Some smart ass actually posted this on my community’s gate this morning, lol! … I think it’s time for the kiddos to go back to school. Their boredom is becoming extremely evident.
Lost Mosquito
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Tag Archives: kids
March 13th: Head like an alien’s
Today, I pulled a first grader (about 7 years old) out of class to do some testing. As I walked with him from his classroom to my office he asked:
Boy: “Ms. Cristina, to do the test do I have to read?”
Me: “Yup. But I know you’ll think its easy. Don’t worry.”
Boy: “Oh, I’m not worried. I like reading because it helps you learn and learning makes your brain grow.”
Me: (chuckling) “Ah! That’s true.”
Boy: “Did you know that I’ve been smart since I was a baby? When I was born I already had a big brain and thats why my head looked like an alien’s.”
Me: (more than chuckling now) “Oh, thats just silly. You’re funny!”
Boy: “Its funny but its true. I did have an alien head.” (All of a sudden, he got really serious.)
Heehee!…. I can’t make this s%$# up. These kids are too funny and they have no idea how cute they are!
February 21st: I love you more…
I had a session with one of my favorite little 8 y.o. munchkins this week. He continues to struggle with controlling his temper in the classroom so we were reviewing some of the techniques I had taught him on how to manage his anger. After some brainstorming, his very animated little face only winced and glanced up to the ceiling as he claimed that he could only remember “deep breathing.”
I was starting to breath deeply myself as I became more and more frustrated thinking about his continued crying spells and temper tantrums despite our weekly sessions. I decided to change the topic of discussion completely and asked him to share about his cub scouts pack as this is something he really seems to enjoy (I was digging for clues on things I could use to incentivize him.)
Well, this little munchkin had PLENTY to share about cub scouts. Namely that his pack leader had taught him a lot of really cool words in sign language and he preceded to show me: This is “more”, “water”, “thirsty”, “mom”, “sweet”, and “I love you.” As I praised him for how amazing he was for having learned so many words, he interrupted me…. “Ms. Cristina, (I love you in sign language).”
Well, at this I was completely floored and reciprocated the sign and told him I loved him too (with a huge cheesy grin on my face, I might add)…. Then he interrupted me again… “No but, Ms. Cristina (I love you more in sign language)”
Well, a little piece of me just about died. I completely forgot about his coughing and runny nose (he was just getting over a cold as children so frequently are) and I extended my arms for a hug only to have him give me the most heart-felt squeeze ever. How can you beat that?! (sigh) Made my school-year.
Bodacious Bulletin Boards!
This is only my second year working at a school and I must say that there are aspects of it that make it an ideal career move for me. I love the simplicity and affection of the children, I love the schedule, I love to feel that I’m making an impact in people’s lives and I LOVE the creativity it allows.
When the principal put me in charge of the bulletin board by the front office last year, I semi-panicked. I’d never created a bulletin board before and had no idea where to begin. I think the most difficult thing for me to master was proportion. Once I grasped the space I was working with and the size images I needed to create for it, I have gone nuts with all sorts of fun sayings and themes.
Here are some fun ones I made last year for Honor Roll each quarter. I used the seasons for inspiration.
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- Winter- Dec
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- Sweet Heart Candy- Feb
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- Fall- Nov
This year, I’ve decided to change the bulletin more frequently, not just after report cards are issued. Here’s one I made welcoming kids back to school at the beginning of the year:
One for September which is “National Attendance Awareness Month”:
And my latest creation for October which is when we celebrate “Red Ribbon Week”:
Fun, huh? What kinds of fun projects do you do at your work? If you’re a teacher or work at a school in any capacity, please share your bulletin board pictures!! I love ‘em!
January 9th: Kids are so silly
Today I’m thankful for working at a school because I LOVE being surrounded by children all day. Having worked as a psychotherapist for adults for most of my professional career, the past two years have been a welcome change for several reasons.
Kids aren’t jaded and they aren’t angry at the world. They usually have no idea how hilarious they are when they are being totally serious and they are incredibly receptive and appreciative of your time and efforts. I get all kinds of random hugs and greetings from children throughout the day. They are always sincerely happy to see me and they get excited when they get to spend time with me… Pretty nice ego boost if you ask me!
Today, I ran into one of my little 3rd grade trouble-makers. She has actually been behaving better this year so I’ve seen less of her lately (which is a good thing). When I asked how she was doing, she shook her head so I asked her what was wrong… Her response was dramatic, as always, and she used one hand to cover her mouth in order to keep our conversation private and the other hand to point with her thumb. “This one over here won’t let me get my colored pencils back and when I tell my mom, I’m going to get in so much trouble.” She kind of sneered and rolled her eyes as she said this.
When I turned to see who she was pointing to, I realized that when she said “this one over here” she was, in fact, referring to her teacher. I looked over to my co-worker, only to get a look from her that said “Dear Lord, help me. This kid is driving me nuts!” (but she said it aaaaaaalllll with her eyes, you know what I mean?) ….
Seriously though, how could I not laugh when this stuff happens? She obviously got in trouble and had her pencils confiscated but… that little face, the melodrama, the seriousness with which she told me, and the way she was so confident that I would be the ideal person to tattle on her teacher to…. cracks me up! LOL
Crocodile Rockin’: Fun “Crocodile Stitch” Accented Scarf
Its cold weather season! Time to whip out the home-made scarves and hats or start going through your yarn stash to make one!
Any of you modern crocheters out there who have surfed crochet websites or searched for patterns on Etsy lately have become aware of the new “Crocodile Stich” trend. When I first saw the stitch online I thought it looked waaay too complicated for someone like me who is only intermediately skilled. I thought I’d give it a try, though, and bought a pattern from BonitaPatterns on http://www.etsy.com. (BonitaPatters has its own web site, http://www.bonitapatters.com, that you can buy directly from) To my surprise, I picked it up rather quickly. I’m a visual learner and appreciate clarity and simplicity. Her photos and instructions made it pretty easy to understand.
Now that I know how to do the Crocodile Stitch (named this because of the scale-like effect the yarn takes) I’ve been trying to come up with new ways to incorporate it into different projects. I like to add it as an accent to larger pieces or limit it to smaller projects because it does consume a lot of yarn and, although it is not difficult, it is a little more time consuming than basic stitches. (I’m a bit impatient like to move on to new projects rather quickly. I admit to getting bored if I don’t get the gratification of admiring my finished product after long.)
Here is a crocheted scarf I made for myself with Crocodile Stitch fringe on each end. This was made with Lion Brand, Vanna’s Choice in Linen. It took about 2 skeins of yarn and one leisurely week of working on it off and on.
Materials:
2 skeins of 4 ply yarn
Size G crochet Hook
Instructions:
1. Chain 24
2. Chain three in 4th chain from hook and V-stitch in every 3rd chain thereafter until you reach the end.
3. On this row of V-stitches (you should have 8 in total), create your first 4 “scales” of crocodile stitch.
4. Chain up 3
5. Create 2nd row of V-stiches
6. Crochet 3 “scales” between the first 4 you created.
Follow steps 2-6 until you have created 7 rows of “scales” beginning and ending with 4 scales. (4,3,4,3,4,3,4)
Use this tutorial on-line for specifics on how to master this stitch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MMPLqDMUuA
7. Chain up 3
8. Double crochet in each chain across. You should have 24 double crochet when finished with this row.
9. Repeat #7 and #8 until you have reached your desired length for half of the scarf. I made 60 rows of double crochet.
10. Fasten off.
Repeat to create two “halves” of the scarf.
Finishing:
1. With right sides together, slip stitch halves together in the center of the scarf.
2. Weave in loose ends.
***Note: When I saw how quickly and easily the project came together, I made two more scarves as gifts. This time, they were intended for children so I used brighter, more vibrant colors. I simply switched yarn colors after the crocodile stitch was complete and moved on to the double crochet.
I then added a neat little accent around the circumference of these to tie the project all together. Once you have pieced both side of the scarf together, simply slip stitch around the body of the scarf with the accent yarn you used for the crocodile fringe…. Cute huh?!
Little Miss Sunshine State 