Cute & Quotable

Being a teacher affords countless opportunities for merriment. I am going to take the opportunity to share some of the "cute & quotable" from the first three weeks of school. Enjoy!

All the 4th graders and up are required to write in cursive. This may not seem like a big deal, but to 5th grade boys, this is a tragedy to be compared with the world's (ok, city's) catastrophes. Hence, they will do anything in their power to avoid "cursive." Here is an actual conversation between Mr. D and a 5th grade boy (name withheld to protect the innocent).

5th grader: Mr. D, what do I have to do for this assignment?

Mr. D: Well, you have to write a little report, pretending that you are a reporter in Jerusalem at the time of Peter's sermon at Pentecost.

5th grader: Mr. D, I'm sure they didn't write in cursive back then, so that means I shouldn't have to write this in cursive.

Mr. D (stifling laughter): Well, no, you're right-- they didn't use cursive. However, they wrote in Greek. Do you know Greek?

5th grader: No.

Mr. D: Well, I guess you'd better write it in cursive, then. :-)

One of my older students and I had just finished a conversation revolving around Bob Barker, the Price is Right, and my dismay at the new host of said show. Break was over, and one of the freshman needed help with this project: find a word that fits this pattern-- consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant. Having racked his brain and been found wanting, he turned to me for assistance. I (since it was afternoon and my brain had reached the "fried" stage) did not really want to expend mental energy on said word. In frustration (and remembering our previous conversation) I blurted out, "Oh, BOB BARKER!"

The freshman gazed at me in amazement, then said, "Wait-- let me see if that fits!"

Wonder of wonders, "Barker" fit the bill perfectly. He and I stared at each other for a minute, then burst out laughing.

He said, "How did you do that? How did you know?"

I laughed and said, "I'm good... that's all." Not believing me for a moment, he laughed some more and went back to his seat. :-)

One of our junior girls was working on a journalism section in English. She came to a "Check-up" which asked her to write the five W's and one H of journalism. With great drama and aplomb she came to me and said, "I can't do this! I haven't even learned this!"

With patience I showed her the opposite page where she had just written the five W's (Who, What, Where, When, and Why) and the one H (How).

With a blank "Oh" she went back to her seat. Three to five minutes later she blurted out, "Oh, I KNOW why they couldn't tell me what they were! They all start with 'W' and 'H'!"

Exactly, my dear Watson. :-) I love it when light bulbs come on... even if they are a little late in turning on. :-)

Every day at school we learn verses. This year, we are learning Psalm 119... one verse a day. I am always amused when the littlest ones say "statues" instead of "statutes." Their little tongues can't quite wrap around that word just yet. But, by far my favorite this year was the little boy who quoted the verse from his PACE as follows: "Teach my people the difference between the holy and the propane." Stifling my laughter, I had to explain the difference between propane and profane. :-)

Lest I be accused of picking on everyone else and not myself, I will tattle on yours truly. Near the end of one day during the first week of school, I was talking with Mr. D about the possibility of going to a conference with them that Saturday in Wisconsin Rapids (about an hour away). He had mentioned that they were picking up another church family along the way and then carpooling.

Feeling a sudden burst of inspiration, I blurted, "Well, then, you could come and pick me up along the way because"-- here my voice faltered for a moment as I realized the utter absurdity of the statement I was about to make, but I gallantly decided to finish it anyway-- "my house isn't on the way to Rapids at all!"

He looked at me in astonishment, then started laughing. He said, "Somewhere, somehow, I'm sure that makes perfect sense."

Just not here. :-)

A favorite pastime of ours at school is the feeding of Wautoma's mosquito population. They have come in droves and apparently they will stay as long as is convenient for them to do so. Every day at lunch is a new experience in "mosquito feeding." This past week I was sitting at the table, warding off the loathsome creatures, when someone cried out, "Miss Chanda, there's a mosquito on your head!" Without taking a moment to consider the rashness of my actions, I took both hands and proceeded to slap both sides of my head. The uproarious laughter that followed assures me of my talent as a comedian. Never mind. The mosquito perished. And may many of his friends likewise perish in modes befitting their blood-thirsty ways. Amen.

I will try and jot down these little tidbits as they happen. :-) Teaching... there's nothing like it. :-)

alc

Sundry Summer Shindigs-- July

And then we come to July... the month in the summer that always seems the craziest (am I the only one who experiences this sensation?).


For the 4th of July I was able to go to Columbus, WI to spend the evening with my sis & bro & niece... Craig, LeAnna, & Rebekah. We had a lovely time at the church picnic, then spent time with their friends, and then went to the fireworks! It was so fun! Bekah did great... she even got brave and wandered over to her "Auntie" Ashley during the fireworks show! They are such a blessing to me... I love spending time with them!


This is Bekah wearing her "Uncle" Scotty's cowboy hat. Yes, folks, this is where the cowboy hat story begins. It seems that he left the hat in the Comstock's van. Craig then decided that yours truly needed to possess the hat AND Jeremiah's guitar. As the weeks progressed more things belonging unto Scotty began to surface in Wautoma. Thus, a ransom note was issued for the redemption of said items.

Isn't Bekah the cutest thing?! I am so hopelessly biased.... :-)


The week of July 16-20th we had VBS at church. I was so excited to be one of the teachers, and I was even more excited that Verity was coordinating VBS through RBC! She spent the week at my house and we had much good fellowship and much tea! :-) We averaged about 23 kids each night at VBS-- praise the Lord! There were 3 children counseled for salvation during the week-- again, praise the Lord! It was a very stretching week as the older "Junior" group was a handful. That week on Thursday Verity and I were able to drive to Madison to visit her uncle, which was also very fun. It was a great week of ministry... I'm so thankful the Lord allowed us to work together! I think my favorite memory of that week was the day I was teaching about Noah's ark to my younger kids. Their eyes got big as I explained how God had mercifully given the people 120 years to repent, and they did not. By the questions and comments they had, I knew that they were beginning to understand the relationship between God's mercy and God's judgment. It was very exciting to watch the lightbulbs go on in their heads! Another day, one of the boys started asking deep theological questions about God... the Lord gave me the words to say, and I found myself being so thankful for all of my college theology classes! :-)



The weekend after VBS found us in the midst of a very fun "snibling" reunion at my house! My parents planned a pizza party/ campfire and Jeremiah came over from MN to visit (yay!), and I invited Alex and Savannah (two of my older students) to come, too. Scotty was unable to come at the last minute, which was sad. It was a memorable evening, to be sure. Jeremiah changed the oil in his car (twice), leaving evidence of that in our driveway. (Another story for another time). Then, Jer, Ver & I headed out to the campfire to make s'mores and talk and sing our favorite song, "Fade, Fade, Each Earthly Joy." It was so fun to be together again... though we missed Sara and Scotty's presence. (Please note the official "Whaa!" t-shirts :-) ).

Here the infamous cowboy hat comes into play again... we took several pictures wearing the hat and posing with the hat. This one is my favorite-- it illustrates Jeremiah's and my "bother/ sinister" relationship perfectly. :-)

Well, that was pretty much July. I know you won't believe this, based upon the fabulous photos, but I actually worked (a lot!) at Heartland House in July. :-) And, of course, the blessing of being involved in ministries at church and having much fellowship with the church family! It was good to spend time with my own family as well, though some days it didn't seem like I saw them much!


Oh yes... one other "minor" detail about July. :-) I had started praying several months before school let out about whether or not I should return as a teacher. In July, I was convinced that I was headed to Bob Jones University for a Master of Arts in Teaching English degree. It was a painful decision (I would have to leave everything and everyone I know and love), but I felt that it was what the Lord wanted me to do to prepare me for the mission field. Well, let's just say that in early August I found out differently.

Stay tuned....


alc

Sundry Summer Shindigs-- June

Apparently, no one can accuse me of faithfulness to blogging. So, I will here attempt to give a short commentary of a Chanda Panda summer. It was a good summer, fraught with much work and fun, but also questioning and disappointments. I hope your summer was great... enjoy perusing mine! :-)

June was a VERY busy month. I was working full-time at Heartland House as the activities director and sometimes a caregiver. Definately the highlight of the month was Sara's wedding to Dave Jones. Here are Sara and her ladies... aren't they gorgeous?! I was honored to be Sara's personal attendant. Steph and I traveled to Minnesota together for the wedding. We came away from the weekend with a burning desire to never, ever get so lost in Minnesota ever again! We went to the Mall of America and then, because we were unimpressed with the mall, went to have lunch with Jeremiah. We then proceeded to get hopelessly lost but made it to the rehearsal dinner only 5 minutes late. :-) Part of the fun of the wedding was the "Snibling Reunion" that occurred the next day as Sara, Verity, Jeremiah, Scotty, Janelle, and myself were reunited! Verity & Janelle also stayed in the hotel with us Friday night, and that was fun, too! It isn't often that all of us are together, so we soaked up every minute!

I was so happy to be able to pray once more with Sara before she became Mrs. Dave Jones... I miss her a lot-- extension will never be the same! Immediately after the new Jones's left, the e-team changed into our official "Whaa!" t-shirts and took this photo... definately one of my favorites. We wanted a picture of the original "Fab Five" e-team, but that didn't quite happen. Somewhere, out there, though, is a pic of the entire e-team, including its newest "in-law" members. :-)

So, then, after the excitement of Sara's wedding and the frustration of getting lost in Minnesota multiple times, I returned to WI to teach at the Christian Youth in Action training camp. Jonathan and I teamed up again to teach the demonstration club (as in, "how to properly teach a 5-Day Club"). It was fun... but a lot of work! It was a blessing to interact with the teens and see friends that I don't see very often!

After the excitement of teaching at CYIA came the excitement of having our church painted! Sir Scotty himself came and did an expert job of painting our church. We had a "cleaning week" that week, too, so there were people coming in and out all week long. It was pretty fun. :-) However, the church painting episode gave way to the "Case of the Ransomed Hat" episode... Scotty left his hat with the Comstocks (which somehow ended up in MY possession), which led to an elaborate scheme to try and return it, which may or may not be recorded in further blog posts. :-)

June 26th was Nathan's 10th birthday-- wow! So, we had a small family get-together. Our neighbor Amanda came over and our little cousin Theresa was there, too, so that was fun for Nathan. The three of them were goofing around for a while, so I snapped some pretty cute pics. :-)

Top-- Theresa,

Bottom-- Nathan and Amanda

So, that was June... it was busy and fun. :-)