sunday's "so they said" [back for another school year]

we've been back in school for almost a month

and it is time to get back into "so they said"

one of my favorite quotes from this week was when I heard a student say

"I think I do more art in history than I do in art class."

I'm glad they are loving the art integration, but I'm curious as to what art class look likes.

This week I also realized that teaching ancient history and the middle ages

is harder for kids to grasp the concept of exactly

how long ago we are talking about

and I'm thinking I need to take some time doing some type of timeline activity

I think I remember doing something with receipt tape

and spreading it across the room, so I'll get back to you on that one

once I figure it all out

and here is the quote that made me realize I need to back the bus up

when doing acrostic poems on the Roman Empire

I came across the line for the letter "m"

"Most Romans had cars."

oh, ok

well that's good

at least most Romans had cars

overall I feel the project went well

the poems worked as an assessment piece for the chapter

[some got it, some didn't - obviously]

and the mosaics went perfectly with the project

but I'm also glad that I caught the confusion

because I think everyone could use a little time reference

because I was also asked

"Are we still in the Middle Ages?"

sure, it was our very first day of the unit so I'm good with this question

here's to making pre-teens realize the difference between old, and old-old

have a great rest of the weekend - now it is time for me to get ready for my baby shower!

so excited to see everyone and celebrate miss everly mae

sunday's "so they said" [mom edition]

since my students found out I was expecting they have been full of advice

and cute comments

advice from a 14 year old:

"Mrs. Lewis, make sure you are eating lots of different kinds of food because right now your baby is developing what it likes & doesn't like, and we all know you don't want a picky eater." 

and if there is one thing I have learned so far

if you don't really have morning sickness in your first trimester

you get quite the baby bump by 14 weeks!

happy mother's day

sunday's "so they said"

well, not all children have a.d.d.

but one thing is true

all teenagers love things for a few days, obsess over them

and then move onto the next thing

this has been the case in my classroom all year long

whether it has been a catch phrase, something they have seen in a movie

or just something said at lunch

you hear their trends pretty clear

some I choose to comment on

and when I do 

the kids seem oh so surprised that I, their teacher

may have some idea as to what they are talking about

and that is exactly what happened this week 

when out of nowhere one minute before the bell rang, two of my kids shouted

image here

"we should hardcore parkour during passing"

and after a few smiles and laughs from those in class

I responded by saying

"well, I think to really hardcore parkour I think you need a video camera to document it.  If not, aren't you just jumping around like fools?"

and of course, because being the ripe old age of 27

my kids looked at me with wide eyes that I knew what they were talking about

and yes, due to my recent acquiring of cable this year

fortunately, I did know about the latest tosh.o trend happening this season

and I must admit, my age + cable = me having a clue what teenagers are talking about

of course another student chimed in

"Don't worry Mrs. Lewis, it says that the show is for mature audiences, and we are mature.  Oh, and Daniel Tosh is pretty hot."

well, enough said

and the best part of teaching middle school is I don't have to get all crazy

about telling them they are too young to be watching whatever it is they are at that moment

thankfully, hardcore parkour died out by the next day

but it did make for a pretty entertaining passing period

and hey, nobody was hurt, so just go with it

that's the key to surviving middle school

wedding night out

last night the mr. and I enjoyed a night out

at our friend's wedding

and when a couple just happened to meet at the very same place 

the husband and I met

[the grocery store where we all worked]

well, that just makes it a little extra special

not a bad way to spend a Saturday night

no "so they said" this week

unfortunately, kind of, I spent almost the whole week out of the classroom

for layoff hearings

the bad part, besides having a sub in my room again

of course would be the whole being laid off again

but the nice part included mornings that start at 9 instead of 7

and lunches that go at least an hour and a half, instead of 30 minutes

so tomorrow it is back to work for real tomorrow

and now it is time to enjoy these final weeks with these kids

sunday's "so they said"

I must admit

some weeks I just can't remember anything that my kids have said

and I know there is always something that completely cracks me up

and this "so they said" in fact came back to me while watching an Ellen episode this week

probably a good month or so after the actual classroom quote occurred

needless to say

teaching middle school has gotten my brain to go to the less than innocent place 

sometimes

and that is exactly what happened a few weeks back when I found a note 

left behind after class

I open it to find in big writing

"Your pen is so awesome, I love everything about it."

The only problem was, when they wrote this little note to their friend

their spacing was not quite where it needed to be

so instead, this is what I saw

"Your penis is so awesome, I love everything about it."

Needless to say, I freaked just a tad.

Even pulled a few of the kids aside the next day to try to figure out who exactly wrote it

only to realize I was about to put my foot in my mouth

when one of my kids kindly pointed out

as we looked at the pretty glitter pen note

"Mrs. Lewis, I think so and so wrote it, and why do you care so much who wrote it, she is just talking about her friend's pen."

Yes, I could have died

right there on the spot

and due to the nature of this post
I sure hope I don't get any weird google searches
oh well, I'll risk it
because I think I should
and I can always just blame Ellen