a fresh shirt.

Simon Says

I am substituting for a multi-grade PE class, and the school happens to be testing that day. The gym/multi-purpose room is being used, so I literally go door-to-door to relieve teachers and conduct a PE lesson in the classrooms. I arrive at one kindergarten class and we play 'Simon Says' to get them up and moving around to burn off some energy. At one point I instruct the students to do a "silly dance," and a group of 5 and 6-year-old boys start jumping up and down and singing, "Do the stanky leg!" Simon said stop pretty quickly, as Simon wasn't 100% sure that the 'stanky leg' was appropriate at school.