Laugh Lines October 2006

Dangerous Mind
Two of my kindergartners stayed after school for tutoring (enriching activities). One child was reading on the first grade level and the other on the third grade level. We completed a science activity, math activity, art activity, reviewed sight words and worked on the computer. At the end of the tutoring session, the child working on first grade level said, "You poisoned my mind." Startled, I said, "What do you mean by that?" He said the activities on the computer were hard. I suggested to him that instead of using the word 'poisoned,' he might use the word 'challenged.' I told his parents and we had a good laugh.
Kesten Morris
Smyrna, GA

Big Kid Letters
One of my kindergarten students was elated the day his little sister turned one. He'd been talking about her upcoming birthday for weeks. I encouraged him to make her a birthday card. He carefully folded a piece of paper in half and drew a detailed birthday scene on the front. He copied "Happy Birthday" from one of our bulletin boards and wrote his sister's name, "ella." I told him what a nice job he did on the card and said, "Don't forget, Ella needs a big 'E' at the beginning." Equating the size of the letter to the size of the person, Cameron looked at me as if I was silly and said, "But she's only one year old!"
Kara Dufelmeier
Chapin, IL

Magical Thinking
We were about to do an art project in my first grade classroom. I asked the children to get out their Magic Markers™. One little boy began to cry. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "I don't think mine are magic!"
Sheila Truchan
Brooklyn, MI

First-Name Basis
When my bespectacled little student announced, "I know your first name," I decided this should be a private moment. With that, he whispered in my ear, "Mrs."
Ruth Williams
Westerville, OH

Tasty Phonics
With each letter flashcard card I held up, I asked for the sound of the letter. At 'A,' my student was stumped. "What sound does 'apple' make?" I hinted. He exclaimed, "CRUNCH!"
Irene Hrycenko
Allentown, PA

Family Name
My daughter used to substitute for me while she was working on her education degree. Our last names are the same and one of my students asked her, "Why did your mom name you Ms. Tiemann, too?"
Vicki Tiemann
Deer Park, TX

New Translation
I teach Spanish to PreK-6 students. On the first day of class, I assigned each child a Spanish nickname. To Katie I gave the name Soledad. A couple days later we had an open house for parents. Katie's mom inquired about Katie's nickname. She related how after the first day of school, Katie told her that Señora Hixon had given her the name "Holy God."
Patricia Hixon
Montgomery, AL