Things Kids Said on a Wednesday

The kids were wild today. Just crazy. And it wasn't just in my room either. I don't know if there's a full moon, the pressure is changing, or if Memorial Day weekend is catching up with them, but they were nuts. Today was the type of day were I drove home with the radio so quiet I could barely hear it.

I probably should have recorded the entire day, because they were goofy all day long. Here are some snippets into my crazy day:


- "I'm Green Lantern! I can do this if I want!" (super wiggly little guy trying to convince me it was okay to lay on friends lap during calendar time) "You're Green Lantern? Woah! Did you know Green Lantern always listens to his teacher? You need to sit up." It worked :)


- One of my calm, easy going kids was super crabby today. She tried to take over the 'light helper' job and when I told her it was another kid's turn she said (in her sassiest voice) "I. Don't. Care."


- "I'm gonna chop your fingers off!" -I have no context for this, the kid she was talking to laughed, and there were no tears.


- One of my kids brought in a book for me to read- they do this often- but this book had a bunch of Spanish in it. I don't speak Spanish and I definitely don't read Spanish. Two of my kids who speak Spanish were correcting me and giggling the whole time. It was awesome.


- One of my girls was singing "Teach me how to dougie" and I joined in with "teach, me teach me how to dougie" She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Ms. McElwee, really? How do you know that song?"


-One kid asked to go to the bathroom but instead went to go visit the dean. She told him that she had bacon for lunch and didn't bring him any.


- One kid spent our entire choice time (30 min) following me around telling me about minecraft. I now know more about the part where you can go into a tornado to get to Oz than I ever thought I would :)


-I brought a bag filled with ingredients for smores- we're learning about camping. I had them guess what snack was in the bag. Best guesses: Beef! Takis! A campfire!



Guess what- I'm Irish dancing in my school's talent show on Friday. I should probably figure out exactly what I'm going to do :)

Weekend Goodness - Memorial Day Edition

This is painted on a wall in the third ward in Milwaukee.
I'm pretty sure it's my life's motto. 

Seafood on the grill- mmmmmm! 

Maggie, Nella, Dan and I checked out a new (to us) dog park. The dog park itself was not that awesome, but the park it was in had a beer garden! After Maggie and Nella were tired out, we met up with some friends for snacks and drinks in the park. 

Rollerblading around downtown. I was slightly disappointed because we had just missed the launch of about 500 kites for a kite festival, but it was gorgeous day and there were still a few kites out and about for me watch :) 

This happened on the way to my parents' house.
My absolute favorite time of day. 

All my siblings were home!
So we had a bonfire- s'mores included, of course :) 

Our family friends have an annual memorial day party.
We spent the day watching a parade, eating snacks, and chatting with friends.
I also met a three-year-old girl named Nora and she followed me around all day- it was pretty cute. 

 Happy Memorial Day!

Things Kids Said on a Wednesday (a day late)

- A kid started making pinching motions with her hands and I asked her what she was doing. In her best Mr. Crabs impression she said, "Pay up! Mr. Crabs loooves money!"


- One of my kids walked into the classroom a little late, disrupting calendar time. We said hi to her and I asked her how she was. She said, "Well, my stomach hurts! I need some prune juice or something!"


- We were doing a picture walk of a book about trees before reading it. We got to a page that had acorns on it and I asked if anyone knew what they were called. "An adam's apple!!" was by far the bet answer.


- Earlier this week we watched a video clip about trees and why they like kisses more than hugs. I asked them if they remembered why and one little girl said, " It's cuz they breath in oxygen and burp out air." So close.


- At the end of the day, I was waiting with a couple kids for their parents to pick them up. One little guy asked if he could come home with me. I wondered what he would do at my house. "Play with toys." I don't really have any toys at my house. "Oh. Then I would clean up." Perfect. Would you walk my dogs too? "Only if they don't bite."


- I got two types of lovely dandelion bouquets- one white fluffy one and one bright yellow one. The fluffy one didn't last too long :)

Weekend Goodness- Birthday Edition

Everything is (finally) turing green! Leaves exploded on the trees overnight. 

My friend, Steph, invited me to a Zumba-thon that her friend from college was helping teach.
It was hilarious and so much fun! I learned that after being trained to keep my arms glued to my sides (from Irish dancing since I was little), it is really tricky for me to get them to do what I want. 

Caramel apples are one of my absolute favorite foods. After the zumba-thon, we needed nourishment :) Someone mentioned this caramel apple place called Amy's, so we had to go check it out. These were delish! 

I got one with caramel, chocolate, and cayenne pepper. I got one for Dan with pecans. 

 Dan, Sarah, Steph, and Alli helped me celebrate my birthday on Saturday night. We had drinks, snacks, and played Cards Against Humanity- it was hilarious.

Birthday drinks with friends: Peach Sangria
(2 bottle moscato, 1/2 cup peach schnapps, 1/2 cup brandy, a can or 2 of lemony soda- I think I used sprite, chopped up fruit- I used peaches, strawbs, mango, and raspberries. I let it rest in my fridge for about 10 hours.)

Birthday snacks with friends: puppy chow (Dan's specialty to make, my specialty to eat), salsa, cheese, sausage, and homemade guacamole (3 avocados, 1 jalepeno, a little tomato, a little onion, a little cilantro, a little salt and pepper)

I gave Maggie and Nella new bones this weekend. Maggie took hers into her crate and just rested her paw on the bone like this for a while before she started chewing on it. What a goofy dog! 

My sister, Meagan (the one with the cap), got her Master's in social work today!  I'm such a proud sister- I know she is going affect so many people's lives in such a positive way.
Meagan asked me if I would hood her for her hooding ceremony :) 

Birthday/ graduation lunch on the terrace in Madison.
It was such a beautiful day! 

Thai Tea
Mmmmmmm

This is the best cake ever.
My dad makes it every year for my birthday. It's angel food cake with cool whip/pudding frosting. 

I've been on the go all weekend and now I need a little relaxation time. Have a good week!

Things Kids Said on a Wednesday

- In the middle of calendar time: "Ms. McElwee. . .are my legs ashy?"


-"I don't know, but she knows everything." - Kids whispering about how I know how to write the letter 'F' already


- A kid rubbed my tummy, pulled up my sweater, and quickly shoved her whole head under it. She shouted "Help! I'm in a tunnel!"


- We had a pretty good thunderstorm a couple days ago that the 4Kers are still talking about. Today a little girl raised her hand and said, "Remember when there were huge chunks of hay falling from the sky?" I was really confused and told her I had no idea what she was talking about. She said, "No, you remember- huge chunks of hay were falling from the sky and I slept in my mom and dad's bed 'cause it was kind of scary." Ooooooh hail. You mean hail.


- The whole class burst into Katy Perry's Dark Horse: "So you wanna play with magic/ Boy you should know what you're falling for/baby do you dare to do this?/cause I'm comin at you like a dark horse" And then I had one little girl bust this part out: "She's a beast/ I call her karma/ She'll eat your heart out/ Like Jeffery Dahmer"
Then I had like three kids at once say, "Who's Jeffery Dahmer?" I didn't even have to answer. Another girl did for me, " My dad told me who he is. He's a creepy bad guy who lived a long time ago that killed some people."


- A girl started singing, "These hoes ain't loyal" and I couldn't help but laugh. My friend randomly texted me that very same thing last night! Haha

The Ultimate Smoothie

I finally blended together all of the weird and interesting fruits I've been trying. It was the ultimate rainbow smoothie and it was so good! 

In rainbow order: strawberries, papaya, mango, horned melon, spinach, blackberries, passion fruit, feijoa

Cheers! 

Weekend Goodness

Brunch at Cafe Perrin
Mmmmm

 Dan and I got rollerblades this weekend! I felt kind of goofy rollerblading around, but it was really fun! As you can see, I tried doing some fancy tricks :) 

This weekend was gorgeous! 

 My brother-in-law's friend took us sailing on Lake Michigan. It was so fun! 

A view of the Milwaukee skyline from out on the lake. 

Sunlight on fruit at the grocery store. 

Another interesting fruit find.
It's a feijoa! 

I'm obsessed. They are SO good. They have a sweet taste with a slightly bitter undertone. I can't really describe the flavor in any other way. They are delicious and I had to go back to the grocery to stock up. Mmmmm!

 Wee Seamus, sitting on a chair at my parents'. Nella, enjoying the ride to my parents'. Maggie, taking a nice, long walk with me :) 

A Mother's Day rainbow! 

Papaya.
I need to make a passion fruit, papaya, feijoa, mango smoothie- how good would that be?!

We are taking my mom to see Whad'ya Know (the NPR show that Michael Feldman does)- it's her Mother's Day gift from us. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Zoo Field Trip

Planning a field trip is harder than it sounds. Between sending out permission slips, requesting funds, making sure the place is available, and planning for a bus, there is a lot of timing, coordination, and stress involved. 

And those are just the things I can control. 

I got two permission slips back yesterday- they were due back a week and a half ago. The weather this morning was not field trip friendly- it was down pouring like crazy. A grandma showed up at school to go on the trip with us and asked me where her grandson was- I don't know, did you bring him? (He was at the daycare next door- don't worry!)

All I wanted was for the bus to show up, take us to the zoo, and for the families have a decent time. 

It turned out to be perfect! It rained on the way there, but as soon as we got off the bus the rain stopped and the sun came out. 

Meerkats out to play

I can't remember what type of bird this is, but it was so active while we were near it.   It was pretty cool and the kids were amazed at how big it's wings were. 

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like the emu has tiny little legs. 

Kangaroo in action 

One of my girls really, really wanted to see zebras. Unfortunately, there are no zebras at this zoo. The rhino was a close second for her, but could never fill the place of a zebra. 

The coolest part of the day was watching this lion get fed. 

The kids (and adults) were very tired on the way back to school. I was so happy with how the trip turned out! And I won't have to plan another one until next year :) 

My (school) Day in Pictures

Today was a good day. The kids were (mostly) mellow, the weather was nice, and I didn't have any kids during an extra long fire drill. 

Patterns during math time

Blocks at choice time

Puzzles during choice time

The Letter People. (Well, most of them)

Making letters with sandy-playdough stuff

Once a month I have them write their name and draw a picture of themselves.
 It's fun to see how their abilities change over the year. 

Silly Secrets :) 

Read-with-a-partner time. 

More reading

These two are always together. 

Tomorrow we're going on a field trip to the zoo!