i still like you

Let me tell you a story...

Last week, I was teaching and a first grade boy raised his hand, looked up at me, made direct eye contact and said to me very seriously,

"I really like you".

I kind of giggled to myself, and replied, "Aw thank you. I like you, too!"... and then I moved on.

Fast forward to today.  I was walking the first grade boys to the music room when I passed this same little boy.  He stopped me, and with a very serious and intent tone, he said,

"Miss Akins, I still like you.".

HA!  This kind of stuff never gets old. :)

queso

Ah, lunch duty.  My absolute FAVORITE part of my day.  *sarcasm*

But, seriously, sometimes the kids can say some really funny things.

Let me tell you a story...



Today, a first grader called me over to his table to tell me,

"Miss Akins, I wish that all the land in the world was chips and the water was queso so I could just eat it all up!"

Yep. We dream big at my school.





Ok, ok, that actually sounds really good. Can you imagine that much cheese?! :)

why i wear makeup

seriously... i hate washing my face!

Let me tell you a story...

At lunch duty, a little first grade girl asked me very concerned,

"Miss Akins, what happened to your forehead??"

I answered her a little sheepishly and honestly (I could have lied, but what would be the point?),

"It's a pimple".

"Oh, ok" was her sweet (and a bit embarrassed) response. .

And I WAS EVEN WEARING MAKEUP!!! UGH! Seriously! :)  Just another reminder why I should always wear makeup to work... I work with kids!

i am the beast

One part of my job is putting on "music programs" for my students.  Basically, they get to perform songs for their parents.  It's really fun and the kids always get really excited... but they are also very stressful to put together.  Our first grade music program was yesterday and I'm still recovering from it all!

Let me tell you a story...

There were a lot of kids SUPER pumped about our program coming up... it was so cute!  Yesterday, during the school day, kids kept telling me,

"Miss Akins, our music program is tonight!"

...Like I could forget! HA!

after the music program

Anyway, most of the kids told me they planned on coming, but there were those few kids who knew they weren't going to be able to attend. You know, those boys who had baseball practice. Or the boy whose dad is a high school coach and he had a game. Or the little girl who told me her grandma's birthday was that night and her family was having her party.  Even though all these reasons for not being able to come make me sad, I understand that it is only through the support of parents that a music program after school hours is even possible!  So any parents out there who are reading this, THANK YOU!  Thank you for supporting your kids and their school!  We GREATLY appreciate you!!!

Yesterday, at lunch, the little girl whose grandma had a party that night announced to me,

"Miss Akins, guess what??  My grandma cancelled her birthday!  I can come to the program!!!"

Music Teacher Glynis!

I believe she meant she cancelled her PARTY, but man... this was big news! Honestly, I felt so proud that this program meant so much to her that her family would rearrange their schedule.  She should feel so loved!!!

SO... the program went VERY well last night.  I was SO proud of my first graders who worked so hard to prepare for this!!!  I found out today one teacher told her class she had Chick-Fil-A coupons for those kids who were able to attend... talk about incentive!!! Thank you to the first grade teachers for all their support!

 Today, I got this note from a sweet, sweet first grade girl:

i am the beast music titcher

How many of you get notes like this at your job???  I feel very blessed today!!! :)

i'll be your friend

One of the least glamorous parts of my job is having to do getting to do lunch duty.  I mean, what is more fun than watching 6 year olds eat cafeteria food??  In addition to opening up ketchup packets and cleaning up spilled water, I feel like I spend most of my time persuading them to eat their food ("Just take a few more bites!") and THAT.GETS.OLD.

Let me tell you a story...

When I mentioned persuading them to eat their food, there is one little boy in particular who comes to my mind.  This first grader is VERY picky and never seems to like any of the food he gets from the cafeteria. He recently has gotten a little better about trying new foods and he even started telling me when he has eaten some ("Miss Akins, I ate four bites!").  But for some reason, the hamburger today made him revert back to his old picky self.  He sat at the lunch table for about 15 minutes refusing to eat any of his burger.

We had about 10 minutes left of lunch when another first grader sitting across the table from Mr. Picky excitedly called me over to their table.  It was pretty obvious this kid had a big announcement for me.

"Miss Akins, he is eating the hamburger!"

"Oh, wow!  What do you think of it? Do you like it?"  (Picky nods)

"I got him to eat it!  I told him I would be his friend if he would try to eat some of his hamburger... and now he likes it!"

Aww... positive peer pressure works! :D

haircut / hair cut?

In addition to teaching elementary music, I also get the privilege of working with the GT students on our campus.

Let me tell you a story...

Since it is two days before Spring Break, I decided that today in GT I would let the students take a little break from their research projects... Instead, I planned for us to do a fun, creative brain challenge activity.  We discussed inventions briefly and I basically let the students use their imagination to come up with inventions of their own.

the invention name in question

I wrote the title on each of their posters for them and allowed them to imagine and draw what their invention would look like.  One kindergarten boy's invention was a "Hair Cutting Machine".  This proved a tough title to write. I debated with myself (aloud) whether haircut was ONE word or TWO words.  I mean, I'm a teacher and supposed to be setting the example... I didn't want to spell it wrong!!!

As I was having this very vocal debate with myself, a first grade boy piped up with some advice for me.  With all sincerity he offered,

"You could probably ask Mrs. Howton.  She knows how to spell all the words!  Or really, you could ask any first grade teachers.  They all know how to spell every word because they have to make all the word walls."

So... all-knowing first grade teachers... what's the decision? 

Hair cut? Or haircut??? ;)

Um... this one seemed like a trick.  You sit down for a massage and it takes your hair and turns it into money???  I asked, "But then you wouldn't have any hair!"

I need this one!  "So it won't make you late"... HA!!

bad hair days never go unnoticed

Sometimes I let my hair dry naturally and let it go wavy. Like this:

When I have more time and want to look cute (like for snow day pictures or meeting Jordan Shipley, duh), I'll straighten my hair. Like this:

And for really, really special occasions (like being being a bridesmaid or a wedding singer - either way, that day is all about me), I'll even use a curling iron to curl my hair. Like this:



















Then there are those other days... You KNOW what I'm talking about.  Those days when your hair doesn't do what you want or you don't even care enough to try.

Let me tell you a story...

Normally, I jump out of the shower and am lucky to get to work on time, so my hair dries its naturally wavy self.  Today, I actually DID straighten and curl my hair.  I felt pretty cute, not gonna lie.  Here is me today at work:

what my hair looks like when I brush it, apparently

So there I was, feeling all cute and confident, and then at lunch duty today a first grade boy said to me, 

"Miss Akins, you brushed your hair today!"

Yep. Bad hair days never go unnoticed to a six year old.