Funny Kid Friday- Honk, Honk!

It's time for...

Are any of you taking a road trip this summer? Yes? Good. That reminds me of a story... 

I have these nifty steering wheels in the classroom. I don't know what kind of vehicle they came off of as they are rather small, but they are just the right size for the kinders. The kids love getting them out to take all sorts of fanciful trips. 

One day the topic for imaginative play was a field trip we had taken earlier in the week. The kids lined up some chairs to form the "bus" with kids sitting in rows, and the driver sat in the front with the steering wheel. I was only half listening, but they were indeed acting out how we had been caught in a bit of a traffic jam while on the road.

A minute or two later the "bus driver" started honking his horn and yelling out the "window" right over the noise of the classroom, "What'cha doin' up there, Mister? Pickin' your nose?"

Hmm... I somehow missed that part of our trip...  Parents beware– somebody is always listening!

Now share your story by dragging the Funny Kid Friday button from the top of this post to your post and add the link back.  Then click on the linky button right down there and it will walk you through the steps so your thumbnail appears here. OR leave your story in the comments or on Facebook! I'm looking forward to your chuckle!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dad is Fat... and Other Funny Details of Life

I'm starting with a question... What book makes YOU laugh? To answer my question I'm linking up with Mrs. Jump's Class and Sugar and Spice for an *almost* wordless review of a book I haven't read! Yes, I wrote that correctly. I haven't read the book. But Jonathan did. Here is his review:

And basically this laughing cycle repeated itself all the way through the book. I believe he gave it two thumbs up and ten stars. (Sorry the photos are fuzzy, but I only had my iPad ready and it was jittery because I was laughing just watching him laugh.) (And yes, those fuzzy pointy ears in the bottom of the picture belong to my personal trainer... she's taking a nap in one of her favorite spots after giving me a workout.)

Finally! He got done and it's my turn... nope. The next thing I know, Delaney's got it.

Oh, for heaven's sake. I bought the book for ME. So I could have a laugh!

What book is it, you ask. Well, it's Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan... a title which is based on the first sentence his son learned to write.... should he thank his kindergarten teacher for this?

Jim Gaffigan is a great guy.... Well, I don't know him personally, but he seems like a great guy. He is a stand up comic... but he's not the TYPICAL stand up comic. He and his wife and their five kids live in a two bedroom apartment in NYC, and when he's not looking for open space or peace and quiet he is doing the funniest, fall over, pee your pants, get a hernia, clean, funny stuff!  The small moment details of life are his specialty... that, and talking to himself as if he were an audience member. When I saw this book in the bookstore it was a no brainer– into the pile it went.

WHAT????  You don't know JIM GAFFIGAN??  Well, here you go, Wonderful Reader, meet Jim Gaffigan doing Cake... one of my favorite things in the world :)

I recommend you go empty your bladder and sit down before pushing the start button.

And if you chuckled with that, you might want to click here to see his take on McDonald's... I've still got tears in my eyes.

Oh, oh, here's my already dog eared copy left alone... I'm going to take a peek before Delaney gets back....

hahahahahhhhhheeeeehehehheeheeheeheeheehahahahaheegasp...

Thanks to Deanna from Mrs. Jump's Class for her Let's Talk About Books linky.

And Christina from Sugar and Spice for her Wordless Wednesday linky.

Clink on their buttons up there to find more great reviews and more stuff from bloggy world!

And if you're a person who loves to laugh, be sure to stop back at the end of the week for Funny Kid Friday... better yet, go right up to that Funny Kid Friday tab at the top of the page and click on the archives... you know you need to laugh... it's good for you!

The post Dad is Fat... and Other Funny Details of Life first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com

Five for Friday– Twitter, and Bargains, and Stuff

Five for Friday– Yeah! I've had Five for Friday on my mind all week. Here's random, useful (well, maybe useful) stuff to share.

1. I'm gonna be gone for a week and am trying to figure out if there are any hinderances to using an iPad to post. I am going to post something this weekend just to experiment. In fact I might post twice to see how the "scheduled posting" feature works on blogger, too... something else I've never done. Otherwise I'll be writing the Funny Kid link up early and leaving it in the hands of Mr. Jonathan... oh lucky him, oh lucky you :)

2. Something else new– I was busy Tuesday night so couldn't get to the Twitter Party hosted by Debbie Clement from Rainbows Within Reach.  #TeacherFriends

I enjoyed reading the tweets afterward though. I just recently joined Twitter, much to the amusement of my YA daughters who know ALL about it. Apparently I can only make it on Twitter if I am funny or post a bikini pic... so they've written me off... imagine. I know actually tweeting something would be a good first step :P Maybe soon... I barely use Facebook, so I don't think this will be a big thing with me, but anything once, right? Are any of the rest of you newbies like me and want to experiment? I think Debbie is doing it again on Tuesday at 9:00 EST.

3. Speaking of Twitter, you gotta see the movie Chef. Pretty good story and definitely worth the cheap tickets. It highlights Twitter in fun ways– it gets the hero in big trouble AND saves the day, too. And it has the cutest ten year old you've ever seen.

4. While doing the not-actually-tweeting-Twitter stuff with #TeacherFriends, I came across a teacher blogger who posted about her finds at Harbor Freight Tools... I have tried backtracking, and browser history, and everything else I can think of, and cannot find her now. Aarrgh! I want to thank her for the post and add a link-up to her here. If you are the person who posted about Harbor Freight, or know who did, can you please comment and let me know!

Neither Jonathan nor I had ever heard of Harbor Freight Tools, but after a quick google search we found one ten minutes down the highway. It is definitely a dad/man kinda store... more shop equipment than I had ever seen and we are frequent flyers at Lowe's... I mean hydraulic lift tables, and Star War-esque welding helmets, and a million types of little rubber tires! Jonathan could have spent the day in there.

But lo and behold, just as my mystery blogger teacher friend pointed out, there are some NEAT things for teachers. I start with the best bargain of the day! I purchased this three tier rolling cart- I have a few ideas for it in the classroom. It was $50 and with the coupon I found on line, I got it for $40! Yessss!

And I got the key fob labels which were on sale 79 cents for twelve. Again, just as the mystery blogger said, I'll find a use.

And SURPRISE I found a neat Bingo game! (How that fits in with hydraulic tables and welding helmets I don't exactly know, but I didn't question a good thing.) I've had the numbers-in-the-ball style Bingo game for several years in the classroom ever since I found it on a curb for free. There are a lot of number concepts that get practiced when playing a real game of bingo. The kids also love turning the ball, getting the number when it falls out, and putting it where it goes on the peg boards– more great learning for the "Bingo Managers" who I choose for each round. I often leave this Bingo for substitute guest teachers in case my plans for the day don't last the whole day. However, the last time a guest teacher was in the room, the little trap door on the turner broke somehow, so it was time for a new set. I decided this one was worth the $8 (a third the price of other stores) as it also came with the clear colored magnetic tokens that can be used for lots of other neat centers.

I also got some strong magnets for 50 cents and a soaker hose for home. They had flat dollies which come in handy when moving stuff around the room– I think they were $12. I have a big plastic bin bungee corded to a dolly like this at school so the weekly lunch luggers can push the lunch boxes down to the cafe each day without scratching the floors.

There was an interesting four tiered lazy susan which I know will be good for something, so I have it on my wishlist for next time. I don't remember how much that was on sale for. They had other great organization bins and boxes, too... also for next time.

The guy at the counter got a chuckle when I told him I heard about his store on a teacher blog... now, you've heard it, too. Check it out- they had some of the best prices we've seen anywhere.

5. And speaking of "dad" stores, I shared a dad story on Funny Kid Friday just now. You'll get a grin... and maybe a new song for your classroom :) Jonathan added a new tab to the top of the page so readers can get to the Funny Kid Friday archives... okay, so there are only three... more ARE coming.
Click here to read the stories and add YOURS!

Then click here to go back to Kacey's Five For Friday to hear what's goin' on with everybody!

The post Five for Friday–Twitter, and Bargains, and Stuff first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com

Funny Kid Friday- Mick Jagger

Yippee, yippee, it's Funny Kid Friday!

I LOVE telling these stories. It is happy walks down memory lane to remember so many of my kids. And this week I tell a dad story. This particular great dad passed away sadly several years ago, years before his time, but I remember him fondly and his little one, too, who is now pretty much grown up.

A long time ago, when I was a bit newer to my chosen profession, I had a tousle haired moppet in my charge who was delightful, creative, precocious, and, well... a stinker. I learned as much from her as she did from me!

One day in particular she spent much of the day pushing limits. I saw her dad as the kids were heading home, and tying to keep an upbeat tone, I reported the general drift of his daughter's behavior and the consequences that ensued. This was not the first time Dad had heard about days like this. He just shook his head and looking at his daughter, said, "It's just like the great child psychologist Mick Jagger always says, 'You can't always get what you want!'

"You can't always get what you want..."

Years later, there are still days in class when I hum this little tune to myself and think, humor goes a lonnnng way... hmmm, it just occurs to me now that maybe I should add this one to our morning sing-a-song!

YOUR turn!  Grab the button up there, put it in your funny (or otherwise) kid story, and then click on the link-it button below so we can easily find each others' stories. The link-up service will tell you just what to do. Come on, you know you've got one for the telling!

And if you're not a blogger or a teacher, add to the comments below or my facebook page with a click on this:

Kidpeople Classroom on Facebook

Also, Jonathan added a new tab up there on the top of the page so you can easily get to the Funny Kid Friday archives here on the blog. Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Currently July

Special thanks to Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her Currently Linkies... and darn how I'm too busy to get to them as fast as I'd like!  Here we go for July.

Listening: We don't take too many vacations but we've built ourselves a rather nice home for Staycations. We built this pond four years ago and I like nothing better than to go and sit beside it, feed the fish, and listen to the sound of the water. I sometimes work on my laptop out on our deck and you can see it and hear it from there. Such a nice work environment.

It helps to make our house a staycation home

Loving: I met with my magazine editor yesterday morning and she said NICE THINGS... in fact GREAT THINGS!!!!  I think I can do this short story series in short order now. So excited! I love writing and want to get better at it. Nothing like the commitment and DEADLINES to make it happen!

Thinking: My neck of the woods in the South East corner of Michigan is having simply terrific weather. Days in the seventies and mid eighties with very little humidity– which is a BIG deal. I know it will get hotter as July progresses, but I hope we stay on this general path. We've had some rain, but not enough to spoil plans, and the out-of-doors is lush!

Wanting: I was cruising around in blogging world yesterday and found a great post about stuff to get at Harbor Freight Tools. Neither Jonathan nor I had ever heard of this store, but lo and behold, there was one just ten minutes down the highway. I am going to post about the great finds later. What a surprise as it is mostly a man's man's kind of store :)

Needing: I am trying to chose which kid story I'm going to post on Funny Kid Friday in a few hours... should it be about technology or dads... hmmm.... you can click below to find out which one I finally landed on.

I love Fridays because of this now :) I giggle as I remember...

Sizzle. Boom. Ahhh... nope. No 4th of July fireworks for us this year. Just a picnic and a little shopping for my trip out west next week.  Yippee!

And now click here on Farley's icon to get back to Currently July!

See you soon.. I'm going right to another post. HA!

The post Currently July first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com

Thorndike and Nelson

Hello! Time to hear about MORE great books.  I LOVE this Book Talk Tuesday linky that Deanna does on her blog to share books. I have found so many GOOD ones this way!  So here we go with my pick for this week.

Friends can get mad, and they can get over it.

If you follow me you know I love monsters and monster books. An all time favorite for both me and the kiddos is Thorndike and Nelson by Jean Jackson and Vera Rosenberry. The monsters and their monster activities are fun, but the best elements of the book have to do with friendship.

Thorndike and Nelson have a lovely morning sitting under the poison apple tree sipping bubbling swamp water... until a huge argument erupts. And oh, each one does one horrible thing after the next to the other. The escalating anger truly goes out of control, until...

Seeing that friends can get really, really mad, and do some pretty hurtful things to the other, yet still find a way to say sorry and make peace again, is such a relief! If Thorndike and Nelson can, then so can we. We had some terrific class discussions based on this book over the years. Even if you are not as crazy about monsters as I am, you'll find these two good friends good ones to have in your collection. All readers, young and old, can relate to this friendship tale.

Check your favorite library or, a bonus– because it is an oldie but goodie, you can find it at very reasonable prices!

Click to find more great books!

The post Thorndike and Nelson first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com

What's a Bilibo?

Here's a quick post on a neat toy.  It's great for summer outdoor play... and winter outdoor play... and indoor play for that matter. It's called a Bilibo. It is a lightweight, very sturdy plastic shell. I know they are durable because my kindergartners put them to the test and they really hold up.

It's a Bilibo!

With all the makings of a classic toy, it is very basic and lends itself to a multitude of play options. I took some shots of my kiddos playing at recess this spring. We use them a ton inside, too.

Sitting in it, kids can rock and spin.

Kids can push or pull each other by adding bandanas or jump ropes.

Linking up is fun.

You can even become a turtle!

When it's turned over it can be a stool to sit or stand on. It can also be a tunnel, cave, sled or cradle for toys. And just imagine the fun at the beach when it's a sand and water toy. The possibilities are endless!

Here's a great video that shows all the fun!

You can get one on-line for under $30. I think they have years and years of play value, both at home and at school! Bet your kids love it as much as mine.

Special thanks to Allison at No Time for Flash Cards for her linky highlighting summer activities for kids. Click on back to her site for lots more ideas!

The post What's a Bilibo? first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com