that's a new one!

So my kids have been getting into more than the usual trouble lately. However, today one of the "issues" we had to deal with was just too hilarious to be mad. One of my kids came to tattle that another boy in our class had let a boy from a different class do his homework. The assignment wasn't hard at all, and the kid from my class was pretty bright, so it seemed a little odd. I called my kid over (we'll give him the pseudonym Timmy), and Timmy tells me that (uhh, we'll say Todd) Todd forced Timmy to let him do his homework. Timmy says he tried to keep his homework away from Todd, but Todd kept bugging him until finally little innocent Timmy relinquished his homework to be completed by Todd.
I asked Todd's teacher, and she said that it was probably an accurate story; Todd loves math and would have really enjoyed filling in the bar graph and completing the shape crossword I assigned. So apparently, kids are bullying my kids into taking their homework and DOING IT FOR THEM! Next thing you know, they'll be forcing lunch money on poor innocent wimps! What is this world coming to?!

Grief

Tuesday after school one of my (9 yr-old) girls had to call 911 because her dad was having a heart attack. He died that night. She came to school the next two days, and only missed on Friday becuase her family was preparing for the memorial and funeral. She didn't really cry much.

I don't know if her lack of tears are more of her simply not understanding the finality of her dad being gone, or her not feeling the need to cry... I know they were close though, and that is is upset and worried about her family.

I'm not quite 3 times her age, but when my dad dies, I'm not going to be good for anything for a while. I certainly won't be at school, and at the memorial I probably won't even be able to see through my tears.

But luckily, I've made my dad promise not to die until after I have a husband, so he'll be alive for a while yet!

If You Made a Million

This week we read a story called “If You Made a Million” and I had the kids write about what they would do with a million dollars. The responses were... interesting.

One girl said she would buy presents for her teachers, family, and friends, then save the rest in the bank to earn interest.

A couple boys told us they’d buy all the video game systems and all the games ever made, and they’d buy some candy too, while they were at it.

Another sweet girl said she’d give most of it to children in Africa who needed food, but she'd also purchase an elephant and a bed for the elephant.

A different boy said he’d help his mom pay her bills and buy a house (along with a few toys and games for himself, of course).

And one of my “special friends” (who was mad about having to clean up his game 90 seconds earlier than everyone else for yelling at the people he was playing after multiple warnings) wrote that he would buy as many bombs and missiles as he could to completely destroy the school and everyone in it.

Yep.

Mom

OK, so I'm pretty much a mom. I have never given birth, but I spend a significant amount of time doing motherly things. I take care of children all day during the week, I sometimes teach kids' Bible class on Sundays, I clean house, and I take care of my friends when they are dumb. I do all this because I didn't really have a good mother-figure growing up, so I learned to fill the role. Sometimes I get tired of being a mom though. I don't see how real moms do it all. Don't they get tired of being the only responsible one around who makes people be safe and takes care of them when they mess up? Anyway, suffice it to say, being a part-time mom is plenty for me. I am in no rush to become a full-time one. But props to all those women out there who are!