Laugh Lines May 2003

Home Away From Home
A local weathercaster visited our school to discuss weather forecasting and his career in broadcasting. At the end of his talk, the weatherman stressed the importance of getting a good education. "Stay in school," he cautioned. "Don't ever leave school." Suddenly a kindergarten student began to cry. "You mean we have to stay here forever, and never go home?" he asked.
Helen Hoffner
Ridley Park, PA

Tied Up
I had been working one-on-one with a student when Jack, another student in my classroom, came up to me and asked if I could tie his shoe. Since I was busy with the first student, I asked him to go and ask my aide, Mrs. Schultz, to tie his shoe for him. Jack looked at me and asked, "What's the matter? You don't know how to tie shoes?"
Maria Hobson
Cheltenham, PA

Literal Input
My first graders were practicing checking out books from the library. One student tried to scan her book, only to hear the computer sound an error beep. I noticed she had forgotten to scan her library card first, so I said, "Make sure to tell the computer who you are." The little girl looked into the computer screen and said, "Hi! I'm Jasmine!"
Amanda Maslonka
Houston, TX

The Reading Room
While noting details during a guided reading session, my first graders began discussing the characters in the story we'd just read. One student pointed to a male character in the story's illustration and observed: "That one is the dad. It looks like he's holding a newspaper. He must be going into the bathroom."
Lee Guyot
Lapeer, MI