Laugh Lines February 2007

100 Greatest Quotes
My classroom spent a great deal of time prepping for the 100th day of school. As the day approached, I told my students we would be doing many special activities and that they would join the 100s club if they could count to 100 on the 100th day. Needless to say, they were ecstatic when the 100th day arrived – counting louder than ever, cheering and anxiously awaiting every activity. We began stringing 100 Fruit Loops in groups of 10. As they worked on their necklaces, I overheard one of my students say, "This day really isn't as much fun as Mrs. Gallas said. We just have to do 100 more kinds of work!"
Mary Ann Gallas
Orlando, FL

Mysteries of Science
Each week one of my first graders takes home the Scientist of the Week kit – a lab coat, big glasses and a clipboard full of simple science experiments. The student practices an experiment at home, then demonstrates it in class. One boy set about to do a sink or float experiment. He filled a clear pitcher with water and held up several different objects for the class to guess "sink or float." He then pulled a miniature Oreo cookie out of his lab coat pocket. He held it up and the children were ready to guess, when he popped it in his mouth and said, "Oops! Guess we'll never know!"
Candice Ware
Audubon, NJ

Sweet Studies
On Valentine's Day we did a sorting and graphing activity using candy hearts. Afterwards, the students were allowed to eat the candy. One student exclaimed, "I just love it when we eat what we're learning!"
Marla Smithson
Soddy Daisy, TN

Table Talk
I was teaching my first graders about recording data. I took a survey and asked the class which fruits they liked best. We recorded the data on a table. The students were then given the writing assignment to finish the sentence, "A table tells us..." One student wrote, "A table tells me to pull up a chair, it's time to eat."
Amy Nelson
Shelby, AL

Grand Design
One beautiful day, my preschool class and I took a walk around the block. We discussed the newly paved street and the process it took to get the job done. I made a comment about how beautiful and calm the sky looked. All the children looked up and marveled at the pretty blue color and fluffy clouds, when one three-year-old commented, "Did they just redo this, too?"
Henny Zablotsky
Brooklyn, NY

For Good Measure
I was looking over what my students had missed on a Civics test. One question asked for two ways to measure public opinion. One student wrote, "a measuring tape and a ruler."
Joy Sawyer
Uriah, AL

February, 2007, Vol.37, No.5