#9

A perspective student visited our classroom this morning.  The 5th graders welcomed him with open arms.  He seemed pretty comfortable with them too.  He stuck around until it was time for 2nd grade math; then his mom picked him up.  One of the 5th grade boys immediately decided the two of them were destined to be best friends and he tried to find ways to hang around the potential new kid.  And... one of the girls developed a crush on him.  As we walked down the hallway, she whispered loudly, "Miss H., guess what?  Now I have TWO crushes! I have a crush on..." and then she started to tell me the names.  I plugged my ears and said, "Nope! I'm not listening! I don't want to hear it!"  Of course she thought that was the funniest thing EVER!


The rest of the day, all I heard was, "Miss H, who is the other special guest?!" And when I told them it was going to be a surprise, they replied, "You're killing us!  Can't you at least tell us what time they're coming?"  Nope.  A few of them tried to trick me into telling them.  Ha. It didn't work.


The two final special guests of the day arrived at about 1:00, right when the 7th and 8th graders were setting up for bells in my room.  "Miss H, do you know your sisters are here?"  "Wait, why are Miss H's sisters here?"  "Miss H, why are they here?"  Pretty soon they were waiting outside Mr. E's room (the 5th graders were finishing their math class).  I walked in an gave a short introduction... "It's time for the surprise visitors!"  They all gasped in awe as my sisters walked in.  Yes, they actually did gasp.  One kid did a fist pump, "Oh I so called it!  I knew it was going to be her sisters!" 


We ended up playing Pictionary on the whiteboard.  It was boys vs. girls with Eileen and I playing on the boy side and Ms. J and Ivy on the girl side.  They didn't want to stop playing.


By that point, it was time for the Student Council to explain the new posters they'd put up around school.  Our class went the same time as the 7th and 8th graders.  Mr. E had to deal with a recess problem, so Ms. J, Miss H, and I were flying solo in keeping his class under control.  The older kids treated it like a joke and were making snide comments.  I chewed them out and they got a little better.  And of course it got worse again.  You have to pick your battles. 


Both the 5th graders and the 7th8th graders earned the Challenge of the Week prize.  The 7th and 8th graders were definitely ungrateful about the whole thing.  They got to brainstorm ideas: movie, recess, ice cream/pizza party, extra credit points, no homework.  I would've picked the no homework idea, but only one student wanted that.  We voted on having a movie, recess, and extra credit points.  The girls thought those ideas were stupid.  They boys all wanted extra credit.  Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, they ended up picking the extra credit.  I don't know what the 5th graders are going to do.  Maybe I'll let them chew gum again one day at school.  Or we could do a movie party... though we're running out of time.  Hmm.


Balloon Activity for tomorrow: eat a picnic lunch outside. (We're having the Caswell Softball Day tomorrow).