Compliments or Why I Love Teaching Little Ones

"Whoa, you look super-pretty today!"

Junie B. Jones has such a way of cutting through the small talk and calling it like it is. It is so cute when they notice what I'm wearing and compliment it.

They Solve My Problems

"You probably ate too much, ate too fast or breathed funny."

I love the kids in my class, I really do. They are so sweet and so quick to offer a solution to any problem I might have. This particular day I had the hiccups and they just wouldn't go away. My class became concerned with this but one little girl pulled me aside to explain the reason we get hiccups and tell me to relax so they would go away. So sweet!

Cheese for the Teacher

"This is what you would look like if you were a mouse teacher."

Krissy brought me a page from her coloring book. This page had instructions for the child to draw a face on the mouse.

Krissy drew my face complete with green eyes (way to notice), purple lipstick, red blush circles and a smart orange on orange blazer. It was so cute and so flattering and so funny all at the same time.

I will try to post a picture of it soon...

Wardrobe

"Why do you wear black so much?"

"I think it makes me look thinner. Is it working?"

"I think you look nice in whatever you wear."

This little cupcake is not in my class but I adore her. She is the 1st grade daughter of a colleague and she helps me after school 2-3 times per week. This conversation made up for quite a bad day and sealed my desire to have a cutie pie daughter just like her.

Changes

"Did they choose you or did you want to go?"

Krissy just found out I am moving to the new school. She is devastated because she really wanted Janie (her sister in K) to be in my class next year. When I told her the news she got tears in her eyes...it was nearly enough to make me run down to the principal's office and tell him I've changed my mind.

They are Listening

"Junie, you are wearing a dress. Sit like a lady!"

I love hearing students repeat my words. It gives me a special kind of feeling and lets me know they actually listen to me.

The kids in my class are required to sit "criss-cross-applesauce" when we are on the floor. The only exception to this is "ladies" wearing dresses/skirts who are required to sit with their legs folded to the side ("like a lady").

It Was Meant to be a Compliment

"Mrs. J, I love your outfit, you look like a fat zebra"

This little girl is not in my class so I heard the story from her classroom teacher and the other adult involved. She was talking to our art teacher, who was wearing a black and white striped shirt with a white vest, and she just had to offer her "compliment".

Consider Your Audience

"What the heck does 'rather' mean anyway?!?!

This from my local Junie B. Jones doppelganger after asking if she could work on her fun packet. I told her, "I would rather you read your library book." We went back and forth for a minute or two before she exploded with the great question above. The thing is, I didn't want to just tell her, "No, you may not work on your fun packet." I wanted her to make the right decision on her own. Turns out it would have been better to Just Say No.

I Am So Popular

"Mrs. Loudvoice, why are you wearing your hair down? I begged my mom for a bun today but you're not wearing a bun today!"

They notice everything and they like copying me but I simply cannot believe she was CRYING because I didn't wear my hair in a bun. Extra bonus for me that day...her bun kept slipping out and I had to help her fix it about 97,000 times.

Holy War

"She started it...she told me Santa wasn't real so my sister punched her in the stomach."

These girls (and their sisters) walk to and from school together everyday. This incident happened on the way to school one morning. One family is Jewish and their mother had let them in on the Santa Claus secret. The other family is Christian and their family takes Santa seriously. I didn't know what to say when she asked if the other girl was telling the truth so I told her we would talk about it later. Lucky for me she didn't try to follow up on it.

Etiquette Lessons from Munchkins

"If someone is having a baby you don't call 'em fat, they're called pregnant."

I'm pretty sure she learned this one the hard way. In a recent class meeting we discussed a lunchroom/playground issue. I had to talk about boys (in another class) calling girls fat. We had a brief discussion about the problem with this behavior and I was ready to move on.