elementary not so elementary

So last Friday, I was asked to substitute for the substitute for the 1st grade class. Not a problem, I thought. One class period where we're supposed to watch a video on Joseph. I can do that. Well, 1st graders are nuts, but awesome at the same time. I would describe them as miniature Energizer bunnies, but instead of running on electric batteries, they run on sugar. Oh, they also freak out at kissing.

So I tried to get them to sit down on the rug and pay attention to the movie. Every time I looked away, their 6th sense kicks in to tell them they can do something other than pay attention to the movie. It was Friday, the last period of the day, so it's hard to blame them. Of course, you have to be uber-attentive, cause their 1st graders, and a pencil could severely injure them somehow. They're much more fragile than brute high schoolers.

Adam warned me that 5 minutes or so into the movie, there would be a part I needed to fast forward through, due to a cuddling in the bedroom scene. So I got that one. I didn't catch the next scene where there was some kissing involved. I only realized it when all of them started to squeal and shriek "oooo, gross!! they're kissing, yuck, yuck, yucky!!!"
I quickly jumped up in front of the TV to shield them from some very clean, toned down kissing. It's a Bible movie of Joseph for Pete's sake. Not Desperate Housewives. But they were still freaked out.

I really appreciate that they're so inquisitive. They asked so many questions I had no answers to -- about the papers I was trying to grade, about the sheep in the movie, why that guy in the movie was angry. I wish high schoolers had the inquisitive mind and the desire to learn that 1st graders have. I guess high schoolers are bored of being curious or something. I was very glad when the bell rang, because I was exhausted, and it had only been 45 minutes!!

So to all the elementary teachers out there, many thanks to you for doing what you do...it's not easy, and you have to be super-duper energizer bunnies to teach the miniature energizer bunnies.