Slapstick Humor

Despite the blustery cold, there were a bunch of kids hanging around the soccer field when I left school this afternoon. Just as I rounded the corner to start down the sidewalk toward them, I saw a ball fly through the air and bop one kid on the head. I laughed as he shook it off like a cartoon character, clearly now the worse for the unfortunate kick. 

As I continued on, I saw that several of my current students were in the group. They waved and trotted down, excited to see me outside and after hours. We exchanged greetings and a bit of small talk. "Did I see you laugh when that kid got hit in the head?" one girl asked, wide-eyed.

"Well, yeah," I shrugged unapologetically. "He was obviously fine, and? It was funny!"

"You're so cool for a teacher," she said.

"Just human," I laughed. "Have a good weekend!"

Being and Raininess

I always forget how much I love the poetry unit every year. Kids have such a fresh and quirky take on the world, and poetry is just concentrated enough to showcase their creativity and fresh perspective. Even a form as brief as haiku can be stunning or hilarious or both. 

The rain yesterday inspired many of the young poets in my class, among them this writer:

It rains heavily.
The children are not playing.
I don't like the rain.

I laughed out loud when I read it. "That's so existentialist of you," I told her, "to recognize the absence of the children!" I knew she was one of the few 12-year-olds around who would understand my point.

She brightened at the comment. "I do like considering existence," she confirmed, "but I was kind of thinking of The Cat and the Hat when I wrote that!"

Keeping it Moving

Today was an Anchor Day at school when the schedule has us seeing all of our classes for a quick 42 minutes. Today was also the day when students received their March writing challenge prizes, AND the day when I introduced the April poetry challenge AND taught a lesson on syllables and Haiku.

To say it was busy? 

That would be an immense understatement. There was applause and candy and wheel spinning. There was a little commercial I made for the poetry challenge that had students calling out its virtues. There was clapping out syllables of one's own name, and then the actual composition of the poetry, all compressed into a little more than half an hour.

But it was fun! 

There happened to be a substitute for the co-teacher in one of my sections, and as the bell rang and she filed out with the students she stopped me. "That was the most interactive class I have ever been in!" she gushed.

I thanked her kindly and said, "Well, you came on a good day!"

Rising Costs

Of course, I know there's been inflation over the last three years or so; it's obviously been a significant economic and political story. Even so, I am fortunate enough that the news has only had a tangential impact on me: Although we have a loose budget, I can easily afford to buy our essentials without carefully tracking the cost.

Recently, however, as I have shopped for the monthly prizes for our annual writing challenge, inflation has become glaringly apparent. For example, candy that used to cost 99 cents not so many years ago is now 1.39 on a good day. And other items have risen by more than that 40 percent, so our expenses have nearly doubled. In fact, the grand prize t-shirts' price has literally doubled in the last 5 years. 

Oh, in the larger scheme of things, the money for these purchases, whether subsidized by a PTA grant or a GoFundMe campaign, or not, is little enough, especially for someone who can buy whatever she wants at the grocery store. But I know that not everyone is as advantaged as I am, and I'm sorry I haven't been more empathetic.

In Training

"Are your shoes untied?" a student asked this morning.

"No," I said.

"April fools!" he shouted.

"That's not how it works," I shook my head.

"I tried," he answered with a shrug. 

A little while later the same student approached me again. "Is your hair made of metal?" he asked.

"No," I replied.

"April fools!" he tried again.

"That's still not how it works," I told him. "What's that on your shoulder?" I pointed.

He looked down.

"No, over there by your neck," I said. "I don't think you can see it, but it's like a big... thing!" 

I threw up my hands and he did, too, brushing off his shoulder.

"April fools!" I cried.

"Oh," he nodded. "That's how it works."

Everyone's a Winner

We spent a sunny early afternoon in the company of a couple of toddlers on their first-ever egg hunt. The day was warm as the little girls in their Easter finery scampered about the courtyard looking for the colorful plastic eggs their bunnies had hidden and depositing their treasures in little baskets they carried over one arm. 

Oh, they relished the hunt almost as much as the tiny handful of cheerios they discovered within each egg. They were grateful for the challenge and happy for the rewards.

Me, too! Thanks to the folks at Two Writing Teachers for sponsoring another March writing challenge. It's been fun and inspiring, as always.

The Ice Boom

Every spring my father-in-law would send me a newspaper clipping with a quick, handwritten note: The ice boom is out!

He was referring to the apparatus which is installed each autumn where Lake Erie meets the Niagara River. Its purpose is to limit the amount of lake ice flowing into the river which can damage not only shoreline property, but also the hydroelectric works that power Western New York. The ice boom is a harbinger of winter, and its removal is a sign of spring.

My father-in-law passed away last fall before they installed the ice boom, but I'm pretty sure he was around when I happened to flip open the newspaper the other morning on our visit to Buffalo.