Five For Friday

Ever since our school incorporated a STEAM component into our summer school sessions last year, I have been Lego crazy! The kiddos are SUPER motivated when Legos are involved, so I continue to figure out ways to fold them into my teaching, recess, or more!

Click here for a link to my newest activity that focuses on using Legos while writing.

These Valentine Science kits literally save my life every year! They're educational, fun, and totally engaging. Plus, they don't cost me an arm and a leg to create! Seriously, my kiddos brought in so much candy to devour on Valentine's Day that I couldn't rationalize giving them even more, so this is how I rolled!

Click here to check this out.

My boyfriend and dog visited Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, New York over our February vacation. If you can believe it, the weather was gorgeous! It was nearly 60 degrees and sunny! We hiked all over and checked out a bunch of waterfalls. It tired Lucy out so much that she's been spending a lot of time dozing on the couch since we went. While hiking, my boyfriend had his fitbit on. It told him that during our 3 mile hike, we walked over 50 flights of stairs! That was a lot of elevation! It was pretty awesome.

Has anyone read Pax by Sara Pennypacker? I seriously cried for the first 10 chapters! It's our newest read aloud chapter book in my third grade class and the kiddos are really enjoying it! I even had some tears from my third graders! It's pretty powerful when a book can evoke that kind of emotion in ten year olds. Anyway, it's the story of Pax, a pet fox, and his owner Peter. Peter's dad makes him release Pax into the wild and the story flip flops between Pax and Peter trying to be reunited. I highly recommend it!

Check out the novel study that accompanies this book here.

Lucy always uses a pillow :)

Dead Words Funeral

Not the best picture, but you get the idea. Every fall, I have a Dead Words Funeral with my class. I got the idea from a TeacherTube video I saw years ago. Basically, you get together a list of words that are boring and overused. Your kiddos use thesauruses, their minds, and thesaurus.com to find BETTER synonyms for those common words. After that, the students each choose a word and create a tombstone.

For example:

Here lies: COLD

COLD is remembered by:

chilly, frigid, freezing, etc.

The kids have such a good time that they usually create tombstones for multiple words. We hang them in the room as a living thesaurus that we can add to and use as reference. One year, we got so into it, that the kids decided to wear all black the next day and we had a funeral procession from fourth grade classroom to fourth grade classroom. Some kids even grabbed tissues, fake cried, and waved the tissues in the air as they left each room. It was dramatic. And awesome.

I don't spy on you!

In case you can't read this:

Dear Miss Caminiti,

(And then stick figures labeled "me" and "you.")

From,

Shelby

Dear Miss Caminiti,

I really like how you dress like really pretty and get your hair pretty. I don't spy on you!

From, 

Shelby

***This just made my day. It's the little things!

Teacher Success Story

Kinda hilarious, right? Years ago, I taught a fourth grade inclusion classroom, and one of my kiddos had an IEP...and a distain for writing. Like, no one could get him to write. Ever. Math? Sure! Reading? You betcha! Science? Yippee! Writing? NOOOOOO!!!!!

So, anyway, we butted heads a lot in the beginning of the year. It was my first year teaching fourth grade and I had my AWESOME writing projects and I wanted him to participate. Welp, that didn't work. He refused every writing project I threw at him. Finally, exasperated, I let him do whatever. No assignments, just write. Well, he also did not like the composition book, so I scrounged up some old computer paper. Note the funny hole punches in the side. Yes, old school.

I let this kid write whatever he wanted and illustrate his writing. He wrote a whole series. Alliteration titles and all! It was like the writing beast within had been awakened! Seriously, we made a section of the classroom library for his books and KIDS SIGNED THEM OUT! It was pretty adorable.

And then conferences came along. His parents told me they were very concerned. I racked my brain and couldn't figure out why...this kiddo was like my Most Improved Player. And then they told me that he was staying up late at night...under the covers...with a flashlight....writing!!! It was a PHEW! moment for me, and an oh-so-proud moment that I will keep with me for a long time!

Moral of the story: As teachers, we are pretty darn controlling, and 9 times out of 10, that is fine and dandy and works miracles. But sometimes, just sometimes, we have to give up a bit of our OCD nature and let the kiddos just express themselves in their own way. And maybe that's when we see the most growth.

Option Number 3: Cry in a pile of coats.

This week, I made a few students cry. Pretty typical for fourth grade. They tend to be quite sensitive at this age, but also bounce back quickly. So, a few kiddos crying in one week doesn't have a tremendous impact on me anymore. Five minutes later they're giving me hand drawn pictures and telling me about their favorite video game.

So, one of my little girlies was out sick one day this week. The next day, she returned. About 15 minutes into the school day, she asks to go to the nurse to get her temperature checked. (Sidenote: her guardian sent in a note saying that she was FINE.)

"No, you can go to the nurse in one hour, if you are still feeling sick. Work on your math center folder."

I walk away. I look back to see this lady with a tissue against her ear, coughing into the air rudely and loudly, and a whole table of girls just staring at her. Their math work open and untouched in front of them. Obviously this sick show is way more interesting.

"Fine. If you're going to put on a show, go to the nurse. But you better hope you have a temperature for causing this scene in our classroom. Your choice. Stay in class and do your work quietly, or go to the nurse and go home."

I walk away. I turn just in time to see her sitting in a pile of coats, sobbing. (Yes, fourth graders struggle to hang coats and SOMETIMES there is a pile of coats on our floor.)

Planned ignoring. Planned ignoring. Planned ignoring.

Five minutes later, she is working on her math center folder at the back table.

...I knew she wasn't sick.

This one time...

This one time, I went to school with my dog and no other teachers were there. Totally empty building. So, I let the dog off the leash so she could run around a bit. We were having a fine time until she wanders into the auditorium. She went into a closet. I figured it didn't matter...she was trapped, right? Only she didn't come out, so I had to go in. I come to find a door inside the closet, which led to some creepy basementy type hallway...and as I walked down the hallway, the ceiling. got. shorter.

No joke. And the whole hallway got darker.

I must have discovered a secret passageway of sort, but all I could think about was getting my dog and getting out of there. I was so scared that my little puppers had found a secret way out of the school and was long gone, I forgot to be frightened of the horror movie hallway I was currently wandering down.

Eventually, I think my frantic calls made their way to my pup's ears and she realized that I was losing it. She came back to me. Filthy. Before I had to resort to crawling through the, well, crawl space.

Moral of the story? Dog stay on a leash while at school. No exceptions. Except in my classroom with the door closed. Okay, one exception.

Into school I go...

Yes, it is a day off. A lovely, wonderful three day weekend. But I'm going into school. Crazy, right?

We have a big problem in our elementary school. Two copiers. GAJILLIONS of teachers who always need to use them and, without fail, one is ALWAYS busted. Seriously. Sometimes BOTH!!!!

So, I have tried my best to avoid using the copiers during the school day, unless it is an emergency. I will come in early or pop in over a long weekend and do my bulk copying, and then happily avoid the copiers for a few weeks. (Oh, and "pop in" is not right. I live 45 minutes away from my school, so it is actually quite the trip. No popping involved. But worth it to not run into a student when I am walking my dog in my pink polka dotted pajamas on the weekend, right?)

And here we are. A day off, grade 4 math module 5 out, and me dragging my sweet little dog to school to keep me company while I sequester myself away in the copy room for a few hours. Well, the adorable dog gets a Kong filled with frozen peanut butter, which she loves, so don't feel too bad for her! Plus, my classroom has tons of dog beds that I use as pillows for the kiddos to get comfy while working, my my pupperoni snuggles up.

I hope everyone else enjoys their day off!

A Tale Dark and Grimm

A Tale Dark and Grimm, written by Adam Gidwitz, is my latest read aloud. We are in the midst of reading it in my fourth grade class. This year, I have 11 boys and 6 girls. It is challenging to select meaningful read alouds that captivate the entire class. I had never read Grimm's fairy tales before, but this one is based on the Grimm's fairy tales. Adam Gidwitz based the novel on the extended story of Hansel and Gretel. (Disclaimer: It can be a bit gory...I have altered some content while reading aloud so I don't give any teeny tiny fourth graders nightmares...)

Anyway, my kiddos are loving it. Like, really excited about our read aloud time. I should say, my little friends are quite dependent this year. Our writing block used to be comprised of a mini lesson and time to work on writing. I tried that this year, like I have for the past 6 years, and found the majority of my kiddos staring at the ceiling and "thinking" for 20 minutes. NOT PRODUCTIVE. So, I combined the read aloud with the writing. We read a chapter daily, and students respond to short response questions, focusing on STEAL and SPIT sentence starters (Steal your sentence starter from the question and spit it out in your response.) I leave the book out, or sometimes photocopy pages, so kiddos can look back. If they finish early, they have the option of free writing (10 minutes, usually) or working on vocabulary crosswords with challenging words from the read aloud we are currently reading. This is working better for me. I don't feel like I'm chasing my students during free writing, scolding them for just sitting there, staring, aimlessly wondering about how to waste time until lunch.

Back to A Tale DArk and Grimm. Exciting. It also inspired many of my students to read the real Grimm's fairy tales. Click on the link below to see the full student packet with questions on each chapter at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Don't worry about that out of school suspension...just come on it!

Nearing the end of that fateful year, the worst year of my life, and I could see the finish line: summer vacation. I wanted it. I needed it. And I knew it was attainable because the child who had been the naughtiest had been granted out of school suspension for a day. He would not be allowed to attend the last day of school. It was finally happening. A day that the rest of my kiddos could enjoy. A day that I could enjoy.

I need to put this out there. I loved this kid then, and I still love him. We had many special moments together. I think we truly bonded. And that’s why his behavior escalated throughout the year. He hated vacations because he hated his homelife and his family. I knew what was going on, but I couldn’t stop it. We were trapped on this twisted Merry-Go-Round.

Anyway, last day of school. Totally bittersweet. I was psyched that my naughty little friend would not be in attendance because he would do or say something to someone and the day would be ruined. I also had a bit of sadness because, well, let’s face it, I liked the kid. No matter how terribly he treated me. And it was pretty darn terrible. (Sidenote: He was smart, so his insults were personal and hit way below the belt.)

My kiddos started trickling in on that last day, some looking forlorn and some looking ecstatic. And then he appeared in the doorway, grinning wickedly. GASP.

“Hi, Miss!”

My mouth hung open. I quickly directed him into the hallway.

“What are you doing here? You were suspended.”

“Nobody told my dad, and he put me on the bus this morning.”

And so, he enjoyed his last day of school. To his credit, he was perfectly well-behaved that day. But, seriously.

A parade, a festival, and a runaway.

Memorial Day. Super fun, big parade, flags, the whole nine. This was several years ago, just an awesomely frustrating and unbelievable story.

Of course, I had enough flags for everybody in my class to get one, and for some kids to get two. When I finished handing them out, my special naughty friend only had one. So, naturally, he refused to line up for the parade. Reminder, in case you forgot: These are fourth graders and not first graders.

I called the main office and informed them that he was not moving, and that my very awesome across the hall teacher friend was kind enough to take the rest of my class to the parade since I was stuck with this kid boycotting Memorial Day. (Sidenote: Several other students offered him their flags, but his mind was made up.)

I was told that an administrator was on her way. As soon as my little one heard me on the phone, he left the room. Left. The. Room. I dropped the phone and raced after him, reaching him as he stepped out of the school, into the fields in the backyard. I think it was at this point that he realized he was crossing a line. To his credit, he came back inside on his own. And that was where my administrator found us, engaged in a stare down in the vestibule.

She told me that he was her case at this point and I should go join my class. Okay, cool, at least our class will have a break from him for this one day. We’ll enjoy the parade and it will be worry-free.
I kid you not, five minutes after I rejoined my class, which was waiting on the front lawn for the parade to begin, and HE was brought back to our class. The administrator said he was better. HE WAS BETTER!!! IT’S A MIRACLE! THE REST OF THE YEAR WOULD BE CAKE! No. That is not how it works.

This is when another teacher friend comes in. She is involved in everything. Plus, her class is kind of a handful as well. Anyway, she volunteered to take him off my hands for the parade and let him march with her class. AHHHHHHH! (That's angel's singing, if you couldn't tell.)

La ti da, the parade ends, the day ends, and I write, literally, 7 behavior referrals. One for each behavior. I could have kept going, but I just wanted to see what my administration would do. The kid left the school! This had GOT to be automatic suspension, right? Wrong.

He did not receive a consequence. NOTHING. I got copies of my 7 referrals in my mailbox the next day, but there was nothing written in the consequence section except something about a talk. A TALK! I was livid.

I marched myself into the principal’s office, showing her the forms, and demanded that he lose field day. The whole field day. This behavior cannot go on. He’s seriously learning that there are no consequences and that he can do whatever he wants. Not to mention the fact that the other kids were learning that he got away with everything, so they could too! Finally, after much convincing and evidence showing, I got a consequence. He missed a half of field day. Big whoop.

It reminded me of the time he called my across the hall neighbor a bitch, received ZERO CONSEQUENCES until I fought for him to lose our day before winter break fun day. Guess what happened halfway through the day? The principal brought him into the school movie viewing, gave him some popcorn, and sat next to him. Like it was a reward. For foul language and disrespect. No joke. This is where I worked.

So, apparently we condone violence. Super.

My nemesis strikes again. This was a few years ago. This time, he wanted to go on one of our computers. We’re lucky in that we have four computers in our classroom, but unlucky in the fact that everyone always wants to use them at the same time. Since all of the computers were taken, he made the executive decision that he would FLICK a girl on the back of the neck until she let him have her computer. Yes, I said FLICK.

This girlfriend was not having it. She was smart though. She knew that if she abandoned her computer to tell on this kid, he would promptly steal her seat. So, she asked a friend to come tell me. (Sidenote: I was on my way over anyway…my classroom isn’t that large and chaotic that I missed physical violence occurring.)

So, I tell this young fellow that he is now putting his hand on a peer and endangering the welfare of others and that he needs to go to the main office. I would write a referral for it later, but for now, he could not participate in our classroom lessons. He refused. Duh. I knew he would. So I called the main office and asked them to send someone down to retrieve our little troublemaker.

Around this time, I realize that it is soooo totally Social Studies time and that we need to clean up from Guided Reading. My fabulous fourth graders were trained by yours truly, so this whole process takes about 30 seconds, and we’re back at our desks, ready to be enlightened about the vivacious Vikings! (Kind of an appropriate topic for the day, I suppose.)

I’m just starting out a totally captivating lesson about longships when the assistant principal, who should be known as Edna from The Incredibles because she looks EXACTLY like that little cartoon seemstress, walks in.

“You need to come with me.”

“No. You can’t touch me. I know my rights.”

“You need to come with me. Let’s go.”

“No.”

“Well…he looks like he’s not really a disturbance anymore. How about he stays in the room?”

My. Jaw. Dropped.

As a first year teacher in this district, I wasn’t about to get into it with an administrator in front of my entire class. But, come on! The kiddo laid his hands on another student, was blatantly disrespectful, and nada? Cool. I had better brace myself for more of this, because it was sooooo coming. Can you believe this?

You get a referral. You get a referral. EVERYBODY GETS REFERRALS!

Ha! If you get that post title, we can be friends.

My teacher from across the hall and I shared some subjects. I taught a few to both of our classes, and so did she. We could become experts in those subjects, and cut down on our individual planning time. Win win! Anyway, one day, my one boy was acting up. And when this kiddo acts up he throws major shade in all directions. Personal stuff! Like, aims to hurt the people who care the most. AKA me. Needless to say, by the time our classes were ready to switch, I was ready for a break from him.

I tend to teach with my door open, and so does my across the hall neighbor. Fire violation shmire violation…it can be darn hot in our rooms and the cross breeze is refreshing! Anyway, that is how I came to witness the epic meltdown.

Apparently, my little friend had been refusing to do work with the other teacher. Go figure. It was one of those days. So, she asked him to do the work in the hallway since everyone else completed it when they were told and were now watching an educational movie for review. He refused to leave the room…and chose to start yelling in “Chinese” to the class. Yup. “Chinese.” I put it in quotes because he speaks not a lick of the language. It was just a tad racist. Just. A. Tad.

Finally, this kid decides to go into the hallway. BUT he also decides to keep opening and closing the door obnoxiously. As the behavior is addressed by my saintly across the hall neighbor, this kid calls her a bitch. Yup. A bitch. A fourth grader called his teacher THAT. In front of the whole class. I can imagine their little mouth agape.

Several behavior referrals later, from both myself and the teacher across the hall, I discovered that my brand new school does not discipline the kiddos. A good talking to is just fine, apparently. Awesome.

Introducing my most challenging crew...

When I moved to a new school district I was dealt a tought hand. And by that, I mean that my class was a real handful. I was scared. Just 17 kids, but 11 of them were boys. Rough and tumble boys.

This one kid, who was about a foot taller than I am, his first words to me were along the lines of, “In 2 months I can legally change my name because my dad abandoned me and hasn’t tried to contact me.” Sigh. He had “defensive from the get go” written all over his cute little face.

This next student one of those rare kiddos that…well, I’ll be completely honest, I could not find one redeeming quality about this kiddo in the first few weeks of school. He was cruel to be cruel, a low functioning student, and was always causing problems with the other kids. Geez. After a chat with mama, meds were adjusted and he became the Robin to my Batman. Seriously. Kiddo stood up for me when the rest of the male posse was acting up. He worked hard to improve himself and he was totally my choice for MVP that year. By the way, he also won like every event at our grade level field day. Made his teacher mama proud.

And then there was my nemesis that year. This kiddo did not need anyone. He came from a rough upbringing and he didn’t want to get close to anyone. He was like a light switch. One day he was bright and cheerful and hardworking, and then next day the dark shadows across his face warned our class that we were in for a treat. Honestly, 90% of the problems emerged in some way because of this kiddo. But…I still kind of adore him. Kiddos can’t help where they come from, and it’s our job to guide them to a better place. I’m not sure how successful I was at that last part, but I gave it my all.

More stories featuring these little friends to come!

A Minor Setback

While working at my first fourth grade job, I was laid off due to budget cuts and it pretty much sucked. It was upsetting that I was becoming a really great teacher, working hard, gaining acceptance from my colleagues, and suddenly it would be over. I also got a wee bit bitter after being laid off. I started thinking about the other teachers at that school who were both fabulous and not so fabulous, and how I deserved a job over the not so fabulous ones. Like the teacher man who was late to pick his class up from special one day because he decided to take a nap in his truck and overslept. Yup. True. Story.

Anyway, I went on countless job interviews that spring and didn’t get hired until August. It was torture, thinking I might have to do something other than teach. The funny thing is, in August I was offered three different positions. I wound up taking another fourth grade job because…

1. I. Know. Fourth. Grade.

2. I. Love. Fourth. Grade.

3. It was the closest school to my apartment.

And so, another new school adventure began.

Anyway, nowadays, I talk with countless wannabe teachers, people working as substitutes and applying for jobs every day. It makes me realize how lucky I am. I may not be totally in love with my school and job every day...there just might be a few kiddos that make me want to yank my hair out and burst into tears (Okay, yea, I have totally cried on the drive home due to the harsh words and actions of one or two kiddos.)...but I really am lucky to go to work every day and pretty much look forward to the day.

Unless it's a field trip. Those days make my head spin.

Wonder written by RJ Palacio

Okay, so I have to chat about my FAAAAAAAAAAVE newish read aloud. When I say FAAAAAAAAAVE, I mean I love it, kiddos love it, parents email me about how much they love it….EVERYBODY LOVES THIS BOOK! Now that I have effectively talked it up higher than high, time for book introductions.

WONDER by R.J. Palaccio.

Have you heard of it? OMG OMG OMG it is FAB.

Choose Kind Tumblr

So, there is a sweet little book trailer that I used to introduce this book. Kids were captivated. They were excited. This is the story of August, a boy born with a facial deformity, and how he began going to public school in fifth grade.

Book Trailer

Author's Page

Sound good? That’s just the tip of the iceberg! So, the book tells the story from all different perspectives. It changes, and overlaps, and the writing changes, OH MY! Also, there is this English teacher in the book who has precepts, kind of like little lessons/morals explained throughout the book.

So, I can’t give it all away, but I will tell you that we had AMAZING class discussions while reading this book! We also spent time after reading to each create our own personal precept and made a class book. AND we made lapbooks as a culminating activity. Here are the flaps and folds we included in the lapbook:

Perspectives, compare and contrast two characters, character traits, summary, personal precept, analyze quotes from the text, title, author, genre, theme…

Anyway, READ THIS BOOK. I laughed. I cried. I heard from a friend in a neighboring school district that their entire fifth grade is reading it and developing a year-long school-wide theme based on the book!

This. Is. The. Real. Deal.

BY the way, I have a student packet novel study, parent guide, and lapbook instructions available on my Teachers Pay Teachers account. Check it out!

Teachers Pay Teachers

Innnneresting Teacher Gifts Part Dos

Speaking of interesting gifts, I’ve had my fair share over the years. This one year, I opened up a Jesus figurine that was also a jewelry box. True story.

That same year, I received a gift from one of my top students. She was probably the nicest kid ever. Smart, sweet, respectiful, just lovely. One of those kids you want to have in your class every year.

Anyway, this little lady shyly handed me the gift the day before winter break. I opened it slowly, and as I peered into the box, I seriously had absolutely no idea what it was.

I was peering at a square of wood with a circular indent in the middle. There was also a glass tube filled with liquid. My little friend eagerly helped me, pulling out the contents of the box and inserting the glass tube into the wooden base.

“It’s a barometer, Miss!”

It looked phallic.

And I had a sneaking suspicion that her parents knew it when they bought it and had a nice laugh at my expense. Because my face was cherry red.

Ironically, a year later I was moving from one apartment into another. I had put that phallus shaped barometer on my mantel and was packing it up when it exploded all over my hand. True story. My roommate thought it was pretty hilarious, actually.

You wrote WHAT?!?!

Not sure if I’ve told this story yet. Stop me if you’ve heard it. And by stop me, I mean just click on another super awesome post.

Okay, so I was being quite the brilliant teacher when teaching the events leading up to the American Revolution last year. We would learn about an event that totally angered the colonists, and then the kiddos would write a letter to King George III from the perspective of the colonist. Very exciting for fourth graders. I mean, come on, word choice gallore! The kiddos REALLY got into this! I mean, they were livid! (And yes, they used the word “livid” frequently in these letters!)

Anyway, one day I’m reading through the letters and I get to one. It says, and I quote:

“King George, I am so mad I want to pour hot cocoa all over your t***!”

Yup.

Being the totally awkward person that I am, I gave the writing piece back to this little friend and said that I felt uncomfortable reading it and that he should fix it immediately. And as long as it was fixed we could forget about this. Seriously, do I want to call a parent and say THAT word? Noooooooo!

So he hands it in AGAIN and AGAIN that word is there! The kid had the guts to leave it.

I fumed. I saw red. Here I was giving him a break and he didn’t even want to take it! So, I marched him into the hallway and pulled out my phone.

“Call your mother.”

“What?!?!?! But Miss…”

“Call her and tell her what you wrote.”

So, he did. Sobbing the entire time. He left a message. Yep, I didn’t even have to say the word to a parent! Loophole!

I did, however, have to write THAT word in the referral.

Innnnneresting Teacher Gifts

Near the end of my second year teaching, I had formed great relationships with the kiddos and their parents. One parent even volunteered in my classroom during our end of the day free writing time. She would call and let me know if she couldn’t make it on certain days. On this particular day, in June, she called me.

So she called me and let me know that she wouldn’t be able to make it later in the week. Okay. Then she informed me that at that very moment, she was shopping with her son, my student, for my Christmas gift. In this particular school, there was a tradition around winter break and the end of the year that every kiddo brought a present to their teacher, and that the teacher opened gifts in front of the class. Cutesy. I felt very appreciated in this district!

I’m opening gifts, oooohing and ahhhing like crazy. And then we get to this gift.

“I hope you like it, Miss! I picked it out all by myself!”

I tear off the wrapping paper. I open the box. I reveal…

A bedazzled silky shirt.

With zebra stripes.

Picture...Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun

One of my most memorable students was in my class during my second year of teaching fourth grade. Her hair was…well, it was a work of art. Totally tight curls that went EVERYWHERE. Huge hair. Teeny tiny skinny kiddo. Huge Hair. Loved her. LOVED. HER.

Okay, do you know that picture book, Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun? Here's the book cover:

THAT'S HER!

I should say, this little friend had autism. She was high functioning, but really struggled with just how literal she could be. Idioms? Those were toughies.

So, here I was, on my first day of the second year of teaching fourth grade. I was totes prepared. Totes ready for ANYTHING. And in she walked. What a quirky cute kid, I thought to myself.

“Alright everybody, let’s get started. Eyes on me, please!”

As soon as I gave the instruction, she was up. Up, out of her seat, running at me. And when she got to me, she pressed her face into my side.

Eyes on me. Ah. This was going to be an interesting year, indeed.

You brought WHAT to school?!?!

I’ve encountered all type of parents; stage five clingers, hover crafts, absentee adults, etc. So, I wasn’t, like, totally, shocked when I discovered that one of the parents of my students was, well, a stripper. This was years ago, but it's the kind of story you just can't forget.

I had this adorably sweet and naive kiddo a few years back. His mentality was half of his actual age, he was always day dreaming lessons away, and he just, well, he just didn’t quite understand the world he lived in. So, anyway, this little friend had a mom who stripped for a living. No biggie because she was also totally involved in the life of her child, helping with homework, showing up for conferences, and showing her love for him where ever possible. Honestly, she was pretty much an ideal parent for any teacher to work with.

Anyway, it was the day before winter break, and, let’s be real, we were having a little shindig. Snacking our faces off, playing holiday games, the whole nine yards. That’s when I noticed this one little boy. He was near the front of the room with a group of kiddos. He was touching something to the backs of their necks, causing the children to erupt into a wave of giggles. I was suspicious, to say the least.

I strode across the classroom and isolated him from his giggly posse.

“What are you playing with?”

And that’s when he placed a small object into my heads. A small object also known as a vibrator.

My mouth dropped.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Um…well, it’s my toy. It has different speeds and it’s a lot of fun. It’s actually my mom’s.”

It was apparent that this child had not a clue as to what he had just placed into my hand. The hand that would need to be furiously scrubbed with brillo pads and bleach later on.

“Okay, sweetie, put this in your pocket and do not take it out again and do not speak of it ever again and do not bring it back to school ever ever ever.”

Some might wonder why I didn’t confiscate that vibrator. Can you imagine the parent phone call?!?!?! Heck no. Heck. No.