I've been teaching for thirteen years. Most of my time has been with little kids in first. Little kids have some very interesting stories from home. With my daughter starting kindergarten next year, I shutter to think what she will be saying. Anyhow, the story I want to share is not one told to me by one of my firsties. It is one that played out in the last few minutes of the last day before winter break during my second year teaching.
A grandmother had volunteered that morning. She left around lunch time and ask if she could bring goodie bags back for the kids. How nice! Certainly you little sweet grandmother, you can bring goodie bags. Later that day someone from the office brought a box of brown lunch sacks, stapled closed, to my class. These were the goodie bags. I put the box on top of a book shelf and forgot all about it.
At the end of the day, we were packing and stacking and lining up to go home. One of my students reminded me about the box of goodie bags. The bell rang and I hurriedly passed a bag to every student. Most of the kids went out the door to line up in their dismissal areas, but a few stayed behind and opened their (let me remind you brown lunch sacks, stapled closed) goodie bags.
Inside was a pencil, a Hi-C juice box, and a pack on candy cigarettes. I'm not talking the politically correct candy sticks. The candy cigarettes that my kids had in their possession had packaging that looked like real cigarettes.
I panicked. I grabbed my treasure chest and started offering my remaining students multiple treats from the treasure chest in exchange for the candy cigarettes. There were no takers.
Then one student in particular dawned on me. We'll call her M . M 's mom was v e r y picky with what she was exposed to. For example, she told me she really wasn't crazy about me reading Junie B. Jones to the class because Junie B. seemed disrespectful. And now candy cigarettes were on the way home with M .
I ran out to the car rider line, still carrying my treasure chest. I had to find M and get those cigarettes. When I finally found her she was standing on the sidewalk acting like she was smoking one. I walked over to her and said, " M maybe we should trade some things from the treasure chest for those cigarettes because I don't think your mom with think those are appropriate." M said, "That's OK. I'll just save them for when I play dress up." Then she stuck them in her backpack. (gulp)
I learned my lesson that day. Always check goodie bags before sending them home. But good grief, where do you even get twenty packs of real candy cigarettes (without going to some specialty shop online, which I know she did not have time to do)?
Epilogue: I talked to M 's mom and explained everything. She was cool. I told my principal about it as well, just in case she got any phone calls. I never heard anything.
On another note . . .
I just finished my second word work unit for Teachers Pay Teachers. It is called Blast Off with AU and AW. It includes mini lesson ideas, literacy centers, and printable worksheets. If you would like to check it out, you can click on the picture below.
If you would like a FREEBIE from this unit, you can click on the picture below.
It is one in a series of sorting printables available in this packet.
Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out the other stories at Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together. Better yet, link up your own funny story.
Best.
