Where do YOU go to school?

She spelled it with no help!!! Way to go, Beth Ann!!

Wait...Weren't these headphones too big??

It's VERY difficult to find headphone for our computers that fit tiny heads! So today, Ms. Tori had a brainstorm...It fixes the problem, and maybe it's the newest thing in fashion!

New Year...New Funnies!

First time on for the new school year! Thought I'd share a few funnies that we've heard around LEP!!

Our friend Drew, who is a tiny little thing, also happens to be a fan of the skinny jeans fad. He wears skinny jeans nearly every day. Caryn helps Drew get ready for nap time, and changes him into a pull up before he goes on to his cot. (We joke with Caryn each day that if an emergency should ever arise, and one of the Jonas Brothers needs assistance in getting out of his skinny jeans and into a pull up...she is the man for the job!) So Caryn will call Drew over every day and say something like, "Let's get those skinny jeans off and get you into this pull up." And we all laugh... So one day, Caryn called Drew over to get him ready for nap, and with a huge grin on his face, Drew said to her, "Ms. Caryn, my jeans are CRAZY skinny today!"

In our Kindergarten class, the kids come in each day and do their jobs independently as Ms. Sally goes around and greets each of them. They then do a morning circle time, which Ms. Sally leads. Then, they get into their groups for the morning, which Ms. Sally divides them into by name. One morning, after all of these things had been done and the children were working, Ava walked over to the table where Ms. Sally was sitting and said, "Ms. Sally. I'm so glad you're here today! I hadn't noticed you yet!"

Our friend Tristen is one who will speak her mind...openly. One day, she told a friend that she didn't like her and I pulled her aside to ask her why. This was Tristen's response (please insert your own Kentucky accent!): "She was just sittin' there lookin' at me with a big ol' look on her face like this (insert frowny face) and I didn't like it." I told Tristen's mom I will be anxious to hear about the road she will travel with Tristen as she gets older...

One day after nap, I went into the green room to try and help with some of the daily chaos of trying to get 10 grumps awake, off their cots, shoes on, pottied, and to the snack table in some sort of orderly fashion. I was sitting on the carpet, tying shoes when I heard a "fatherly" sort of voice behind me say, "Ben LEEMaster, if you don't sit still, I don't know how you think I'm ever going to get these shoes on you." And it was Jase!! He was waking up the little ones, and helping them get their shoes on. As funny as it was to hear him say that to Ben, it also warmed my heart to see one of our "big" kids taking on the role of caretaker for one of our little ones. And on the flip side, Ben was lighting up all over that Jase was helping him...priceless!

On the playground one afternoon, the children found a spider, and were having mixed reviews about what we should do about him. Zachary C., however, was very clear on his thoughts, "KILL HE! KILL HE!!" Funny how a simple switch in pronouns can make you feel like you've suddenly time traveled back into a time of knights and such... (sound familiar, Liz??)

And many, many more funnies happen here every day! We'll try to post as often as we can, but know that every child at LEP brings a smile to our faces each and every day...some of them just happen to be more vocal than others!!

Lunch Chatter....

Here's the conversation over lunch in the yellow room today... Ms. Lori: Kyle, please try a bit of your Ceasar salad. Kyle: Yeah...I'm just not that into salad. I've always thought of it as more of a parent thing. Beth: Ky-uhl. It's not a parent thing. If it was a parent thing, they wouldn't even give it to us here! Payton: I love it. I really love the protons. Kyle: They're not protons, they're cro-tons. Jay: Uh...I think they're croutons. Maggie: I'm going to eat a watermelon seed and see if a watermelon grows in my belly. Will it? Ms. Lori: Nope...no sunshine in there. Lynde: And I don't get this dark green stuff. Is it seaweed?? Ms. Lori: No, it's romaine lettuce. It's good for you...makes you strong. Beth (making muscles with both arms and KISSING THEM): Yeah, like these babies. Jay: Can I be excused...I think I just lost my appetite. So...how was YOUR lunch break???

A Lesson in History; A Lesson in Love

Our theme for the week last week was "Black History." The children were busy learning about famous and important people such as Rosa Parks, Dr. King, and Barack Obama to mention a few.

Our kindergarten class gets especially "into" this week, as they love learning about history, and especially the "old days" when Ms. Sally was a little girl! Sally shares many experiences when them of when she was little and how hard it was for her growing up during a time when her nanny, who was African American, often couldn't join her family in certain establishments, especially in the South, where Ms. Sally's family kept a home.

It is a very, very moving thing to go into that classroom and watch the Q&A that Sally has with those children as they learn about a time in history, not so distant, that seems so surreal to them now. Many of them point out that our skin is "just for protection" and color doesn't matter. Some of them will say things like "Germs are just germs...it doesn't matter who's sharing our bathrooms." If only children could govern our world, I honestly believe sometimes we would be better off!

One of the best lessons shared in kindergarten is that of Rosa Parks. The children love hearing her story of determination and bravery. They love looking at books about her and then learning about the way she stood up for herself and an entire race of people. Many conversations come from that lesson, and excitement grows in the classroom as they continue to learn about Ms. Parks and then about Dr. King. Finally, while I was in there listening one morning, I said to them, "Do you realize how lucky you are to be alive during the time when you can say you saw the first black President elected into our White House?" They were ECSTATIC! They realized they were a part of history...and it was AWESOME!

This morning, I was walking the hallways, and I stopped to read some of the writer's workshop on the blue room bulletin boards. A question had been posed to them: "What would you have done if you have been on the bus with Rosa Parks?"

Here are some of the most common answers I saw:

"I would have given my seat up for Rosa Parks."

"I would tell Rosa Parks to keep her seat."

"I would have asked Rosa Parks to give up her seat." (no ill will here, I believe, just that in their five year old minds, they were thinking they would have wanted to sit down!)

I looked on down the board and saw that one little boy and one little girl had answered with the following:

"I would have sat down in the seat with her."

My eyes teared up and my heart overflowed. Numbers are good...Reading is great...but THIS is what we want our friends to learn in kindergarten at Little Explorers...compassion, love, understanding, and friendship.

How Old Are You, Ms. Cora??

Cora was subbing in the Yellow room, and Aiden was curious about her age. "Are you a kid?" he asked. Cora was trying to explain to him that she is an adult, but a young adult, so she said, "Well, no not really a 'kid'...I'm an adult, but I'm not really old." Aiden, apparently anxious to cut to the chase, looked at Cora and said, "Are you big enough to go to the beer store??" : )

A few funnies to get you through the freeze...

Kyle keeps us in stitches a lot of the time around here. Here are a few of his more recent funnies...

He was wearing a golf style shirt at school one day with a long sleeve shirt under it. He looked down at one point, and the buttons had come unbuttoned. He quickly started buttoning them, and said to Whittney, "Better get these buttoned. It's inappropriate for you to see my chest hair."

For lunch on one of Caryn's first days as our new cook, she prepared meatloaf, but made it Italian style with mozzerella cheese in it. Kyle saw me putting it out on the table, and said, "Oh, lamb chops, huh?" I said, "Kyle, this is meatloaf." He asked what the white stuff was, and I told him cheese...it was Italian style. He goes, "Meatloaf...Italian style...cool."


Today, as I sat in my office with the ceiling leaking all around me (thanks for that Mother Nature!) Jordan was sitting with me waiting for her dad. She said, "I'm glad you aren't making me sit in front of your desk where the water is dripping." I explained that I wouldn't do that, because I wouldn't want her to get wet. She said to me, "Yeah, and thanks. Because if my hair was wet, boy would I have to hear it from my dad. But I'll tell you right now, even if my hair got wet from the drips, don't worry because I wouldn't let him say a thing to you about it." I asked, "Well, are you pretty much in charge around your house?" And she said, "No, my dad is. But even though he's in charge, I won't even let him think about saying anything to you..."