Confidence Man Strikes 1st grade--Holy Bernie Madoff
Conversation that took place a couple of Fridays ago. . .
E.--Mrs. J can I go to the bathroom?
Mrs. J. We just went, you'll have to pay me a grabber (the money of 1st grade).
E.--I don't have any.
Mrs. J. What happened to the five you get on Monday?
E.--I gave them all to "Bernie". He said he would buy me something from the 50 grabber box.
About 4 other kids exclaimed (none of them girls, I'm not sure what that means)--I gave my grabbers to "Bernie" also. He said he would get me something from the 50 grabber box.
Mrs. J.-- "Bernie" what's going on?
"Bernie"--I really was going to get them something.
Skeptical look from Mrs. J--No you weren't.
She questions the other kids as to how many grabbers they gave "Bernie." Turns out he made off with about 80 grabbers.
Mrs. J.--"Bernie" give them all back.
I'm sitting in the back of the room and mention, "Wow, you would go to jail if you were an adult."
"Bernie"--(in dismay) Why??
Mrs. J.--Well when you take people's money and tell them you are going to get them something for it and then don't do it, you go to jail.
WOW!
Too Cool to say Hello
When kids are in 1st, 2nd and even 3rd grade, they love you. You get hello's on campus and some hugs as well. Sometime after that things change. In 4th grade, they may grudgingly say hello to you as you pass them on campus. In 6th grade--well let me explain what happened the other day. I was walking through the library. Some 6th graders were there for their media center time. I said hello to a few of them. What did I get? Blank stares that's what! Apparently when you get to the 6th grade, saying hello isn't cool anymore.
Our Field Trip to the Science Center
A couple of weeks ago the first grade went to the Science center in Phoenix. First of all, it was under construction so some things had been taken off exhibit. Secondly, there were about a million other kids there. Thirdly, some parents should not be chaperons.
Some things were missing, however, the most favorite exhibit of all, the weather platform, was still there. What is a weather platform you ask? By standing on it with a bunch of other people, one gets to experience all kinds of weather--from hurricanes to earth quakes. This is all done by the magic of hot lights, blowing air, water, and a rumbling floor. As you can imagine, the kids love it and want to do it over and over and over again.
We saw buses from Show Low, Deer Valley, the Creighton School district and other Mesa School district buses. By the time our buses finally had their turn to pull up at the end of the day, we were about 20 minutes late. I'm also glad we didn't lose anyone (well, expect for one child, but his teacher found him) It was wall to wall kids.
You know, when a parent is sitting there and her child and one other child are at the top of a tree; I really have to wonder. . .
The Dreaded Dibbles Testing
Next week, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders will be tested. One of the most important parts of this test is how fast a child can read. Now I know that part of being a fluent reader is to be a fast reader along with accuracy and expression. I'm rather tired of listening to kids read the same thing over and over. Besides, some kids just talk slowly so they read slowly and getting them to read faster would require (I'm not exactly sure what that would be.) Anyway, I'll be glad when next week is over.
