need a good cry?

try reading this story and attempting not to break out in sobs in the asu library.

amazing story. it still warms my heart.

the thing about third graders

some stories to pass the time:

• one sweet boy made me a cute sign-"beast teacher ever". my question is...what? seriously, how could he spell teacher right, but not best? or did he really mean beast? ah man...
• i got a gift on monday! guess what it was? it was a pillow. yes, that's right, a pillow! granted it is really small (more like a mini pillow), but it was a big deal because my student made it. she actually made me a pillow. thread, fabric, and all. i was in awe.
• i overheard one boy ask his friend, "hey, how do you get on skillet.com?" i had to stop myself from laughing at loud. oh, so cute.
• one girl told me last week, "miss hernandez, i got to stay up until 9 o'clock last night!" she's a daredevil, that one.
• one of the students called me mrs. anderson last week. when i asked him what my name was, he replied, "um...i don't know." did i mention that was during the 5th week of school???

and that's all i have for now. my brain refuses to remember any more. enjoy the rest of the week!

pool party

solid rock church had a wonderful time at our pool party yesterday. it's so much hanging out with your church family visiting, and of course eating! i just posted pictures to facebook, so click here to check them out.

everything

third graders notice everything.

EVERYTHING.

two weeks ago i got myself a hershey's bar with almonds to eat at some point during the day. when my kids went to music, i scarfed it down in .5 seconds and threw the wrapper away. later, when my little darlings came back to class, one of the girls came to my desk for help with her work. on the way back to her desk, she abruptly turned around, looked at me accusingly and said, "YOU HAD A HERSHEY'S WITH ALMONDS!! I LOVE HERSHEY'S WITH ALMONDS!"

um....when did my third graders start checking my trash???? and what made her think that i would have shared my chocolate had i known that she "loved hershey's with almonds!"?

on a different day, as we were walking into the classroom together, another girl said to me, "miss hernandez, why do you wear something black every day?" i had to stop myself from saying, "duh!"

but really...duh.

dear poor, neglected, pitiful blog

i feel like i've failed you.

here you sit, waiting patiently for me to update the world through you.

"people need to know!" you say. "they count on your funny school stories to get them through the week, " you whisper.

but alas, you are neglected. there are no words to describe the sorrow i feel at your lack of posts. some people seem to think that i can handle whatever they throw at me, because there is no way i could possibly have a life outside of school. why i just sit around on my hands waiting for them to give me more work. and then there's this matter of graduate school. who made this decision to work full time as a teacher AND take college courses on the side? who can we blame for this?

what? what's that you say? ME? i made this decision? i chose to become a teacher and go to school at the same time?

sheesh-talk about wounds from a friend.