Have a cupcake

If you have never been a teacher, I am not sure that you can fully understand the stress that often comes with a class birthday.

Parents show up, sugar loaded cupcakes are given, Capri Suns are stabbed (after several attempts) and chaos ensues. My once quiet obedient little rule followers begin talking with their mouths full, making ungodly messes and look at you with teeth and tongue icing stained smiles. Chaos.

And today we had a birthday.

In all fairness, this one really was not bad at all. One of my sweet and precious little girls turned 8.

{Side note: this baby girl is such a cute little "Stepford Student". Her favorite day of the week is Monday because she gets to come back to school and she hates Fridays because it means she has to stay home for the weekend and miss school. This is not a suck up tactic, these feelings have been verified by her mom. I love her.}

So anyway... most parents are kind enough to consider teachers in their cupcake head count and while it is always appreciated, as often as I can I try to practice self control and say thanks, but no thanks to the sugary sweets. When I was offered my treat today, I politely said no thank you and informed Mom (who I know well) that I was trying to be good and not cheat with the unhealthies. As I was saying this, a child who generally does not pay attention to me, must have turned her hearing up over Spring Break because this was her speedy interjection,

"Ms. Steel, you need to loosen up. Have a cupcake!"

Haha loosen up. I know it may not be as funny to some as it is to me, but this is stuff you just could not make up. Out of the mouths of babes.

More than a pot of gold

Since we won't be in school on St. Patrick's Day, I used today to do all those cute little Pinterest ideas (also know as killing time until Spring Break).

So anyway, instead of talking all about it I'll just show you.

Here are just a few of my favs.

I have to admit, I am a little partial to the one about me. I mean, I didn't even ask them to write about me and look at how fab that drawing is... not quite sure what happened to my legs, though. But, I think if we're being honest, the Jesus one takes the cake. How cute is that kid? I texted her mom that picture with the caption, "Good job, Mom". Ohhh these babies :)

Pretty every day

So there's this girl in my class...

She's the little one that's so enamored with teachers. She can be very, very clingy at times, but let me tell you... that kid is one big, fat confidence booster.

Even on the days when I'm too lazy to finish drying my hair or don't go for the full face of makeup, this one cannot stop herself from giving a compliment. Some days they are more like compliments on work ethic and character: "you're doing a really good job teaching us" or "you are very kind" (her words, not mine). However, most days, in fact, pretty much every day they are more along the lines of this: "you're the prettiest ever", "you're pretty", or my personal fav "you look very beautiful today". No, I'm not lying.

Like I said, these "pretty" comments come at least once a day. And while they are very sweet, those days where my hair is in a rat's nest and my makeup is half rubbed off, her compliments seem to become a bit insincere and undeserved. So today, while feeling rather unbecoming, little girl comes chirping up to my table. "Miss Steel, I just want you to know you are very pretty today." Usually I would respond with a generic "thank you" or "thanks, please go sit down", but today I chose a different approach. I looked at little miss upon her compliment and said, "Thanks sweetie, but you say that every day"... to which she lovingly replied, "Well I know, but you are pretty every day". Cute.

So what's the point? None, really. Just thought it was cute. And hey, who am I to judge her opinion? If the kid thinks I'm pretty every day, why should I rain on her parade and lead her to think otherwise? :)

If you are ever in need of a good compliment, stop by our second grade classroom. My little cheerful child will be more than happy to help.

Mr. Mayor

A few weeks ago the mayor came to visit our group of 2nd graders. He did a pretty good job with his little spiel; he talked about his daily duties and the job requirements and also about different community helpers. However, at the end of his speech he made a choice I might have advised him against (had he asked me). Yeah, you guessed it... he opened the floor to the hoard of questions coming from a group of 7 and 8 year olds. So I thought it would be nice to share of few of their little gems- from the mouth of babes.

When he asked them for their suggestions to help improve our community, responses include:

• Build grocery places for the homeless people
• Build hotels for people to live in that don't have no home
• Lower taxes (yes, that came straight from the mouth of a 7 year old girl)
• Lower gas prices
• Put in more stop signs

And this one was by far my favorite...

• "We need 'mo churches 'cuz people be bein' bad."

**Please note that all the atrocious grammar is not coming from me, but done to provide the words of the kiddos rather than my paraphrase.

Oh kids do say the darnedest things, don't they? And on that note, tomorrow's edition of "2nd grade crazy" includes a trip to see the movie, Rio, and an afternoon at the state park... I should have been in bed 2 hours ago. Say your prayers for us. :)

This has got to stop

Sooo I have this little girl in my class. She is an absolute hoot & bless her heart, she has no idea that I find her so funny. I am positive that if she knew that I was laughing so much on the inside, she would be irate. She obviously provides me with many funny teaching stories, so here is a pretty good one.

Last week I asked her to move her clip down one time because she was being disrespectful and was giving me loads of attitude. For those of you not familiar with "clips", allow me to explain - clip systems are often used for classroom management to enforce discipline on a daily basis. Clip charts are a teensy bit controversial at the moment because some people say they hinder a child's self esteem and do very little for classroom management. In order to use a clip chart in a not-so-embarrassing way, I came up with these clip levels: Super, Good, Okay, and Sad. So see, my clip chart really isn't so bad and I don't use colors, but instead really cute designed plates.

Okay, so back to my little friend. After the massive amounts of attitude {eye rolling, and exasperated groans every time I spoke- yes, this happens as early as SECOND GRADE}, I kindly asked her to move her clip from "Super" to "Good". Now, in most places and with most children, this would not be the end of the world... but she doesn't exactly go by the standards of "most kids". This is where things get interesting- while on her way to the clip chart, she makes a b-line for my desk. She approaches me with her finger pointing in my face and demands, "THIS has got to STOP." And if you are wondering, yes, I almost died from attempting to stifle a laugh. I tried to very quickly gain as much composure as possible and I made sure to use that all-powerful "teacher look" and simply told her, "You are right, this behavior does need to stop. And when it stops, I am sure your clip will not need to move." As you could imagine, she did not appreciate my answer but she figured out pretty fast that I was not going to budge. She starred me down for a good 30 seconds before marching, or stomping rather, over to the chart and dramatically snatching her clip and briefly holding it in the air (I guess as some sort of protest) then finally shoving it onto the correct level.

Now, if you have read this far I feel the profound need to apologize. I just realized that this story is probably not so interesting to anyone but me. It might be one of those "you have to know the kid" stories in order for you to get the full effect. Any who, I am sorry to you, my 3 readers. I will try to beef up the story selection next time. :)

Retired shirt

Wore a new top to school today. Bought it over Christmas break because I thought it was cute. Getting ready to go home, packing my kiddos up, lining them up for the buses and a little guy of mine comes up, tilts his little head and says (very sincerely and sweet, I might add)...

"Looks like you're gonna have a baby."

Then he walked off.

Yep, that shirt will be retired. Thank you, clothing trends and tunic tops- I look preggers according to a 7 year old.

{And just to clarify, I am most definitely NOT pregnant. No way, no how.}

Out of the mouths of babes

5 days of school left and my kids still never cease to amaze me. The things they say, I'm telling you, it's just ridiculous. Here's the latest:

So I am finally telling my students that I am moving and will not be at the school next year. The 5th graders could not care less since they are moving up to middle school anyway, but the 3rd and 4th graders seem to be surprisingly bothered by it- which is kinda' sweet, actually. So anyway, today one group was asking me why I was leaving and it went a little something like this (and please note: in order to provide the full effect of the conversation, I try to get as close to word-for-word as I can, so these horrible sentences are not my own)...

Kid: Miss Steel, is you leaving to go get married?

Me: Nope, just going to a new job.

Kid: Well you should probably go get married.

Me: Why?

Kid: So you can have kids.

Me: Kids!? I'm too young to have kids.

Kid: Miss Steel, you not gonna' be young forever.

Wow, thanks for that insight, kiddo :) My babies are just enthralled with the details of my personal life, it's funny. However, I'm sure they wish their teacher was a little bit cooler, haha poor kids.

Funny fractions

As teachers, sometimes our jobs are really funny. Every once in a while a kid will say something completely ridiculous out of the blue. Or sometimes, you will come across a paper while you are grading that has an answer that will literally make you laugh out loud. Happened today.

You know how sometimes you start laughing and just can't stop, and how it usually happens at the most inopportune of times? Well this morning, during a presentation as a part of our staff development day, my table got a bad case of the giggles. Here is the reason:

Question: Adam had a peach and then he ate some. He had 1/2 of the peach left after he ate. What fraction of the peach did he eat?

Answer: The meat of the peach.

And yes, we laughed. [Out loud]. People stared, we were shushed, we couldn't help it. It was one of those of giggles that you just cannot stop. Actually, quite a therapeutic laugh. Now, I realize to some that this may not be as funny as we thought it was at the time. But man, these kids are funny.

It made sense to her. Duh, he ate the meat of the peach.

Life update

Ok, so here it is: an actual update. I can't promise it will be interesting and it will mostly likely include quite a few typos, but I know some people are little Curious Georges (and I don't blame you, I do it too), so for those people who wanna know, here it is...

Well let's start from the beginning, in case you don't know what I have been doing since graduating from A&M in May.

After I graduated with my undergrad in Education, I decided I wanted to go on to graduate school for Speech Pathology- a wonderful field with really exciting opportunities. So, off I went to Baylor. {Big 12 rival school, I know. What was I thinking, I don't know.} Grades were good; actually ended up with 2 A's and 2 B's, which I guess isn't bad for starting out in graduate school in a field that you have never had experience in. Met some really sweet girls. Had precious little roommates. All in all, it was not awful... but something was off. I don't know how to put it without sounding like a Debbie Downer, but I just wasn't happy. It took a lot of soul searching (about 2 months worth) to figure out what was wrong/what needed to happen next. The one thing that I kept coming back to was the kiddos. I missed teaching. Oh my goodness. If it's a surprise to you, don't worry, it was to me too.

See, all throughout my undergrad and thousands of dollars worth of education classes, I just told myself "I don't want to teach. I won't be happy in the classroom." Hahaha wrong! I realized that not one day had passed that I hadn't missed being with a class full of rambunctious and completely ridiculous little people. So where do I go from here? I was stuck... hence the 2 months time of thinking, and re-thinking, and over-thinking. Yeah, lots of thoughts floating around in this little mind of mine. I had never quit school before so I was navigating myself through some uncharted territories. Not gonna lie, some days in Waco were pretty miserable and it was tempting for me to quit on the spot, and just walk out... but other days were okay and then I was back to all the thinking. If I stayed and finished the 2 years I had left in the program and still hated it in the end, I couldn't even bring myself to think about the absurd amounts of debt I would be in. [It was a LOT]. I am babbling and so let me just make the long story short: I quit.

But I should clarify: by quit, I mean I finished out the semester, actually studied for my finals and didn't blow it off. I called financial aid and canceled my package for the spring, talked to a little exit counselor, & badda-bing badda-boom, no more school. It was a hard decision to make because it was difficult for me to get past the "quitting" stigma. In the end, I had to make myself understand that it was less of a quitting situation and more of a necessary career decision that would make me happier. That's what matters, right? Yeah.

Now, fasssst forward! What am I doing now? Well, friends, never say never. Can't tell you how many times in my adolescent life I whined "I will never come back to Palestine". And again I say, hahaha wrong! I came home, for lack of a better plan, and started the next chapter: the job hunt. Started filling out all kinds of applications for teaching jobs pretty much all over different areas of Texas. Had a job interview in the Tyler area that went really well and got a lot of encouragement from the principal and grade level team, but they went with someone who had a double certification in education and special ed. So, back to square one and where things get kind of funny and coincidental...

I emailed one of the administrators at good ole' Palestine ISD to ask about getting on the sub list. & another long story short: instead of a sub job, they offered me a teaching job.

I am now a 3rd and 5th grade Title I Math teacher at Story Elementary (which just so happens to be where I went to school). I pull 3 groups of 5th graders and 3 groups of 3rd graders a day to work on their math skills. We review, we refresh, we relearn. I work with these kiddos to hopefully instill a bit of confidence and get their little minds prepared for that dumb TAKS test.

And now that this has been the longest blog post ever, I am done. I apologize to those of you who are still reading at this point. So, that's the story. My little life update. There ya go :)

Shorty's like a melody

If you don't like little kids or music, this story might not be funny to you. However, if you like kids & you like music, you will probably enjoy.

The other day, one of my 3rd grade babies was singing something kind of under his breath so I asked him, "whatcha' singin'?"... this is how the conversation proceeded:

N: Oh! (now singing loudly) Shorty's like a melody in my head ah na na na every day, it's like my iPod's stuck on replayyyy!

Me: Oh my goodness.

N: Hey Miss Steel, don't you think it's weird that that song is stuck in my head and it's called replay? That's so weird!

Yeah, he's a real cute kid. :)

WWF

So yesterday at work, I noticed one of my 5th grade boys was staring at me. Not wanting to know what normally goes through a 12 year old boy's mind, I didn't venture to ask. However, my not asking did not stop this little friend... So after a few minutes of him kind of taking it all in, he takes a breath and asks,

"Umm excuse me, Miss? Do you have a sister that is like in the WWF? You look a bunch like one of the girl wrestlers."

I kid you not.

These are his words, not my paraphrase.

Yep, this happened.

Love my job hahahahaaaaa :)

Dear Santa

Yesterday at work we had our kiddos (PreK-2nd graders) write down what they wanted for Christmas. I have never laughed so hard. These are just a few of the best ones. Poor Santa really has his work cut out for him this year :)

• {4 year old little boy} wants a mustache. I think this is probably the best one I have ever heard. Bless his heart, I told him he might have to wait a few years.
• He also wants stairs.
• And a second head so he can fight two people at once. Great.
• And rubber ducky house shoes.
• And he wants a fake dog so it can sleep with him because he doesn't like his real dog.
• And a fake alligator, so it won't bite him or eat him. Duh.
• And a fake sun so he cannot be cold. Fake is a big thing with him.

• {6 year old little girl} wants treasure. More specifically, a treasure box with real gold so she can be a lot rich (her words, not mine).
• But she also needs socks.
• And she wants an iPhone. Yeah, did I mention she's 6? Goodness.

• {7 year old little girl} wants pajamas and house shoes, but only if they match and come together.
• This one is sweet- she wants a really pretty necklace so she can give it to her mom.
• She also needs to meet Hannah Montana at a concert. And yes, it was a need, not a want.

Needless to say, we were not running short on imagination yesterday. I love those babies.

No I is not

Story of the day:

Today at work with the after school program at the Y, I was talking to my babies about Thanksgiving. We were going around taking turns sharing what we were thankful for. L is a 4 year old little boy and M & Lo are his 7 year old twin sisters...

Me: L, what is something that you are thankful for?

L: Ummmm Thanksgiving we go eat at my auntie's.

Me: Okay, but tell me something you are thankful for.

L: Ohhhh I thankful for my dog!

M & Lo (in unison): Whatever, you know you afraid of Pepper!!

L: No I is not!

I realize this story may have been funnier in person, but trust me, they are so funny. I love these kids :)

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A

Recently I started working as a tutor at an after school program at a local YMCA in Waco. I mainly work with babies from 4-7 years old and let me just say, the things they say and ask are ridiculous. I have this same conversation with a 4 year old little boy pretty much every single day. (Fyi, he can't say my name so it comes out as Miss Embily)

Him: Miss Embily, you got a boyfriend?

Me: Nope.

Him: Ummm why not?!

Me: Just because.

Him: You got a husband?

Me: No.

Him: (long sigh) Well do you got kids?

Me: No, I'm too young!

Him: Nu-uh, you is reeaallly old.

Awesome. Not only does he have a problem with me not having a boyfriend, but I am also apparently really old. You can't help but love the little 4 year old mind.

Who needs eyebrows anyway?

Funny story courtesy of a teacher friend...

"I was out with a sub today and just received a text from a parent wondering why her child came home today minus eyebrows..."

If you can't laugh at that, there is something wrong. Kids are SO funny. I used to write down goofy things my kids would do/say while I was student teaching and I miss those silly moments so much. My little girlies in class used to get real worried if I had a hair on my head out of place... they would be sure to call me out on it, "Miss Steel, your hair is a mess" Haha I am not kidding, they keep you humble :) Although I have to say, one of the top moments had to have been when one came back from getting a change of clothes from the nurse... it went a little something like this: she comes in, turns her back to me, grabs her little booty and says, "Miss Steel, the nurse gave me some BOOTY pants!" She was appalled. I laughed... out loud. :)

Man, I miss those babies. I'm pretty sure I am going to need a new bloggie category just so I can include these funnies and reminisce.