Weather in 1st Grade

This moment is brought to you by our first graders. The question asked, "If it is chilly outside, what is the temperature? Hot or Cold" My little hispanic students all answered "Hot" when asked why they marked hot instead of cold, they told us the CHILI their mom makes is hot!

Are you really sisters?

So, at the start of the year there was a new 5th grade teacher, some of my students from last year decided that she and I looked like sisters. So, as teachers what do we do, we play along. Within a few weeks we have all the kids in fourth and fifth grade convinced that we are sisters. At conferences tonight I had an parent of a student ask me if we really were sisters :) Ha ha ha, we must be pretty good at this game!

Chores

Their journal prompt today was "Tell me about the chores you have to do at home." To get their minds thinking I explained to them some of the chores I had when I was little. Such as helping with dishes on certain nights of the week, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the tub. I talked about which ones were easy and which ones I didn't like. My kids listened very intently. One little boy raised his hand and asked, "Miss Brog, how much did you get paid for doing your chores?" I smiled, and replied, "Nothing, it was just part of being part of a family." To which my entire class broke out into conversation about how that was impossible. They then asked, "Well if you didn't get paid, what was your reward?" Once again, I tried to explain to them that it was just something that we did in our house. I had totally forgotten that kids don't have chores anymore, and if they do they are rewarded for them! What would it be like to be a kid in 2010?

My First Tooth

My kids are writing their experiences about loosing their first tooth. At the end of one little guy's story he writes, "It came out, so it was night and I hid it under my pillow, then a tooth fairy came out and gave me a 10 dollar bill and it was a miracle!"

Math

The math problem read:

"One egg carton holds 12 eggs. How many cartons are you able to fill with 60 eggs?"

Answer:

"A huge carton"

Do you have a boyfriend?

While I was out keeping watch at recess a few of my girls gathered around to talk. One little girl out of the blue asked, "Miss Brog, do you have a boyfriend?" to which I replied, "Well, what do you think?" Without skipping a beat another little girl answered, "No, you are way too busy and have way to many meetings to have a boyfriend!"

Fall is here..

One of my darlings met me with this phrase today, "Miss Brog my feets are cold!"

I am most proud of....part II.

I was finishing grading journals today, when I came across this one...

"I am most proud of that I can sing and dance. Some people can't at all cuz they are in wheelchairs and can't talk. That would suck if I couldn't cuz I am the creative one in the family. I just dance and sing when I can and when I have free time to dance and sing. I just love it, it is very fun."

I don't know why this pulled at my heartstrings. I guess it is just so profound for a fourth grader. I don't think she realized how deep this really is. When was the last time we were grateful to dance and sing? What are you grateful for today?

What I am most proud of...

Today the journal prompt was, "I am most proud of..." one little girl wrote,

"I am most proud of my talent which is jump rope and soccer, hopscotch, running and I am not proud of how short I am."

Silly String

Last night at our school carnival one of the most popular selling items was silly string. It seemed that every boy and girl was determined to get their hands on a can of their own. As I walked outside to put some things in my car one of my students completely nailed me with silly sting. I was completed covered, my hair, my eyes, my shirt, you get the idea. Both of us laughed pretty hard. I had to give her credit for being brave enough to silly string an adult. Ten minutes later I found myself outside, and once again the same student silly stringed me. This time, I still laughed, but was thinking of ways to get her back. The third time I found myself outside I quickly checked my surroundings (I know, I'm a slow learner).  Found my little culprit, and before she knew it, had grabbed the can of silly string from her. With a smile on her face she stood still and replied, "Miss Brog, you can totally silly string me...just don't get it in my hair, my face, or on my shirt!.... P.S. I love you!"

Salt Dough

The long awaited day of making 3-D maps finally arrived today. We carefully crafted our maps of Utah, talking about the different regions and characteristics.  I was admiring the work of my students when one little boy pulled a really funny face...any guesses? Yep, you know it, the temptation was just too strong, he had decided that he not only needed to touch the salt dough, but taste it as well. Seriously?! We are ten years old. He told me that he had tasted much worse things, but it wasn't very good :) After school as the custodians where cleaning my room they were inquiring about the maps. One of the custodians was unsure about what salt dough was, so after many attempts to explain that it is just play dough, I handed him a ball of dough. He squished it between his fingers, smelled it, and yep....put some in his mouth...Seriously....and he was much much older than my ten year olds! Maybe its a boy thing. I don't get it :)

Thankful to be a Teacher

Today I really don't have anything to blog about. Just about how grateful I am to be a teacher. I seriously love my job. I know it sounds cliche, but I really do consider myself so lucky to have a job I love so much. Each day my kids make me smile, laugh, and smile some more. I know that I am suppose to be the one to inspire and motivate them, but they seem to inspire and motivate me. I don't know what I would do without them. Each of them are so beautiful in their own unique way. I am so lucky to have to opportunity to touch their lives in some small way. I hope that in some way I can have an influence on the future!

Reading Groups

Today in reading groups we were reading a book about where popcorn comes from. In the book it discusses the many uses and types of corn. As I posed the question, "What would happen if we didn't have corn?" One boy sincerely smiled and excitedly shouted out, "I'd just eat chicken!"

Sometimes 4th Graders are just cute...

This morning as I greeted my class one of my little girls exclaimed, "I forgot my poptart!" I smiled and jokingly said, "Well, you are going to be hungry this morning aren't you?!" To which she replied, "No, it was for you!" Love my 4th graders!

Favorite Food

I asked a student what their favorite food was yesterday and got the reply, "Pizza Asparagus!"

Pencils and Erasers

Today a girl stuck one of those big pink erasers onto the sharp end of her pencil. She stuck it on well enough that the tip of the pencil was just sticking through far enough to allow her to write with it. When I inquired about the eraser on the pencil she simply stated, "Well Miss Brog, this way if I make a mistake I don't have to flip my pencil over to get to the eraser."

New Seating Chart

Today my students assignment was to write in their journal about "a bug who couldn't stop laughing." Tonight as I read over them, one of my little girls wrote:

"There once was a big fat slimy yucky bug named [insert the boys name who sits next to her]. "

Her story went on to say how she didn't like the bug and how he never quit talking. I think it is time for a new seating chart :)

Superstars!

Due to amazing efforts by others at my school, which have little to do with myself, my school earned national recognition for our community and parent involvement. The local news channel decided to run a story on it, as a result my class was chosen for the camera man to get a few shots to show for the news. After the news had come and gone, I told my kids that they were "superstars" because they would be on tv later that night. Later during music the music teacher was impressed with some of the answers my students where responding with and commented they were "superstars." One of my little boys replied, "Really, that's just cool, Miss Brog thinks so too!"

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12220486

Kickball Fun!

This week my students have been enjoying a break from their studies by participating in a friendly game of afternoon kickball. As one of my more timid little girls cautiously approached home plate to kick the ball I began instructing my pitcher to "pitch gently" while in the same breathe instructing my darling to "be brave" and offering other words of encouragement. After two pitches, no attempt to even kick the ball had been made. My girl was close to tears and her teammates where getting impatient when one of my more athletic boys decided to help with the coaching. He walked up to my darling and matter of factly stated, "Just trust in God, you can do it, just trust in God!"

First Day of School!

This story is from a first year teacher, not from my class per say. However, it was my student from last year so it made me laugh.

After my class had walked down the hall rather rambunctiously for the first day of school, I asked them to evaluate and grade themselves on their hallway behavior. One little girl readily responded, "F." When I asked why she gave herself an "F" she responded, "Well, I didn't shut up the whole time."

Kids are amazingly smart! I think I laughed, cuz I had the girl last year and truly she is a gabber :)

Hey! Welcome to a brand new school year! I teach 4th grade and love it lots! My goal with this blog is to document some of the wonderfully hilarious things that my kids say everyday. This way you can all enjoy the fun and laughs!