James on the Saddle, Wendy and the Candlesticks #sol15 Day 17


     I had a moment last week where I laughed so hard I was crying.  It came at a rather inopportune time, as I was dictating sentences for the students to write down during a Fundations (word study)review.  The sentences are written in the teacher's edition and you are supposed to read them and the students write them- a fairly straightforward endeavor.  Except the first sentence I read involved James getting riding instruction on a saddle and the kids were befuddled.  
     "What type of instruction- writing?" 
     "Why is he on a saddle?" 
     "What is a saddle?"
    By the time I was done with the James saddle sentence, it was time to read the one about Wendy.  The sentence I was to dictate said: "At the explosion, Wendy dropped the beautiful candlesticks." I could not even read it for laughing so hard.  I suppose it is not very funny that Wendy was at an explosion, but I kept thinking she had bigger worries than dropping her beautiful candlesticks.  They waited for me to stop laughing but they were laughing too as I kept attempting to dictate the sentence, only to collapse in giggles again.  After multiple tries, I read the sentence.
    What's funny now, is that the kids keep bringing up Wendy and her candlesticks.  I was reading a story to them that made mention of an explosion, and one of my clever kids said, "I hope Wendy held onto her candlesticks."  They find ways to weave Wendy into the conversation, and even work back to James and his saddle.  It is funny and brings some comic relief to the serious business we are mostly engaged in during the day.  
   I was thinking about challenging the class to write Wendy's story, explaining how she came to be holding beautiful candlesticks near an explosion.  I think it would be interesting to see all the different stories that could develop from that one ridiculous dictated sentence.  It feels so good to laugh in the classroom and it so much fun when we are all in on the same joke together, building our community with camaraderie.  

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 4:59 AM

    Oh please do share some snippets of your kids Wendy and her candlesticks stories. Writing about that is a great idea! I enjoyed your little slice here. Thanks for reminding us about the magical powers of laughter in the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 4:59 AM

    Oh please do share some snippets of your kids Wendy and her candlesticks stories. Writing about that is a great idea! I enjoyed your little slice here. Thanks for reminding us about the magical powers of laughter in the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 5:34 AM

    What a fun slice! That is a memory that the kids will keep for years to come.

    ReplyDelete
  4. DogtraxMarch 17, 2015 at 6:05 AM

    Love that shared memory ... it might be one of those phrases (Wendy and the Candlesticks) that makes it way into a yearbook some day ...
    ;)
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 7:56 AM

    You have to share laughs to really have a community! What a great slice!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 7:56 AM

    You have to share laughs to really have a community! What a great slice!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Clare LandriganMarch 17, 2015 at 9:22 AM

    I nearly spit my coffee out…. great craft in your writing. Love what you wrote and how you wrote it. These small moments make learning fun and real!
    Clare

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMarch 17, 2015 at 2:03 PM

    By laughing so heartily yourself, you gave your students permission to join in laughter with you. It must have been such a relief for you to let that out and for them to see you so engaged and happy! They are so clever, too, aren't they? In my family we are constantly recycling old, funny moments, a joke we all share and sometimes revising the details to fit the occasion. For some reason, those are our best moments! Good for you for breaking out of the script to share some imaginative "close reading."
    https://barbarasut.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/a-one-of-a-kind-dinner-party

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownMarch 17, 2015 at 4:41 PM

    This post has me smiling... love the thought of everyone laughing like that. I try to bring humor into my classes whenever I can - learning should be fun! I'm all for the idea of having them write Wendy's story... I've had my high school kids write things like that, and the results are usually hysterically funny!

    ReplyDelete
  10. TaraMarch 17, 2015 at 5:50 PM

    I love moments like this - you will always remember this one!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kris ShrontzMarch 17, 2015 at 6:36 PM

    Laughter is the best medicine! It just seems to take us back to the reality that we are dealing with kids and they love to have a good time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mindi RenchMarch 17, 2015 at 9:07 PM

    There's just nothing like side-splitting, laughing-till-your-belly-hurts laughter. I need some of that right about now!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#SOL16 Lesson From Piper

Image
Have you seen the Disney Pixar Short film Piper ?  If not, go watch...I'll wait. :) I watched this movie today with a few of my students who stay after school for "Club Success" (formerly called "tutoring" but this feels way more positive for the kids who are asked to stay). After we watched Piper , we wrote about the movie and then shared our writing. Each of the three students who wrote touched upon the idea that Piper had to learn how to get the food for herself. Some students mentioned the pride she felt after she learned how to survive the big waves and find food.  We talked about the mistakes she made and how they helped her to learn.  I think this video is a MUST WATCH for a few reasons.  1- It really makes you think about the process of learning and how uncomfortable it can feel when you move to trying something new for the first time.  2-Piper learned by her failed attempts and eventually by finding a mentor and trying his strategy. 3-When
Read more

A Working Mom's "I am" Poem #sol15 Day 16

Image
Disclaimer: I have nothing but respect for moms who "stay at home." It is the hardest job.  In my brief stints being a stay at home mom while on maternity leave and on summer vacations, I know that the days are exhausting and challenging.  This poem attempts to capture how I feel about life at the moment, being a third grade teacher and a mom to 2 kids under the age of 5. I am a Working Mom I am exhausted and never done.  I wonder how to find the elusive "work-life" balance  I hear my alarm go off at 3am and trudge downstairs to do the work I couldn't do when the kids were awake I see my work bag,bulging, begging me to finally pay it attention. I want 5 minutes to myself. I am exhausted and never done. I pretend I can do it all I feel the need to eat lots of chocolate I touch my children's soft little cheeks and hug them. I worry I am missing important moments with them. I cry when I feel like I am drowning from it all. I am exhausted and n
Read more

#SOL19 You Can Go Your Own Way

Image
If you were looking at an Identity Web for me right now (Sara K. Ahmed's Being the Change has been on my mind with our recent #twtblog series and a book study/ workshop I facilitated with the Long Island Writing Project), you would see the added role of "Daisy Co-Leader" as another hat (or Girl Scout tunic?) I am wearing. My daughter, Megan, is a kindergarten student and I have signed on to be her Girl Scout troop co-leader. My fabulous friend and colleague (and down the street neighbor!) is the leader of the troop and she is everything you've ever dreamed of in a Daisy troop leader- enthusiastic, creative, organized, kind, thoughtful, and ambitious. Our troop has done A LOT in our short six months together.  Last night was another Daisy event. We met up with other Girl Scouts from our town and the town right next to us for a "Paint Night." Each girl got a canvas and paints and was instructed, step by step, on how to make a snowman in a winter sc
Read more