Sunday, November 21, 2010

Tales from Room 104, or "Primary Mayhem, Part II"


Oh how being a Primary teacher changes your Sundays! Before I share these stories, here's a refresher on our little class, since we've been getting to know them better, and new additions have made themselves known. Our usual class consists of:

Brown Eyes - Continues to be a doll, even though when she sits near Kid B, she tends to get a little crazy.
QT Pie - I adore this girl...she's so animated! 
Miss K - Also fun, continues to be goofy and darling.
Queen Anne - Gets really excited when she sees Jacob or I outside of class, which is fun.
Tooey - Always has the most darling dresses. I was surprised to discover she's one of the youngest in our class...she speaks with the most articulation!
Lex Mex - We hadn't met her yet when I first introduced the class, but she's been a delight. She adores Jacob (we think in a non-romantic way), and we can't figure out what he did to deserve her adoration, but it's fun. (Today she offered to come over and do our dishes.)
Kid B - We continue to have a love-hate relationship with this adorable terror...he's almost always bouncing off the walls, but he's so fun/imaginative/animated/giving, we can't help but love him.
J Town - Lately, the only other boy in class. I have a suspicion he'd be better-behaved if he wasn't so chummy with Kid B. Jacob noted today that he's a different child entirely when not around the other kids.
D Dog - Somehow this kid strikes me as very British. I like it.
Ace - I'm learning how to understand his little dialect better...he's always well-behaved, which is a blessing.

Here are a few anecdotes from the last few weeks of Primary:

When Brown Eyes is having a hard day, everything is going wrong. The other day she came back from the bathroom, went to sit down, then came to me and said, "I need a new chair, because someone slobbered on mine." (I inspected it, and declared it slobber-free, but she refused to sit there and got a new chair for herself.)

I also really like how matter-of-fact Brown Eyes is about everything. Her parents sat in on Sharing Time the other week because one of her brothers was giving a talk. She turned to me and said "My dad is back there, holding my other brother Nathan." (leaning in to offer clarification) "He's a baby."

When I asked everyone what they were going to be for Halloween, I got a variety of answers, but Kid B's report that he was going to be a grasshopper made me smile the most. (His eyebrows were still green the Sunday after Halloween.)

We usually spend at least 10 minutes of our class time coloring, and Jacob has become the official "Keeper of the Crayons." It's his job to sit and hold the Tupperware container of crayons and monitor their comings and goings as kids choose colors. J Town came up to Jacob to return his crayons, but instead of placing them in the container, he put them on Jacob's crotch. Giggling insanely, he dashed back over to Kid B and whispered "I put them on his wiener!" Jacob and I almost died trying to conceal our laughter, although the game of putting crayons on Jacob's "wiener" grew old about the second time it happened and we put a stop to it.

Kid B has a very vivid imagination. (In the Primary Handbook for CTR A, it says of five-year-olds, "They have not yet learned to distinguish between imagination and reality." This was a helpful reminder...I've worried a little bit about this kid.) We haven't seen Ace for a while, so I asked if anyone knew if he was out of town. Kid B replied "I know he's out of town." "Where is he?" I asked.  "He's in the fowest, hunting wabbits." (Bugs Bunny reference not intended...that's just really how Kid B talks.)

Kid B has also decided that the boy's bathroom is haunted, and has convinced J Town as well. They spent an entire Sharing Time once (despite our scattered attempts at discipline) whispering about how it was scary. Kid B solemnly declared "I'm nevew going back dewe. Nevew. Nevew." He also reminds me weekly about the vampire living at his house.

For some reason the other week, the kids all decided they wanted to sit really close to the front. As in, pull their chairs into a big chaotic mass of chairs and kids surrounding Jacob and I. The following discussion ensued:
Me: "Boy, it's getting crowded!"
Lex Mex: "Yeah! We're in a hot tub!"
Me: (laughing) "But we're not wearing the right clothes for a hot tub!"
Miss K: "Yeah, 'cause you don't wear clothes in a hot tub." (What? Uh oh..) "You wear your bathing suit." (Whew...)

Here's a funny story about Lex Mex. In Sharing Time a while ago, the Primary President was picking volunteers for the activity. Lex raised her hand, but didn't get picked on. Disappointed, she hung her head and said "I never get picked." Jacob replied "You never know. You just might get picked next time." Well, more volunteers were needed, and this time, as soon as Lex raised her hand, she was picked! Jacob smiled and said "See?" Lex happily volunteered then sat back down. A few minutes later, there was another call for volunteers. Lex again hung her head and said "They never pick me." Jacob replied "Remember what happened last time you said that? Raise your hand anyway!" So Lexi raised her hand, and...she was picked! We couldn't believe it! After Lex finished volunteering, she sat back down and said "I never get picked........I'm just going to keep saying that." (Stimulus - Response - Stimulus - Response...) What an observant kid!

I overheard the following conversation between Brown Eyes and Kid B last week--
Kid B: Yeah, you can come to my house and pway (play) sometime.
Brown Eyes: But I don't know where you live.
Kid B: My house is a white house. Just dwive, and when you get to the white house, tell youw mom to stop.
(Astute directions, indeed.)

We really love those kids. (Especially now that we've implemented more specific rules and things aren't quite so chaotic.) What a fun first calling as a newly married couple!

3 comments:

  1. That is fantastic! I love hearing about primary adventures.

    I have no idea why, but I have become the babysitter for most of the kids at church. It's fun, but they wear me out!

    Although this Sunday was the primary presentation in sacrament. SOOOOOOO funny.

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  2. Gee, I wonder why they gave you and Jacob that assignment?

    Love you and can't wait to see you Wednesday!!!!

    much love,
    Mom
    XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

    word verification: crythim - when a kid really, really, really has to go to the bathroom and is dancing around and crying because s/he has to wait.

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  3. I read this post aloud to Tyler, and we were both amused. I love your stories, Liz! Primary is a laboratory for creativity and fun, and I love reading about your experiences.

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