This morning when I came into school I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was probably a lizard-type thing, but upon closer inspection (to close!) I realized it was a rat! (Maybe it was a mouse, but let's not argue over semantics.) The rat-mouse then ran into the library.
Side note: My supply closet with all my books
is located in the library. Not cool.
My first thought was to cancel all English classes for the day and go home, far away from the rat. Unfortunately, the school principal did not think my idea as great as I. She wanted me to be brave and and valiant and courageous in front of the children.
At this point I did remember the children. Specifically these children:
is located in the library. Not cool.
My first thought was to cancel all English classes for the day and go home, far away from the rat. Unfortunately, the school principal did not think my idea as great as I. She wanted me to be brave and and valiant and courageous in front of the children.
At this point I did remember the children. Specifically these children:
Andres and Kevin.
Andres and Kevin are Kindergarten students who also happen to live at Casa Hogar.Side story: One summer I was at Casa Hogar
on a mission trip. I remember one evening
seeing all the kids jump up from their chairs,
chase down a rat and viciously beat it to
a pulp with rocks from the construction site.
Then they triumphantly carried it by the tail
to the director to collect their prize of 5 pesos.
Remembering this story, I realized Kevin and Andres probably wouldn't be afraid of the rat. In fact, they would probably jump at the chance to stomp it to death in exchange for a pack of gum or a few pesos. With this in mind, I grabbed the two tykes by the hands and had them assist me in the retrieval of everything I needed for the day. I told them if they saw a rat or a mouse, they needed to help me out, at which point Andres said, "Yes, Miss, sure! If I see one, I will grab it by the tail, and sling it into the street." He also did a whipping motion over his head kind of like a lasso. I got the feeling he would have taken great joy in saving me from any rodents. We did not, however, see the offending rat.
Story #2
This is Liam. Liam just turned 3 last Friday. Liam loves me, but it is really only because I possess two Mr. Potato Heads that I let the Preschool 1 class use in English to learn the words for "eyes" and "ears" and . . . you get the idea.
Here in Mexico we have a flavor of Ruffles that we call Ruffles Verdes. That isn't their real name, and they aren't green, but they come in a green bag. They are very good. Some kind of cheese flavor. Liam also loves Ruffles Verdes. And, he has an amazing sense of smell, sight and hearing when it comes to Ruffles Verdes.
Today, I sneaked in a bag of Ruffles to share with the preschool teacher so she would share her tamales with me. It is tricky getting them past Liam, though, as he can spot that green bag like magic. I almost got them in, but Liam knew something was up. He kept walking around the corner to see what I had. We kept sending him away, raising his suspicions. Finally, we opened the bag. At that point, NO JOKE, Liam dropped to the floor and combat crawled to where I was sitting to try and get my Ruffles.
Then he stood up, pointed to his nose, and said, "NOSE." In English. I have two thoughts. Either he wanted me to know that he smelled the chips, or he was trying to prove to me that he was learning my weird language and wanted to be rewarded with Ruffles. Either way, Liam won. I gave him chips and sent him to recess.
seeing all the kids jump up from their chairs,
chase down a rat and viciously beat it to
a pulp with rocks from the construction site.
Then they triumphantly carried it by the tail
to the director to collect their prize of 5 pesos.
Remembering this story, I realized Kevin and Andres probably wouldn't be afraid of the rat. In fact, they would probably jump at the chance to stomp it to death in exchange for a pack of gum or a few pesos. With this in mind, I grabbed the two tykes by the hands and had them assist me in the retrieval of everything I needed for the day. I told them if they saw a rat or a mouse, they needed to help me out, at which point Andres said, "Yes, Miss, sure! If I see one, I will grab it by the tail, and sling it into the street." He also did a whipping motion over his head kind of like a lasso. I got the feeling he would have taken great joy in saving me from any rodents. We did not, however, see the offending rat.
Story #2
Here in Mexico we have a flavor of Ruffles that we call Ruffles Verdes. That isn't their real name, and they aren't green, but they come in a green bag. They are very good. Some kind of cheese flavor. Liam also loves Ruffles Verdes. And, he has an amazing sense of smell, sight and hearing when it comes to Ruffles Verdes.
Today, I sneaked in a bag of Ruffles to share with the preschool teacher so she would share her tamales with me. It is tricky getting them past Liam, though, as he can spot that green bag like magic. I almost got them in, but Liam knew something was up. He kept walking around the corner to see what I had. We kept sending him away, raising his suspicions. Finally, we opened the bag. At that point, NO JOKE, Liam dropped to the floor and combat crawled to where I was sitting to try and get my Ruffles.
Then he stood up, pointed to his nose, and said, "NOSE." In English. I have two thoughts. Either he wanted me to know that he smelled the chips, or he was trying to prove to me that he was learning my weird language and wanted to be rewarded with Ruffles. Either way, Liam won. I gave him chips and sent him to recess.
3 comments:
Mandy,
I do check up on you, and you made me smile today. I needed that smile! Love the stories and cute boys. Glad you are there to teach them about so much. Especially how to value potato chips. :)
-Jane
i'll have to try ruffles chips with the 1-yr old who currently thinks her nose is her ear.
The kids I know would be climbing on tables to get away from a rat (or a spider)! Thank goodness you have a sweet and brave little boy willing to do the job for you. He deserves his own bag of Ruffles!
Love, Mom
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