I love Kids....

Conversation of the week.....

8 year old boy: "I'm almost John McCain's son."

I leaned in a little closer for this one....

He continued, " If only my last name ended with an "n" instead of an "l".


...........

Encouragement of the week ....from yet another 8 year old..

Third graders have a lot to offer.

He approached me and began talking, " When I found out that Mrs. B was leaving, I cried. All of the kids laughed at me...but I'm just really sensitive. And she was the best art teacher in the world."

With this comment, he went and sat down.

At the end of the class, I asked my students to tell me one thing that they had learned.

The same boy who had previously talked to me raised his hand.

" I learned that sometimes people leave. But it's ok, because it can be a new beginning. And new beginnings and teachers can be a good thing."

...God knew what I needed to hear and spoke to me through an 8 year old.

Citizens of Earth....

I propose a universal vote to extend the weekend!!! Too bad it's already Monday in China...

Tomorrow, I start student teaching in a new school. I have nerves like it's the first day all over again. In a way, I guess it is. I wonder if I'll feel the same way year after year, no matter how long I have been teaching?

Last Day at the Elementary School

Coming into my elementary placement, I was scared out of my mind. Who was afraid of the 1st grader? Obviously me. I felt unprepared and overwhelmed. I didn't admit to my teacher that I had never taught in elementary school until I had a successful lesson, two weeks into my experience. Oh my pride. I didn't add my elementary certification until junior year because I was certain that it was something that I did not want. God had other plans....His plans are always better than our own. I left this past Thursday with mixed feelings of sadness and joy. I cannot believe how much I loved my time there. I fell in love with my students. Children have a joy and innocence that is contagious. Many of them love freely and without question. If you believe in them, they blossom and accomplish much more than you could ever imagine.
I have been particularly burdened for one of my 6th grade students this school year. He has a very rough past, and you can see it simply though viewing the way he carries himself. The innocence of his youth has been ripped away from him by a cruel world. Just this week, I witnessed a miracle. He has been struggling with a project for countless days, and he just could not comprehend it. By the Grace of God, I was honored to see the light turn on in this boy's head. Whatever was blocking his comprehension was lifted! I cannot begin to tell you what joy it brought to my heart to see him succeed. In this same class, two of my other students who were struggling made the same break through. Words cannot express how proud I was. It brought tears to my eyes to see the accomplishment in their faces. My supervising teacher was gone the day that these boys accomplished so much. She came back and asked me how I accomplished a miracle. It was not me, but God....I did nothing out of the ordinary with them. God provided the exact direction I needed to help these students. It was so hard for me to leave them after seeing this progress. Yet, I know my teacher is wonderful and fully loves these children. However, I still want to be there for them. I want to see them succeed and witness their shoulders lift...their heads raise. Yet, I am thankful because as I reflect, I recognize that seeing these students succeed was His gift to me. Through this, God showed me that He is working through me. He was showing that my work made a difference and an impact.
So many more amazing things happened this week, and I am beyond blessed. My favorite class (I'll admit it...I am prejudiced) made me cards this week and brought them to me. This too almost made me cry. I'll have to post pictures of these cards; they are hilarious. I particularly love when children don't know how to spell, so they write one work when really they mean to write something that means the exact opposite. Just wait until I share....you'll love it.
I am blessed beyond measure for this I am grateful!

Cave Paintings

After school I help with bus duty. Some of the kindergartners line up next to the building to wait for their bus. I normally go and talk to them while they wait. Friday, one of the boys was simply being a five year old. He was practicing his balance by lifting one leg off of the ground and freezing....then he would put the leg down. Next he would lift the other leg and freeze. In combination with this, he would also contort his arms as well and freeze. I think you get the picture. Anyway, the following is his one sided conversation with me.

Student: "Miss Felix, you know what?"

Me: "What?"

Student: "If there was a tiger in front of me right now...he wouldn't be able to see me."

Me: "Yes?!?" (I was thinking his response would relate to his ability to "freeze")

Student: "Because I look just like a cave painting. The tiger would think my body was painted
on the wall"

Me: ".....(no response)"

I have no idea where a five year old would learn about cave paintings.....

My Beloved Apartment

I live in one of the oldest apartments on campus. I love it...and have stated that I like it because it is much more "real world". I was right.

The bathroom sink fell off the wall today.

Soon to come....

Hair Cutting, Cave Paintings, and children born in the form of a lion????

What do these have in common? Elementary school children....

JOB OPPORTUNITY!!!!

This event occurred a few weeks ago. I have to share it with you before I forget the exact details. One day after school one of my fourth grade students dropped by my classroom with his mother. He was so excited for me to meet her. I was equally delighted that he thought enough of me for this introduction. His mother and I began talking, and soon got into a discussion about my future. She asked me about where I wanted to work, where I wanted to live....etc. My student had very carefully been listening to our discussion and suddenly added his two cents.

Student: "Miss Felix, there's this really great smoothie place...next to Burger King."

Me: "Uh huh..."

Student: "And they are really good...(he continued to praise this fine establishment)

Me: "Yes...(holding back laughter, as he was so caring)

Student: "And I know they were hiring, I bet they would hire you"

Me: "Really"

Student: "Yes, you know what? I'll see if I can get you an application!"

Me: "Well, thank you."


I'm still waiting for my Culver's Application.....

A cat has nine lives and so does my student..

I have a very interesting collaboration of students. The one that I want to tell you about is on the extreme end of the spectrum. He moved to this town simply because this is where James Dean is from....need I say anymore.

Student: "What's your name again?"

Me: "Miss Felix"

Student pauses for a couple of minutes....

Student: "Miss Felix, you are beautiful."

I will admit I felt pretty good about myself for a couple of minutes...then his conversation continues with another student. This time not about my timeless beauty, but about his colored pencils. He was explaining to the other boy that some colored pencils blow up because they have bombs in them.

Me: "When did you see this happen?"

Student: "Oh, in my past life...."

Me: " What?"

Student: " Oh, you know reincarnation....I remember it"

Keep in mind this is a 4th grader (meaning 9-10 years old). He went on and on about reincarnation until I kindly interrupted and stated...

Me: "I want you to focus on your coloring in your present life"

Hair Removal

As I am procrastinating writing lesson plans, allow me to tell you another story from last week. Some of my third grade students had finished their project, so I allowed them to participate in fun day. Fun Day basically gives students a chance to let their imaginations run wild. Each student is allowed to use one whole piece of colored paper and as many scraps as they want to create whatever their heart desires. One boy was creating a very colorful mask. The mask was entirely purple except for one piece that was lime green. This piece fit directly over his nose and covered part of his forehead. I assumed that I was a part of his mask until I heard a.....RIPPING noise, followed by a rather loud OOWWW! I quickly turned around to discover that the lime green piece of paper had not been glued to the mask, but my student's forehead.

Me---"Why did you do that?"

Student---" I wanted to try it. I see people remove hair from their backs like this all the time on TV"

I kid you not. Those were his words. I could do nothing else but laugh and walk away. What does one even say to a response like that?

Friday's Quote of the Day

I have to say that I think that second grade is my favorite age group that I work with....let me tell you about one conversation I recently had.

Me---"Are any of your classmates missing today?"

Sidney-- "We aren't classmates, Miss Felix."

Me--" Really, what are you then?"

Sidney--"Miss Felix...we are a FAMILY"

----- LATER....

Sidney--" I know how art is made, Miss Felix, Art is made from the heart and the hand"

Rather insightful if I say so myself....

Not to be outdone another student pipes up....

Bryce " But Miss Felix, art is also made from the head"

This is also a student who got flustered the other day because he thought that I was boasting that left handed artists are better than right handed....who knows where that one came from...