Since I've been back home with my parents I decided to try and get a temporary job. I ended up helping out a 2nd grade teacher; just simple things like copying, laminating, sorting things, etc. The best part of the job though is observing the kids. They're so entertaining and I couldn't help writing down some funny stories from my time in the classroom.
- When asked what something special was about their family, one kid responded “we all have the same last name!”
- It was sharing time and one of the kids decided to bring in something that he had found at the beach nearby: “this is a fossil I found on the beach,” he said excitedly. It was quite obviously just a rock but of course most of us “adults” wouldn’t tell him that, kids on the other hand would. Within seconds, another kid shouted out “that’s a rock not a fossil!”
- When asked what their favorite part of summer was, one kid announced that she got a new cat. Two questions later the kids were asked to name something they dislike. The same kid spoke up again and shouted out “cats!”
- Since it was only the second day of school and the bathrooms are right next to each other a boy accidently walked into the girls’ bathroom. Somehow the other kids found out and this girl goes up and tells the boy matter of factly that “if you do that in middle school all the girls are going to throw things at you.”
- One cute, blonde-haired, blue-eyes girl was asked where she was born. She grinned and proudly said “my dad said I could trick all of you because you would think I was born in the states but I was really born in Japan.”
- Every morning the kids come in, put their backpacks in their cubbies, and put their homework folders on their tables (they’re big tables with 4 kids at each). At one table sits this quiet little girl with her hair in pigtails. The other day I had to hold back laughing as this quiet girl cleaned up their table. “Okay everybody give me their folders, we’re going to put them in a nice stack. Alright now everybody straighten up their name tags. Okay now everybody throw away the garbage and put the pencils in the can.” When the table had been cleaned to her satisfaction she sat back, smiled, and said “finally, our table is clean again!”
- At the end of the day the registrar calls kids who have unexcused absences or tardies. I heard the registrar ask “well why were you late today?” After a short pause she continued “well can I talk to your mom when she’s available?” As she waited for the mom she covered the mouthpiece and asked me “what’s parasailing?” Before she could explain, the mom was on the phone. She hung up the phone laughing and explained that the child had said she wasn’t at school because she was parasailing. However the mom claimed that there was a doctor’s appointment. Regardless of who was telling the truth, you have to love kids and their stories.
- Today the kids were doing a “get to know your classmates” activity (where they find someone who has been to Disney Land, or maybe someone who was born in New Jersey). “Who has green eyes” one little girl asked. Excitedly, her tablemate responded “I have brown eyes does that count?”
- Today the kids were doing a “get to know your classmates” activity (where they find someone who has been to Disney Land, or maybe someone who was born in New Jersey). Two girls had found someone who met whatever they were looking for, unfortunately one girl didn’t know how to spell the person’s name. “How do you spell Samantha?” the first girl asked. “Sam-antha” the girl responded. “Whatever…that doesn’t even make sense” the first girl answered.
- Today the kids were doing a “get to know your classmates” activity (where they find someone who has been to Disney Land, or maybe someone who was born in New Jersey). “Who rides a bike to school?” one girl asked. When another girl said that she didn’t ride bikes, the first girl looked at her as if she had said she was from Mars and said “you’re weird” before casually turning back to her paper.