Kids Say the Darnedest Things: Part 1

If you’ve worked around or with kids of any age for any length of time, you know how funny they can be. I’m sure most teachers could write a book containing all the funny things they have seen or heard in their classrooms. It’s just part of the job— and honestly, probably one of the best parts of it! I mean, who doesn’t need a little laughter every now and then?

Knowing that I wasn’t the only teacher who had a whole slew of funnies from students, I asked several fellow educators and other school employees for their funniest kid-isms, and their responses did not disappoint! They are too good to keep to myself, so sit back and enjoy as I share the funny things students have said and done! It’ll take a few posts to get through all of them, but that will just spread out the happiness!

“I had a fourth grader who looked me dead in the eyes and try to tell me in November after we’ve done 3 months of science work, that she didn’t know how to use a pencil and couldn’t do our assignment. She changed her tune when I asked very seriously if she needed to visit the no-nonsense kindergarten teacher for help.”

“I was teaching 8th grade, and my classes knew I was very seriously dating someone, and became very invested in trying to get all the details (which I definitely did not share!). One day at the end of class, I was wrapping things up when a student raised his hand. When I called on him, he told me he found something he needed to turn in to lost and found— a small round black lidded container of some kind. Once he got up to where I was, he said, “Miss, I have a question for you.” He then got down on to one knee, held up the little box, opened it and said, “I have no idea what this is. But will you take it for me?” Immediate laughter erupted from the entire room (and from me!) as everyone realized they had just witnessed a fake proposal. I told him I would take the box, but that I was already spoken for. Oh— and the box he ‘proposed’ with? It was a little thing of violin rosin.”

“I teach preschool and these are some things they’ve said that made me laugh enough I took note of them in my phone:
“Walmart is one of the most important things”
“Birds are really nice, they just tweet everywhere.”
“When I was at my grandmas I ate an apple, almost all of it!!”
“Earth is my favorite, EVEN there is a park.””

“My first year teaching, I had a girl come in for SEPs WITH her dad, then said, “My dad has a crush on you!!” while he was there.” (1st gr.)

“Reading a book called A Monster Calls and there’s a two page pic of the main character’s feet (stepping on a bed of yew tree leaves…part of the story). Student didn’t skip a beat and said, “Sweet, I didn’t even have to pay for those!”
I laughed so hard it took a full minute to compose myself (9th)”

“A 5th grader asked me in the middle of January if we could turn the A/C on because he was sweating. He was wearing two thick coats because he had left one at school and needed to bring them both home. He didn’t want to take them off because they were too hard to put back on again.”

“I had a 2nd grader tell me that she was “really worried about tomorrow.” I said, “What’s tomorrow?” She said, “Wednesday.””

“I feel bad finding so many things funny (I’m not laughing AT them, I’m laughing WITH them, right?) but I do! One that came immediately to mind is a sophomore telling me she couldn’t type her outline like I showed them, because her keyboard doesn’t have Roman numerals on it.” (High School)

Teaching is a job with many challenges, but thank goodness we can always count on our students to make the job fun, memorable, and entertaining. Stay tuned for part 2 of classroom funnies!

St. Patrick’s Day Free Printables

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner– time to prepare your leprechaun traps and gather your pots of gold! If fancy traps and extravagant celebrations aren’t your thing, it’s your lucky day! I’ve put together a couple of fun free printable I Spy games you can do with your students or with your kids at home. I’ve included both a color and a black and white version to fit all printing needs and capabilities.

**Free printables are only to be used for home or classroom use and must not be resold, distributed, or used as your own.**

Click on the links below to download and print yours!

Scholarship Reminder!

Just a friendly reminder that final application submissions for this year’s Build A Better Future Scholarship are due by Monday, April 7, 2025 at 11:59 MST. Prior to submitting your application, please ensure you have met all requirements, have all pictures and videos correctly uploaded to the form, and that all contact and school information is accurate.

You can find the application as well as our FAQ page here. Should you have any further questions, please reach out to us via email at scholarship@honorsgraduation.com.

We can’t wait to see the amazing projects you have been working on!

Fun Time Fillers

One of the goals in teaching is to effectively use as much of the time as you are given. I remember one professor in college telling us to teach “bell to bell” and not waste a single minute in between. While I get the sentiment, I do think it’s okay to have some days where you do have some extra time after a lesson or in between activities. Some days extra minutes just happen— lessons go quicker than anticipated, technology problems happen and thwart your plans, or maybe the one student who is always making things take longer with disruptions is absent, so things go smoother and quicker. Whatever the reason, extra time happens, and it’s a good idea to have some time filler ideas tucked away, ready to be executed at any given time. Not sure what to do to fill time? Don’t worry! I’ve got you!

List-Maker, List-Maker, Make Me a List

Divide students into groups of 3-4. Make sure they have one piece of paper and one pen or pencil per group. Have each group designate a scribe (this position can rotate with each round). Choose a topic that is something that is familiar to everyone. Once you’ve chosen the topic, set a timer for one minute, and have groups think of as many things as they can that go with the topic. For example, if you choose “cereals” as a topic, groups would have one minute to list as many cereals as they can think of. At the end of the minute, whichever team has the most items listed wins the round. Repeat as many times as you have time for. 

Hot Potato

Have students sit on their desks or stand/sit in a circle. Choose a soft ball, stuffed animal, or wadded up piece of paper. Play a song and have students toss the object from one person to the next as quickly as possible. Stop the music at a random time, and whoever has the object when the music stops is out for the rest of the round. Continue until there is only one student left standing. Be sure to set up safety and fairness rules to ensure that everyone is playing kindly, safely, and fairly. 

Magic Words

Divide students into small groups (2-3 per group works best), and give each group a piece of paper and something to write with. Give the class a word, preferably a longer one, and set a timer for however long you want— the shorter the time, though, the more of a challenge it becomes. Students have the allotted time to use the letters of the given word to find other words. For example, say you give the class the word “watermelon”. They would then use the letters in that word to make new words, like water, melon, wait, neat, lemon, rate, etc. They must be real words, and must be spelled correctly. Whichever team has the most words by the end of the time wins the round.

A Letter and Some Categories

Again, divide the class into small groups. One the board, list five or so categories— things like countries, animals, fruits, cities, car makes, etc. Set a timer for a time of your choice, make sure each group has paper and something to write with, then give the class a letter of the alphabet. In the time given, groups must think of something for each category that begins with the letter they were given. For example, if you gave them the letter B and the categories listed above, one group’s response could look like Bolivia, bear, banana, Baltimore, and BMW. Repeat with different letters. 

Rhyme Time

As before, divide the class into small groups. Make sure each group has a piece of paper and something to write with. Set a timer, and give the class a word that can easily be rhymed with. In the given time, groups must generate a list of as many words as they can think of that rhyme with the word they were given. 

These ideas are all super simple, require no prep time, and can be done with any size of class. While some might see these games as a waste of time, all of them— with maybe the exception of Hot Potato— require students to think quickly, work together, and think about a specific category or set of rules. So really, they aren’t a waste of time, but rather a fun, engaging way to fill a few minutes while strengthening thinking and social skills. And that, my friends, is a win in my book!

Parent Involvement and its Benefits

There are many different types of parents/guardians. They can range from the completely uninterested and uninvolved to the epitome of a helicopter parent, and everywhere in between. I don’t think there’s one “right” or “wrong” way to parent; everyone has their own style, and it often varies from kid to kid. There are obviously parents who are on the extreme ends of the spectrum, but I think that as long as you’re providing your children with the essentials— food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and love— and not harming them, you’re doing a-okay. 

But I’m not here to tell you how to parent, or even to offer parenting tips and strategies. I’ll leave that to the parenting experts. I will, however, explore how parental involvement, or lack thereof, can impact a child. There are a lot of things that contribute to a child’s success and confidence, and parental involvement is pretty high up on that list. Before we dive into the why behind it, I want to add a disclaimer that I know not all kids have a parent present in their lives. I understand that all families are different. For the purposes of this article, I will use the term “parent” to describe any adult who is a guardian or caregiver to a child, in any capacity. 

Having the support of a parent figure can, and does, positively impact how a child performs in many areas of their life. Knowing that there is an adult who loves and supports them gives a child an increased sense of safety, belonging, confidence, and assurance. It’s similar to a tightrope walker knowing there is a safety net under them; they know if they fall, there will be something there to catch them and keep them safe. Kids who have positive adult supports know that there is someone there to catch them and help them. Being a child’s safety net is an important role. 

In my experience as a teacher, I noticed a large discrepancy between my students who had little to no parental support and those that did have parental support. I’m sure you can guess, but my students who didn’t have much support at home struggled academically. They often had lower grades, would struggle to keep up and learn the material, and often would be disorganized, unkempt, and would also frequently have behavior problems. On the other hand, students who did have parental support typically had higher grades, a more positive attitude, and less behavior problems. 

As I’ve thought about the why behind these discrepancies, I’ve realized that there’s not just one reason why parent involvement can impact a child so deeply. But what I do know is that if a child has someone at home who doesn’t show interest in what’s going on at school and isn’t aware of what’s happening in and out of school, that child is more likely to stop caring as well. If there isn’t anyone at home to answer to, many children see that as an opportunity to give minimal effort. I believe that often times, these decisions to not try or to act out in school or other areas are cries for help— a cry that they hope will gain any amount of attention from their parental figure(s). 

The reasons parents might not be involved can vary just as much as the types of parents out there. Some parents might not be involved by choice. Perhaps their parents didn’t care much about their academic success, and they choose to continue the cycle with their own kids. Involvement requires effort, and for some parents, it’s an effort that is beyond what they can or want to put forth. Other parents might find themselves in the midst of things out of their control— things like health problems or work responsibilities— and may wish that they were able to be more involved and present. Parents who have been pulled away from their children due to custody issues, incarceration, or other legal issues can find it difficult to be involved with their kids. Whatever the reason, these examples of lack of involvement can all have a negative impact on a child’s success to one degree or another. 

On the other hand, there are parents who are actively involved in their child’s life. They are at parent-teacher conferences, performances, games, concerts, appointments, and programs. They ask questions and are aware of the who, what, where, when, and whys of their child’s life. They help with homework and take interest in what they child is learning at school. They know about the report they are writing for English or the experiment they did in Biology that day. They chat with their kids while they make dinner, fold laundry, or drive to practice. The kids of these parents know that their parent(s) have their backs, and that they are willing to put forth the effort to help them succeed; those efforts are reflected in grades, confidence, and attitude. 

Now, I understand that not all parents are able to be involved in every second of their child’s life. I know that not all parents can make it to every game or performance. This doesn’t make them a bad parent. It doesn’t make them uninvolved. You can be an involved parent without being physically present at every event. Involvement looks different for every person. For some, it does mean attending everything. For others, it means asking questions and being aware. It can look like helping with homework in the evening. It can even look like a FaceTime call during an award assembly. You don’t have to be a helicopter parent to be involved. BUT— you do have to put forth some effort to be an active part of your child’s life. 

However you choose or are able to be involved in the life of your child, make it count. Make sure your child knows you support them, love them, care for them, and are there for them. Foster positive relationships, and you will create a bond that is strong between you and your child. No parent is perfect, and no parent can be to all the things all the time. But if there is a little effort involved, your child will feel it, and the positive impact will make itself known for years to come. 

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Elective Classes

When I was a junior high and high school student, I remember feeling very limited in my options for my elective classes. As I look back, I probably felt this way because there really weren’t very many options to pick from. There were the traditional ones— art based classes, choir, band or orchestra, and some sort of home economics or foods classes— but classes that were extra “cool” or special weren’t options at the schools I attended. To be fair, I graduated 23 years ago, and the need for other kinds of electives just wasn’t what it is today.

Today’s secondary students seem to have a plethora of elective classes to pick from. Even the classes that count toward the required credits are more inviting. At the local high school where I live, students can choose from courses like American Sign Language, Sci-Fi Fantasy Lit., Japanese, Plant & Soil Science, Animal Science, Botany, Digital Business, Yoga, Guitar, Photo for Sports Media, Video Production, Accounting, Law Enforcement, Anthropology, Sports Psychology, and Coding, just to name a few. There are electives for every interest and ability. It’s amazing! 

With all of these options available, it might seem overwhelming. Wouldn’t it be so much easier for students to just stick to the general requirements needed for graduation? Probably. But if we did that, just think about all of the experience and learning that kids would miss out on. 

Elective courses are so much more than schedule and credit fillers. For one, they offer students the ability to have some amount of choice and control over their schedule. In a world where kids often don’t get a lot of choices, this is one opportunity for them to get to choose for themselves. Electives also give students a chance to dip their feet into several different areas. Kids can explore areas that they might not have the chance to otherwise. Perhaps they really want to try photography, but wouldn’t have access to the proper tools and instruction without taking a course at school. Students who are trying to figure out what kind of career they want to have can test out different courses to see what does and does not interest them. 

Taking courses in junior high or high school also offers the chance to take a class with lower stakes— once you’re in college, you’ve got to pay for those credit hours. In high school, you pretty much just have to cover any class fees. This way, if it turns out that Video Production just isn’t your thing, you haven’t lost out on a ton of money and precious college time. 

Elective classes can also give students a chance to take a break from the grind of core classes. Sometimes Math, Science, and English can get a bit monotonous, but electives can shake things up a bit and offer a bit of “fun” during the school day. This isn’t to say that all core classes are boring and terrible (I taught English— I know it can be a fun class!), but often times electives feel less heavy for students.

It’s great to live in a time when there are plenty of elective course options available. There are so many areas to explore and learn from, and it really opens up possibilities and options for today’s youth. 

The Mid-Year Slump and Your Reasons for Teaching

The mid-year slump. You know what I’m talking about: motivation (for you and your students) seems to be declining, the weather is warming up and giving you a little tease of Spring Break, you’re tired of repeating the same instructions 50 times a day, and you’re getting really worn out from the incessant behavior problems that the same few students seem to bring with them. Some days it feels like you’re stuck in the movie Groundhog Day, on a never-ending repeat of the same shenanigans day after day. It’s exhausting. Some days you just want to quit and try again next year. 

I’ve been there. I get it. I know how frustrating it can be and how long the days start to feel. But I also know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and there are things you can do now to avoid feeling blah about the rest of the school year. One of those is to remember your “why.” You know, the reason you decided to become a teacher in the first place! The reason you are doing what you’re doing. 

The “why” can and does vary from person to person. I don’t think many teachers will claim it’s the pay that made them want to be a teacher— it’s no secret just how underpaid and overworked teachers are! I also don’t think many teachers would say that it was all the red tape, policies, and micromanaging that got them into the profession. It also likely wouldn’t be because you enjoy being on your feet all day with minimal bathroom breaks and a super short lunch. No, those can’t be the reasons. There’s certainly got to be more to it. Knowing that the above listed are natural parts of the job of a teacher, there’s most definitely a driving force behind becoming an educator.

Perhaps you wanted to share your passion for your content area. You just love the quadratic formula and calculating probability, reading and writing, the process of photosynthesis, a particular method of painting, or the history of European nations, and you wanted to share that excitement with young people. Whatever your content area, you know that it’s the best, and you want to spend your career helping others learn about it. 

Maybe you became a teacher because you were greatly impacted by one of your former teachers, and they inspired you to teach. Certain teachers can leave a lasting impression on your heart and mind, and that impression can motivate you to emulate that teacher. It’s possible that you were a young person who desperately needed a positive adult role model, and that came in the form of a teacher, and you now want to be that teacher for someone else.

Another reason people teach is to help shape and inspire the rising generation. You saw the teachers in movies like Akeelah and the Bee, Freedom Writers, Dead Poets Society, or Dangerous Minds, and you could see yourself being that person. You could see yourself being the adult that these young kids could rely on and look up to. You wanted to be a positive influence in their lives, and wanted to teach them more than academic concepts. 

Perhaps you became a teacher because you think kids are awesome, and you love to learn from them every day. Let’s face it: kids and teens are the best (most of the time at least). They are funny, smart, and innovative. They know how to boost your mood and mindset. Their natural curiosity is inspiring. They are energetic and fun to be around. Their comments and view on life can be profound. 

Whatever your reason for becoming an educator, it’s crucial to hang on to that “why” for the days that are just plain tough, and for the weeks and months that seem to drag on and on. Remembering your “why” can pull you out of a slump and re-motivate you to put a smile back on your face and finish the year with gusto. Sometimes we lose sight of the reasons we love what we do, but we can always remember and can use it to propel us forward. Because after all, teaching really is the greatest profession on the planet.