Laugh lines

Teaching Pre K-8, May 2001 by Haws, Cynthia

Every Teacher Has Them

Put another notch in your chalk board holder and "chalk up" another year! It's hard to believe the end is near. If you're like me, it seems August was just a month or two ago. But, here we are, ready to pack up for the summer. Before you do, here are a few chuckles that helped get me through the year.

DOG GONE!

At the start of the school day, Amber brought me a crumpled-up note sent in by her mother. She started to tell me she didn't have her homework. I opened the note and began reading. It said, "I'm sure you have heard this one before, but the dog ate Amber's homework. Not only did he eat the papers, but also her lunchbox, folder and backpack. You will notice she has all new ones!" Elizabeth Wiebe

Plymouth, MI

AN ERASABLE MISTAKE

The office called our classroom and asked if we would send all of our erasers to the custodian so that he could clean them. Our erasers were stored in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet. I asked one of the children to get the erasers and take them to the custodian. The student spent a very long time doing what I thought would be a very simple task. As I observed the child digging in the file cabinet for the erasers, I asked him, "What's taking you so long?" The first-grader innocently replied," I can't get them off of the pencils!"

Alice Goocher

Schaumburg, IL

Before you turn in your keys and grade books, take a moment to stop and remember all the little classroom sitcoms that happened this year. Send your submission to me, Cynthia A. Haws, 6750 S. Kendall Blvd., Littleton, CO 80128. If we publish your entry, you'll receive $10 and a bag of "Goofy Grins" goodies from McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing! Enjoy your well-deserved vacation, and charge your batteries for September.

WRITER'S CRAMP

At the start of the third marking period, I explained to my language arts class that we would be doing more writing than we did during the first half of the year. One of my students raised his hand and groaned, "Oh no, if I do that much writing I'll Let `authoritis!' "

Melissa A. Preziosi

West Paterson, NJ

House of OF CARDS

While my daughter and I were shopping for bedspreads, my seven-yearold grandson said, in all sincerity, "Mom, if Grandma's bed is a Queen and yours is a King, is mine a Jack?"

Ann Ruput

Columbus, OH

Cynthia Haws is Principal of Normandy Elementary School, Littleton, CO, and a Teaching Editor of Teaching K-8.