Laugh Lines March 2004

The Price of Day Care
Soon after I took the second grade class that I was substitute teaching out on the playground for recess, I noticed a little girl and boy arguing over a ball. The girl said that she had the ball first and was pretending that it was her baby. The boy came up to her and tried to take it away. The little boy contended that his group of friends wanted to play kickball with it. I decided that since the girl had the ball first, she should be able to play with it.

A few minutes later, I looked up and saw the ball just sitting on top of a slide while the little girl was swinging in a nearby swing. I went over to the girl and said, "Lenah, I thought you said you were playing with that ball? Why is it just sitting there when other kids can be playing with it?"

She looked me straight in the eye and replied, "But I am playing with it. I put the baby in day care while I was on the swing."
Gail Burr
Hewitt, NJ

Open Season
Recently I had a new student enter my kindergarten classroom. As I was checking to see what skills he had mastered, I asked him to name the four seasons. His reply was, "Duck season, goose season, deer season and groundhog season."
Edna Mills
Tiptonville, TN

Growth Spurt
During my second year of teaching, I saw some of my former first graders one day at recess. After greeting them, one of the boys looked down at my feet and exclaimed, "Those shoes still fit you Mrs. Long?"
Angela Long
Advance, MO

The Truth Comes Out
Last year I was assisting a teacher in a religious school during the Christmas holidays. While I was cleaning up from an activity, she began to tell the Christmas story by showing a picture of the manger scene. First, the teacher pointed to Jesus and said, "This is the baby. He's sleeping in the manger. Does anyone know who the baby is?" The students shouted out, "Jesus!" Then she pointed to Mary and said, "This is Jesus' mother. She feeds and takes care of Jesus. Do you know what her name is?" The students called out, "Mary!" Lastly she pointed to Joseph and said, "This is Jesus' father. He is a carpenter. Does anyone know what he is name is?" The classroom was quiet except for one child who called out, "Geppetto!"
Janice Wilson
Colonia, NJ

How Do I Explain This?
One day I was teaching a lesson on compound words to my third graders. I divided the students into groups so they could brainstorm words. One little girl walked up to me and indignantly said that she put the word "took" on her paper and the other students wouldn't let her keep it there. I asked her what two words made this a compound word. She answered emphatically, "To and O.K.!"
Sherry Pratt
Danville, CA