Productivity

I decided to take the day off today to get some things done. So while my kids were busy with the sub, I got my oil changed, did all of my Christmas shopping, went to the bank, and had a dentist appointment. It was a very productive day, and it made me feel like a good and responsible adult. I may have children kill spiders for me, but at least sometimes I can take care of myself.

Magic from Nathan

During our morning meeting today, Nathan looked up at me and said, "Hey... you're magic..." Apparently he had some sort of rash on his leg that was going away, which he attributed to me being magic and taking care of that for him. When some of the kids laughed, I said, "Maybe I am magic... How do you know?" Gavin looked at me very seriously and replied, "Because you're not a musician." 

Another great moment with Nathan happened later in the day during reading groups. Nathan was supposed to have written the word used, but instead wrote something like "nsd." I asked Nathan why he had an 'n' in there if the word is 'used' and he said, 

"I wrote nused." 

"Nused is not a word, Nathan." 

"Yes, it is." 

"Okay then use it in a sentence."

"I nused... candy." 

Amelie

Nothing really funny or interesting happened today, but I want to tell you about my little Amelie because she's cute and I love her. And because today I decided to make her my Top Cougar of December which is an award given to kids who are outstanding students.

I knew I loved Amelie right away because she shares a name with one of my all-time favorite movies. She is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, precious little Swedish angel. Even though she's not a native English speaker, she's my best writer and one of my top readers. She is also the only girl who plays soccer with all of the boys everyday. Overall, she's a way cooler person than I could ever hope to be.

This week, my love for Amelie grew because of two awesome things: 

1. All she wants for Christmas is a nutcracker. A girl nutcracker with a crown. That's it, nothing else.

2. She made me this: 

It's a lion/monster made out of fuzz balls, delivered to me wrapped in a piece of felt.

Dude

Presley, who is habitually faking sickness among other things, has been really ramping it up lately. She complains constantly about her stomach hurting, and despite me reading The Boy Who Cried Wolf to them, she continues to do so. I told her that if she really is having stomach problems all the time then she ought to go see a doctor because it might be something serious. She didn't have much of a response to that. But on our way in from recess today, she yelled several times, "There is too much gas in me!!" She just needed everyone to know.

During reading groups, we're working on a big poster about Jan Brett's Wild Christmas Reindeer book. Nathan was putting in minimal effort when it came to his illustration, and every time I told him that he just needs to try his best, he told me that he never tries his best. And he seemed very fine with that. Well he finally put more details in his drawing, and I said, "See! Look how nice it is when you try!" To which Nathan replied, "I'm not trying, dude. I'm just looking in my brain."

Rotten Meat

We had ELF again today, which is where a few parent volunteers come in and teach the kids  for two hours while I get time to plan/organize/do whatever I want. That, along with it being an early release day, made for a very easy and enjoyable Wednesday. 

For math we've been working on coloring in a quilt pattern, which is obviously way more fun than most kinds of math. While working on his quilt, Jake said to me, "I don't want to be rotten meat." After I asked Jake to repeat himself to make sure I heard him right, I replied, "Then don't be rotten meat." He threw his hands in the air and said, "You don't get it, do you?? I just want to keep doing my pattern forever and ever!" 

I guess I must have missed something there. 

Christmas Sing-Along

Today was the school holiday choir concert, which is one of my most favorite things about working in an elementary school. The choir is open to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, and so some of my post precious babies from last year are in it. They sang several Christmas songs, and then the audience got to join in for a sing along. Singing Christmas carols with a room full of hundreds of children may be one of the most heart-warming things ever! 

Quotes

My favorite quotes of the day: 

Kendal: "Presley's scratch on her face creeps me out." 

Nathan: "I'm really into objects today."