Friday Fun (about a week late)...

Not a whole lot happened last Friday (the 13th), possibly a good thing.  About twice a week, my 4th graders have a morning meeting where they sit in a circle and basically show and tell something about their lives.  Some of the things they share are so cute!  One little boy showed a drawing he had made of a new type of motorcycle; he shared he was planning to color it.  Another girl brought some rocks from a campsite she visited earlier in the year.  After every story shared, the student says, "I'm open for questions and comments."  The first time I heard a student say that, I had to bite my lip to keep from chuckling; they sounded so adult!  It turns out Mrs. J told them to end their story with that so the rest of the 4th graders would know when they could ask questions.  The "teller" gets to choose one student to ask a question, and the questions have to be specific to the student.  If a student doesn't have anything to share, classmates can pose a questions (again, specific to the student).  Many questions include, "What are you doing this weekend?" "Who are you playing in basketball?" "What's your basketball number?" etc.

Later in the day, students were finished with their homework and two boys started playing chess! I was a bit shocked, I admit.  I went over to them and asked how they learned to play.  One boy said his step-dad taught him and the other said he learned by playing a computer chess game; he just messed around until he figured out what he could do.  I don't know how to play, but it sure looked like they knew what they were doing. 

My favorite part of the day was right before school got let out.  One girl asked me what grade I would be teaching after I graduated, so I told her 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th grade.  Then the littlest boy (who just happened to be walking past) piped up, "And if you were in high school you'd teach science!"  I had told them my favorite subject in school was science the first day I was in their classroom and apparently this little guy remembered it.  I felt so popular!  Everyone wants to sit by me or stand by me in line or ask me questions.  Some students will huddle around my desk while I take notes, trying to see what I'm writing.  I'm pretty sure all this attention is going to go to my head... hopefully it doesn't explode!