Funny Words of Wisdom
from The Diary of a First Grade Teacher
These funny words of wisdom were spoken by my first graders. If they get things a little confused, that's all right because ...
They exist in a world filled with wonder and delight.
Tug-of-War
Say What???
On Field Day my class had just lost one game of Tug of War, but we were preparing to play a second round.
“We can do this!” I cheered them on. “Don’t give up … Believe it, and we can do it!”
Loegan shouted,too, “That’s right. Anyway, if we don’t win this one, we can win something else!”
Like everyone else, Weesie jumped up and down and squealed to the top of her lungs. “Yeah, just like my momma ALWAYS says," she screamed, "Don’t put your eggs in ANYBODY’S basket!”
Suddenly, everybody stopped jumping, cheering and clapping. They looked at Weesie ... and fussed, "Say WHAT?!"
I couldn’t believe my eyes …
Someone had cut out a clump of Ema’s hair.
“What happened to your hair?” Martin asked before I could.
Ema ignored him.
“Right thar,” he said, pointing to the top of her forehead.
“Man,” he continued, “somebody RUINED you!”
I shook my head at him.
"Okay,” he said, politely. “They TRIED to ruin you.”
“My friend cut it,” Ema said, stiffly. “My imaginary friend.”
“Huh? But why?” He hadn't even heard her. He was too busy interrogating her. “Why did she cut it away up thar? Was gum in it or somethin'?”
Ema had had enough. She spun around - with attitude - and snapped, “No! Gum don’t post get in your hair up here.”
She grabbed the hair at the back of her neck and spelled it out for him. “Gum’s post to get in your hair right here! DUH!”
A Math Quiz
I needed to know who had mastered the skill of counting and writing by 2’s to 100.
Joe Joe took his pencil and paper and promptly proceeded to the Math Center in the rear of the classroom. He sat where I had the 2’s to 100 posted on a small card.
“This is a math quiz,” I told him, again. “Go back to your desk and write the 2’s.”
He was bewildered. “But I have to look at this card.”
“Joe Joe,” I said quietly, “I want to know if you can write the 2’s at your seat.”
He clenched his teeth and replied, “OKAY! But I’m telling you right now - ain’t NO WAY I can see this little card from away over yonder!”
Read to Me
Whenever time permits I’ll read a book that someone has brought from home. Today, Joe Joe asked me to read Casper the Ghost.
First, I glanced through the book to explain any vocabulary that the students may not understand.
And it's a given that new vocabulary will always provide me with funny words of wisdom.
Ben asked, “What IS a ghost?”
Weesie said, “I can tell you. It’s when something happens. And you don’t know who done it.”
Martin had a different definition. He hunched over the table, shifted his eyes left, then right, and quietly confided, “It’s when you thank somethin’s thar ... But it ain’t!”
Return from Funny Words of Wisdom to Short Funny Quotes.
Return from Funny Words of Wisdom to Funny-First-Grade-People Home.
|