New School Year = A New Round of Funny Comments

I don't know if anyone even reads this ole' blog anymore, but it's a good place for me to record things!

A new school year started and has been going for almost four weeks now. My kids are pretty good this year. It took them a week or so to really settle in and get serious about school, but now we seem to have a good routine, and they know what to expect from me and they know how I run my classroom. And of course, they are always witty and say the most hilarious things. And so, here is round one of comments I have collected so far. (They have said MUCH more than I post, but I write down everything I can remember!)

* On a student information sheet that I have parents fill out: "She faints easily, but it's nothing to stress over." Mmmmkay. So you're telling me not to stress when your daughter passes out in my classroom? Right.

* We were talking about capitalizing the names of nationalities. One that I mentioned was European. Naturally, that induced a large amount of giggling from some of the boys. One boy turned back to another who seemed to find it funnier than most, and sarcastically said, "Laugh it up, Chuckles." That's when I lost it. And so we got sidetracked and had a little giggle fest for a minute. That class has become one of my favorites already.

* I have my students write me a letter to tell me about themselves. One boy was telling me about his family and said, "I really like the smell of my two sisters' hair. It always smells really good." --- Does this comment concern anyone else? What eighth grader normally smells their sisters' hair?

* In another letter, one girl was telling me her feelings about writing. She informed me that, "Most of the writing people do is horribly written or it is opera." Good to know. Perhaps we need to work on learning the definition of opera.

* I intercepted a note that was being passed between a boy and a girl. The last thing she wrote before I took it? "I sleep more heavlyer than you." Awesome.

* I often ask my classes on Friday if anyone has fun plans for the weekend. One student asked me what I was going to be doing. The conversation went as follows:
     Me: "I'm going camping for the first time in about ten years!"
     Him: "Seriously? Why haven't you gone sooner?"
     Me: "Well, I haven't been able to find anyone to go with, and I haven't wanted to go alone."
     Him: "Take all of your friends with you!"
     Me: "They are all married and it's hard to find a time to get together."
     Him: "Wow. You live a really sad life!"
     Me, in my mind: "Oh wow! Haha. I guess I kind of do!"
Seventh graders have no filters, and are usually brutally honest in their comments. Gotta love it.

* Today I was showing an example of a story I had written so they could see what they were going to do. The story was about the time I hiked to the top of Timp and got stuck in an insane storm. I ended the story by saying how it's kind of funny that that particular trip has become one of my very most favorite memories. One boy (different that the camping comment one) raised his hand and said, "Wow. You must live a super sad life if that storm is one of your best memories." I explained that it was a fun time with my dad and sister and that's why it was a good memory for me. He insisted that my life is still sad. Thanks, buddy! 

* We have a classroom "Twitter board" that students get to post on every time they finish a book. I have them write the title of the book then create a hash tag explaining how they liked the book. One clever boy finished Hunger Games and hash tagged it with "oddsnotinfavor". Haha. It made me laugh.

I think I have one of the most entertaining jobs on the planet. My students are the best and I am loving this new group! Here's to another great year! :)