From The Mouths Of Babes...

There are a ton of things that are great about teaching, but one of the best are listening to the little gems that come from these little kids' though process. Also, I know a teacher shouldn't have favorites, but I think one little guy has wedged himself into my heart. He's totally adorable and a pretty smart cookie to boot.

Friday was the wrap up of our unit in Social Studies. We've been talking and learning about communities. Earlier in the week the class had discussed the difference between urban, suburb, and rural areas. We made a graphic organizer (a chart for those of you old school readers) and drew an illustration about where we'd chose to live if we could. I have some talented students!

Well, anyway, Friday was the assessment (we don't call them tests anymore). I had my kids divide into groups and work together to make a brochure (second graders do not have a concept of the word brochure) about the community that was assigned to them. I learned a few things while assessing what they had learned:

• students need a lot more practice working in groups
• anything involving drawing is going to go over well
• don't laugh at the students when they come to the front of the room to share their work

That laughing part sounds cruel but wait till you hear my side of the story. The little boy that has become one of my favorites was up at the front of the room. And, as is his normal, he was dominating the conversation. His poor group members kept looking at him like can we talk please. One of the things they had to include in their brochure was what I could do for fun in their community. Since he hadn't covered that, I asked the group to explain what I could do for fun in an urban area. We'd talked extensively about museums, parks, zoos, etc. that are found in urban areas. So imagine my shock and yes...amusement when this little boy said (in a very put out voice) "We did draw a motel Miss Stewart."

I'm still not sure what he was referring to, but I can only imagine! Funny things are said on a daily basis so I don't want to bore you with them so I'll keep the mouths of babes posts to only the funniest.