Kindergarten

Two cute stories from kindergarten recess:

A co-worker told me this first story yesterday, and I think it's hysterical!

A kindergarten girl comes running up to the recess teacher. She says...

"Mrs. L, that boy over there said a cuss word!"
Mrsl L: "What word did he say?"
Kinder: "You know...the K word...?"
Mrs. L. "The K word?"
Kinder: Yes...He said the word "shi*"

As she says this a kinder boy comes running up saying
"She's lying! She's lying! I didn't say a bad word! I said the word Shik!"

-------------------------

The second story is first hand experience :) We share our last recess with one kindergarten class. A group of 3 second grade boys and one kinder boy were playing basketball. The following ensued...

Kinder: Mrs. Ward! That boy stole the ball from me!
Me: Well, stealing is aloud in basketball.
Kinder: No! No it's not!
Me: Yes, it is allowed as long as no one is fouled.
Kinder: Stealing isn't aloud in kindergarten basketball.
Me: Well, right now you're playing with second graders, so that means you need to play with second grade rules.
Kinder: How is THAT going to learn me anything?

:)

I won a shovel

So! Today was our first day back to school after summer vacation (more like grad-school vacation) and our first task was to attend a district meeting. Normally, schools cram in-service meetings down our throats the first two days back, but this year they have given us the gift of time in our classrooms, and it's GLORIOUS!

We had our district meeting at the new middle school, which does not have parking to accommodate 600 district staff members, so at 7:30 this morning I boarded a school bus and rode old school style to the middle school for the meeting.

Once we arrived, we were given a raffle ticket for a drawing. It was only after we were seated that we found out the prize given away was a SHOVEL used to break the ground for the new elementary school...a SHOVEL. There are many things in life that I need, and I can assure you, right now, I have very LITTLE need for a shovel. A big, honkin' shovel. I do, however, have a friend who just bought a house who was salivating over the shovel, seeing as how no one wants to spend their hard earned cash on something like a shovel.

As we find out the door prize is one of 8 shovels, I start to be my usual self, and make fun of the door prize, and my friend. We're joking around back and forth and over hear that attached to the shovel is a gift certificate for dinner. NOW my interest is peaked...I could ALWAYS use a gift certificate for dinner...so as their calling out names, my friend turns and says "you know, if you win that shovel I'm going to smack you with it..." and who should be called for the last shovel???? YOURS TRULY! But the story does not end there my friends.

Karma does not play around. We had to wait until the end of the meetings to receive our prizes, seeing as how they did not want 8 shovels in a crowd of 600 people. So at the end of the meeting, I decide, on my way to pick up the shovel AND gift certificate, to introduce myself to one of our school board members who has a son in my class. After we chit chat for a number of seconds, I arrive at the table, to claim the LAST shovel available, only to watch someone UNTIE my gift certificate and walk off...leaving me...THAT'S RIGHT....JUST A SHOVEL!

So in the end, due to what I’m SURE is a misunderstanding (and karma's way of telling me to be kind to shovels...), I'm left with no free dinner, and one very heavy shovel. It made for one heck of a "back to school" story though....

Bolder Boulder

Scott and I had a busy day today running our first 10 K race in Boulder, Colorado, only 45 min. from our current home.

We met my mom, Bob and Luke and carpooled to the starting line, where before the race we frequented the porta-potties (GROSS) and barely made it in line with our starting group, and when I say barely, I mean BARELY. No stretching for this race. It was get in line and GO!!!

The race was a lot of fun. It's 6 miles of music, and cheering, belly dancing, free beer, and slip-and-slides (if you're willing). You end the race by running into the stadium at the University of Colorado. When you run into the stadium there is a jumbo-tron and YOURS TRULY was plastered on it for an entire 5 seconds at LEAST! (FAAAAAAAAMOUSE!!!!!)

There are 50,000 runners/walkers that enter the race, and you would think that would be crazy, but they have it down to an art, and it was FANTASTIC.

Scott and I are both now limping around the house in the aftermath though...

Tomorrow's my last teacher work day, and then it's OFFICIALLY SUMMER VACATION! We leave for Hawaii in one week, and after that....GRAD SCHOOL!

I'm taking 9 hours this summer, and have everything ready to go. I've got my books ordered, my schedule set, and hopefully am on my way to becoming masters educated (and better paid)!

We shall see what other adventures our summertime holds, but for now, I'm happy relaxing on my couch, feeling the ice cream I just ate was well deserved, and excited by the fact that my husband lost a bet and now has to cook dinner/do the dishes AND iron his pants ALL week long!

Life is good :)

sweat

So I bought a new green shirt at Banana Republic and have been dying for a warmISH day to try it out, and decided today was the day. So because the weather has been so up and down the thermostat in my classroom is whacky, so I went into my classroom and it was burning up. First thing this morning, as I'm starting my lesson, one of my students raises her hand and says..

A. "Mrs. Ward, what's that on your shirt?"

Me. "Oh! You like my new shirt? It's a pretty bow."

A. "No, over there on your shirt."

Me. "That's my nametag. I wear it every day."

A. "No, not that, over THERE!"

Me. "There's nothing on my shirt honey."

A. "Mrs. Ward, it's under your armpit!"

Me. " A. that's called sweat. Moving on..."

Needless to day this fabric likes to maintain moisture, and it was the beginning of the day, and I knew I had a long day ahead of me trying to make my armpits look fresh. Soemtimes, buying new clothes is not what it's cracked up to be...

Snowed In...

It's a good thing that we didn't go to the grocery store before the snowstorm. I have a tendency to eat when I'm all cooped up. I've had a big breakfast, lunch, and am craving a snack, all in the past 2 hours or so it seems...

We were supposed to get pounded by snow, but only have a little, so I've convinced my husband to venture out, before I eat us out of house and home.

Even though it is April, and snowing, and I'm colder than I usually am this time of year, Colorado is great. Right now, the sun is shining, and there isn't a layer of ice underneath this snow (a Kansas tradition).

Last week was spring break, and I got to go home and remember what it was like to have great friends and a job where I knew where everything was. I was kind of on my pitty pot when I got back, feeling like the new kid at work, and feeling lonely, but then I went walking/running with my new friends, spent the week teaching kids who do not fall apart on a daily basis and ate some delicious mexican food, and my pitty pot slowly dissipated. Plus, mom called and asked us to come down for Easter, and that's totally possible.

I really miss my Missouri job, my Kansas/Missouri friends, our house, my nephews, being able to drive to Tulsa for the weekend and carpooling, but distance makes the heart grow fonder right? And it helps that I am building a new home for my family here.

It also helps that we go to Colorado Springs for Easter, I know when I'm going back to Kansas to visit my friends, Scott and I now have plane tickets to Tulsa in May, my new friends and I are meeting for "cokes" on Friday after work, and that Scott and I are flying to Hawaii June 2nd!!! It's nice to have something to look forward to :) Even if a Royals game is included in there along the way...

A-choo!

So I have a cold. I got it from Scott, who probably got it from one of my students' germs that I carry home with me daily. So although I did not get it then, I have it now, and it stinks.

Teaching is not the kind of job to have when you have a cold. You're not sick enough to call in (that requires plague like symptoms due to the amount of work involved with sub plans) so you go, suck it up, breath through your mouth, blow your nose, and try to behave like everything is fine.

To top matters off I have a student, who every time I sneeze (which is over and over and over again) repeats "God bless you...KAZUNTIGHT!" Which was cute the first time, but the 100 millionth time just makes it that much harder to pretend like everything is fine. Because what kind of teacher says "okay...that's ENOUGH manners. Next person that says "bless you" misses recess!"

So today, day two of my cold, was also day one for our program practice (the big show is tomorrow night) and, since it was the first practice, everything was chaotic. So now, I'm sneezing, blowing, breathing through my mouth and trying to keep my kids entertained while we go over confusing things. It was probably NOT my favorite day of the year. At one point, I had 45 students to myself, spread across a gym with no music, no help, and one of my darlings decided that was a good time to boss me around and distract his row by making silly faces. I pulled him aside and said "each time you mess around a little more of my patience is used up, and now I have none left. You need to be absolutely perfect for me to get back to normal" and the poor guy listened, calmed down, acted fine, and at the end of the day said "Mrs. Ward, is your patience refilled yet?" :)

Also, at recess, three of my little girls were playing under a tree, and got pooped on by a bird. We have not laughed that hard all year. It's something I can honestly say has NEVER happened in my teaching career before :)

Sigh, you're such a challenge

There are these new toys that are the bane of my existence. They are called Bakugans and they are little balls that pop open when placed next to something metal due to their magnetic innards. They are about the size of a quarter, and easily hidden amongst second grade pockets. It is routine in room B10 that when the teacher finds said toy, it is no longer a child's property, but the property of the pink box on my desk that holds many treasures, at least until the end of the day.

A few days ago, one of my students received the mother load, and had probably 10 of these Bakugan toys. I confiscated 5 before he realized he needed to do a better job keeping them encogneto. So this same student goes out to recess and takes the rest of his toys, and is caught by yet another teacher. She tells him she is going to bring the toys to me and he responds "That's alright, I'll get them at the end of the day."

This teacher comes up to me and relays the information, and I decide that my student is a little too confident that he will have his toys back, and I can imagine my future, day...after day...after day having to take these toys away. So I decide to keep them for another day, just to make sure he remembers to leave his toys at home.

At the end of the day, the student santers up to my desk and casually says "Mrs. Ward, I'm going to get my toys now."

I reponded, "No, I think I will keep them one more day, just to be sure you remember the rules about toys"

He looks at me, drops his hands, sighs and says:

"Mrs. Ward, You're such a challenge"

I had to laugh. I think Scott would agree whole heartedly :)