i heart teaching: reason #5

Before continuing on with our lessons of two digit divisors today, my class started preparation for the NJ ASK [the standardized test coming up in May]. Among the topics to be taught _ reading a thermometer.

It was one question out of 15 _ that's it. just one measly temperature multiple choice question, but seriously i have been laughing about it all afternoon.

Thermometers can be tricky, especially for 9 and 10 year olds. You don't know which way to go, up or down and then there are negative numbers?!??! Holy cow. So in my simplification of this I stated, "With thermometers, you have to read bottoms up."

Well, this apparently was a doozy! After a brief pause, of 'did she REALLY say that?' I can only guess what was going through those little minds... . . the entire class, exchanging glances of googly eyes, started HYSTERICALLY laughing. One boy, who is typically on his BEST behavior at every moment in the day screamed out, " EEEEEwwwh!!! That's disgusting@!?!?!"

Well, forget it. I was belly laughing for the next five minutes. Uncontrollably. I'm not sure what exactly they thought I truly meant. Probably something about THOSE kind of thermometers {we all know which ones those are... scan back through your horrific childhood memories, there's gotta be one of those in there}

After finishing off the afternoon, which we really couldn't recover from [because of continued silliness] I got home, started busying myself about and then ..... again, just the thought of his little face scrunched up, "EEEwwwH!". i began laughing again. Surely, my neighbors heard me and thought 'what a lunatic'.

Sometimes these kids ... these kids.. can't help but love 'em