Super Powers

One morning, I was approached by one of the boys, who often has itches on his back. He asked if I would snip the tag off of his shirt because it was bothering him. I declined his request, and said that his mom may not want me to cut the tag. Bewildered, he looked at me and said, "Well, my mom super powers to do that".

Caught in the Act

It isn't uncommon for the kids to impolitely remind me of things I do or don't do according to themselves. Like, if the napkins aren't passed out in 5 seconds flat, someone is so kind to remind me that they don't have a napkin and the implication that it must be a malicious act against him or her, is made obvious.
The other day I had a similar kind of moment. I was reminded, however, not about something that I had forgotten per se. It was one of those mornings that the class was having a hard time listening, and certain kids needed firm reminders of behavior. After scolding one rascally kid, sweet Kameron looks up at me and asks if I am done being mad. He got me. Now, I wasn't mad really, just trying to enforce the use of kind words or obedience, which occasionally requires a not-so-friendly voice. I definitely made a point to make my happiness known the rest of the day.

Asking the Right Questions

I was able to have a delightful chat with one of the girls, Amanda, who I usually don't have the opportunity to have one-on-one time. During recess, she needed to stand by me for whatever reason (not because she was in trouble), so I took advantage of that, scooped her up and we had a nice long talk. Some of the highlights that are appropriate:

She is the only child in this class who admits to being small. Everyone else is insistent they are big, not Ashley. A:"I'm not really big, I'm just little."
Me: How do you know you're little?
A: Because I wear small undies. (Side note: she and her sister will never use the word panties, no matter how many times it is said around them, they are always quick to correct that blunder. "Silly, girls wear undies!") And my mom has undies, but my dad doesn't.
Me: (hiding my laughter) Oh.
A: And, you gotta change your undies to clean after they're dirty.
Me: How do you know when they're dirty?
A: You have them on and then they're dirty.
Me: Huh, good thinking.

Then the subject got switched to who is the boss... :)
Me: Does Amanda act bossy to you at home sometimes?
A: No.
Me: Well, that's good. Who is the boss, then?
A: My dad.
Me: How do you know he's the boss?
A: Because he gets the ice cream--balella (vanilla)
Me: Oh, is your mom the boss, too?
A: No, but she finishes the ice cream.

A conversation well worth my time. Ha