"I should have worn black today..."

So I started this blog not long ago, mainly as a way to keep up with family and friends from far away, but not really sure if I would have anything to say. Apparently folks, I do. People have always told me I should write a book about all the funny things my students say, so I'm thinking this will be a great place to start "publishing" them! (By the way, for those of you who don't know, I'm currently teaching 3rd grade in St. Louis County, MO.) And like all teachers, I have some funny stories to share occasionally. So here's one from today:

We just started a unit in science on "Animal Studies" which means we're building habitats for African Dwarf Frogs. (Let me just say, "Ewww!") So my teammates and I go to PetsMart to pick up the frogs last Monday. By Tuesday morning, five in Katie's room were dead. Kicked the bucket. Kaput. The rest of the week went better, and by Friday we fed the remaining 25 frogs and were ready to head off for the weekend.

This morning Katie beat me to work (as usual, I might add.) She met me at my door to "see how my frogs did." This can't be good. Nope, it's not. Three goners. The worst part was that they were floating belly up in the tanks, all swollen and bloated. (Again, let me say, "Double ewww!") Katie and I quickly get the frogs out of the tanks and into Styrofoam cups with tissues covering the tops before any of the kids can witness this horrific scene. I also added rubber bands around the tissues, just in case those disgusting frogs decided to come back to life. We'd already had the whole "circle of life" discussion in my class, and my kids were adamant that we WOULD hold funerals for any frogs that might not make it. (I hated to tell them that these African Dwarf Frogs didn't have a great rate of survival in Parkway schools, but why crush them so early?!?)

So I decided to meet my kids at the door with the news. Best just to be honest and get it over with quickly, like pulling off a band-aid. So with each student's arrival, I give my short speach. "Good morning, I'm so glad you're here today. After you sign in, make sure to check the frog tanks. Some of the frogs didn't make it over the weekend." It seemed to be going pretty well until some of the kids said, "Yeah, Mrs. Teal...this one sure looks dead!" Oh right, those were the LIVE frogs. Oops...so after I clarified that the dead frogs were actually already out of the tanks, the kids spent a few minutes fighting over which of their two frogs was still alive. (It really came down to whether a girl arrived first or a boy to "claim" the living frog...with names like Tinkerbell and Spike, it was definitely war of the genders!)

The morning went better than expected, with only one crier. After about 10 minutes of greeting kids and letting them know the terrible news, along came Samantha. First she gasped, then she shrieked, then she ran to her best friend and exclaimed, "I SHOULD HAVE WORN BLACK TODAY!" A little confused, I walked over and asked Samantha what she meant. "Well, we're having a funeral today, right?!?"

Oh right, forget the frogs. Let's worry about whether you're wearing an appropriate outfit for the occassion. I'm started to wonder if I've rubbed off on my class, in more ways than one...