Your Daily Gem.

I know that as a teacher you're not supposed to have favorites however, I have a class of sweet, sweet children and they're pretty darn close to being my favorites.  Every day before class they'll all come and find me and say, "Come on teacher.  Let's go to class".  Little Emily will even grab my hand and say, "My best friend Tawny teacher". 

The other day we were sitting in class and one of them decided to declare their adoration for me.

Lucia: Teacher, I love you.

Emily: Tawny teacher, I love you and you love me.

Julie:  Teacher, I really really love you.

Peter:  Teacher, I like... gorillas.

Is this appropriate?

This picture does not adequately portray "shy".  There's nothing "shy" about this picture.  Embarrassed maybe, but not shy.  I could think of a million other words that this picture would go with.  "Flasher" maybe.  "Pervert".  "Awkward".  "Naughty". "Walk of shame".  But not shy.

I didn't get to review my flashcards before my class of 1st grade girls.  To be fair, they normally don't include pictures of buck naked men.  I was a little surprised when I unwittingly held up the card and all of the girls started wildly screaming and hiding under their desks.

"Teacher!  That man is dirty!  Very VERY dirty!". 

"Teacher why man no panties?"

"Teacher, what that?"

Let's just say that I learned my lesson. I now carefully review my flashcards before I take them to class.

Drinking Games are Fun for Everyone

Even small Korean children. 

Just wait a minute before you go and start judging.  I've actually taken a ubiquitous college drinking game and made it not only fun and appropriate for small children- but also educational.  I've started playing this with my 10 year-olds and they lurve it. 

The game is called Kings aka Kings Cup aka Ring of Fire.

So as most of you know, the game would usually be played with a deck of cards and a few beers.  You have one empty class in the middle and you spread out the deck of cards [face down] around the empty class.  Each card, Ace through King, has a specific meaning and/or action that goes along with it.  For example, the 9 card means rhyme.  I would get to choose a word and we'd have to go around in a circle taking turns coming up with rhyming words. 

Easy peasy, no?

 

I've obviously had to alter the game a little bit.  I don't need my kids running home to mommy and daddy telling them that Tawny teacher made them drink something that made them feel funny and sleepy.  I've been using a point system.  Each student starts with 25 points and I subtract points from there.  The first person to lose all of their points in the lah-hoo-ser.  Here are my child-friendly rules that I implement in my "Korean Kings" game.

Ace: "Ace in your face".  Each child has to take a card and stick it on their forehead.  The student whose card falls off first is the loser and gets -2 points.

2: "Two-You".  The student gets to pick any other player to lose two of their points.

3: "Three-Me".  If you draw this card then you get -3 points.

4: "Four.. uh, girls".  All girls get -2 points.

5: "I have never".  This one's pretty good.  Everyone holds up 5 fingers and we go around saying things that we've never done.  "I've never eaten kimchi".  "I've never been to the USA".  If you have done any of the things you must put a finger down.  The first person to lose all 5 fingers gets -2 points.

6: "Six is for... boys". All boys get -2 points.

7: "Seven Heaven".  (This gives me an appropriate time to teach them about heaven). Everyone has to raise their hands to heaven.  The last person to raise their hand gets -2 points.

8: "ABCs":  The student that drew the cards gets to go first.  They have to think of a work that begins with "A" (i.e. apple).   The next person has to think of a word that starts with "B" (boat).  Sounds easy, but when English isn't your first language it can be a little challenging.  I give the students only 3 seconds to come up with an answer and they have to make sure they use the appropriate letter of the alphabet. 

9: "Nine-Rhyme":  See!  I've even incorporated phonics in the game! The person who drew the card gets to pick a word and we go around in a circle thinking of rhyming words.  The student who cannot come up with a rhyming word loses 2 points.

10: "Categories": The card holder gets to choose a category.  Any category.  It could be "Disney Princesses", "Different kids of kimchi", or "Animals that are pink".  The person that cannot name anything that fits into the category loses -you guessed it- two points. 

Jack: "Jack Back".  You change directions of the circle and the person whose turn it is next loses 2 points.

Queen: "Queen Questions":  You basically go around in a circle and ask questions, but only questions.  If you answer a question instead of ask one, or if you can't think of a question, you lose 2 points.

King:  Whoever pulls a King gets to make up a rule and gets an additional 5 points.  The student's favorite rule is "Moose".  The person who pulls the king can say "moose" (and put their hands as their antlers) at any time throughout the game.  The last person to follow suit loses 2 points.  Another crowd favorite is the "thumb master".  Whenever this person puts their thumb on the table, the last person to notice loses 2 points.

I can't even tell you how much the kids love this game.  It keeps them talking the entire time and it's better than bingo, hangman, or go fish.  It also keeps them thinking on their toes.  Let's just hope that it doesn't dawn on them while at a future college party that "Tawny teacher" taught them this game when they were in 3rd grade. 

Your Daily Gem.

Andy: Teacher, give me one more sticker.

Me: What?  Why do you think I should give you another sticker?

Andy: Because teacher... you are beauty.

Me: [with a sigh]... here you go.

Let it be known that it's the nicest thing Andy's ever said to me.   Ever.

To put faces to their names...

Here's a little clippity clip of some of the kiddos that I teach.  You'll actually get to see what Andy, Isaac and Jenny look like as they're regularly featured in my "Your Daily Gem" posts.  These kids are awesome and they like to keep every day interesting and different.  If you haven't read my posts on them or don't remember, you should probably click here or here or here.

You'll also meet Leon.  I had a [horribly drawn] giraffe on the white board and I was asking my students to come up with adjectives to describe my giraffe.  Olivia has said, "long neck", Tara added, "short tail" and Leon said, "Teacher, your giraffe has a big booty".  These kids make my day.  for real.
 
I apologize for my annoying teacher voice and shaky camera skills in advance.  

Your Daily Gem.

"Teacher, your face is very pretty... but your hair is very messy."

This is coming from the same kid that told me I must not have children.  He might be on to something.

Your Daily Gem.

So Landis and I co-teach a few classes together. One of my favorite classes includes three students named Jenny, Isaac and Andy. They're only 6 or 7 years old but they are bright kids. As I was walking by their classroom today, (I'm their 1st teacher and Landis is their 2nd) Landis popped out and told me about their most recent conversation. It went like this...

Jenny: Landis teacher, you are a boy.

Landis: I am not a boy! Isaac, do you think I'm a boy?

Isaac: No teacher.

Landis: Andy, do you think I'm a boy?

Andy: No teacher, you're not a boy. You have titties.

Jenny: You have big titties!

Apparently Jenny then began to draw an anatomically correct picture of Landis. Sans shirt. Those kids love to keep things interesting.