"Got You Already a Man?"

This is an exact quote from one of my first graders. He basically wanted to know if I was married, as a husband here is called a 'mann'. The combination of his height, his earnest look up at me, and his little voice sent me into a fit of giggles. Then he asked, "Is that your man?" about my colleague R, with whom I had just been chatting in passing. What I'm realizing is that 1st graders really can't imagine that teachers have any kind of life outside of school, so they match you up with other teachers - hey, I was talking with a male teacher = he must be my man!

In the past 3 weeks there have been many other funny moments like that one - random comments in the middle of lessons, interesting questions, odd curiosities. It makes every day an adventure - when they raise their hands during a lesson, I don't know if they are going to tell me that they sharpen their pencils at home, or if they are going to answer a question I've just asked. It's a roll of the dice. And I love it. I am so enjoying these students and teaching this year. It is more exhausting (esp because I get to teach them everything), but it's so fun.