"...I Would Cry All the Time."

During reading group one day this week, somehow we started talking about crying and losing someone through death. I wish I could remember what we were talking about exactly, but I can't. Anyway, one of my little boys said, "When I'm older, rather if I have a son or daughter, and if they die, I would cry all the time." Isn't that sweet? But, I hope he never experiences that in his life. That is such a hard thing for anyone to experience. I was just kind of amazed that a seven year old boy thought of it and said it. I wanted to share on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"My Gutter Hurts"

This past Tuesday, when I had parents visiting my classroom, I had a funny story that took place. During my teaching time, one of my little girls said, "My gutter hurts." I was like "What? You don't have a gutter!" She preceded to tell me that the space between the teeth and her cheek hurts. She called that her "gutter." Isn't that cute? Truthfully, maybe because I've taught first grade a while now, I can understand why she called it her "gutter." I thought this was cute on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"... Mean More to Them Then Money!"

I have this one boy in my class that is just hilarious. He is such a happy boy. He makes me laugh SO much! I am so thankful for him.
One day this week, I told him I was going to bottle him up and sell him. He told me that he won't come back to this school if I'm going to do that because his mom and dad won't like it. So, I told him that I would get a lot of money if I sell him and that I would share the money with his parents. He then said,"(His sister's name) and I mean more to them then money!" I thought it was so sweet. He is right, he does mean more than money... all kids, all people are. I just loved how a six year old boy said that. How touching is that on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Do You Speak Whinese?"

This is probably one of my favorite blog stories of ALL time! It made me laugh VERY hard. I hope you will get a laugh from it, too. However, I do think it is funnier if you were there. :-)
In first grade, I teach my children Community Helpers. One of our community helpers is the Pastor. So, I asked a fellow teacher (and a friend of mine), who is also the Youth Pastor at my church, to come talk to my kids about what a pastor does and what he does specifically as youth pastor. He did a great job! At the end of what he was saying, he asked me if the kids could ask questions. I said, "Yes!" So, he asked the kids if they had any questions. Some of them had really good questions, for first graders.
Well, before I explain the funny part of the story, I need to preface it. I have a few kids in my class that whine. I've told them that I don't speak whinese, so they have to talk like big kids if they want me to answer them.
Now, during question time with the Youth Pastor, one of my girls asked him "Do you speak whinese?" The funny part is that she was being serious and not trying to be silly. This question came out of the blue. My class and I just busted out laughing. It was hilarious! I was laughing so hard that I couldn't even say anything to him to explain. Then the Youth Pastor said, "Is this an inside joke?" Again, we are STILL laughing. Finally, I was able to compose myself enough to explain. I think this is hilarious, and I hope you enjoyed this story on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Your Hair is Messy"

On Thursday of this week, I had my hair pulled back into a pony tail. Now, my hair is naturally curly and has gotten pretty long. Well, throughout the day, I had a couple of curls come out of my pony tail and was on the side of my face. During a reading group, one of my boys (seven years old) said, "Your hair is messy." He thought my hair was messy because I had curls on the side of my face. So, I guess I'm now getting hair styling tips from a seven year old boy. I thought it was humorous on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"... Will Come to This School"

One day this week, my class and I were talking about something. Honestly, I cannot remember what we were talking about. However in some part of the conversation, one of my girls (6 years old) said, "When I get older, my two sons and two daughters will come to this school." Wow! She is six and knows she is "having" two sons and two daughters. I thought that was cute and wanted to share on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I Know"

This past Sunday I was helping in my K-4 Sunday School class. A girl came into class, and the teacher said, "You look nice today." The little girl, who is four, said, "I know!" I was stunned she said that! I had to turn around and laugh. I thought it was funny on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"If You Don't Say It, You'll Make God Sad."

Several weeks ago in K-4 Sunday school, I was teaching the kids their memory verses. After we went over our verse, I have the childen say the verse to me. If they say it, they get a sticker to put on their sticker chart. Several of my kids said their verse. I asked this boy if he wanted to say his verse. He said, "No." Another boy told him, "If you don't say it, you'll make God sad." I thought that was so precious and sweet. God does want us to say and memorize His Word. So, the K-4 year old boy spoke truth. Well, the little boy did say his verse to me that day. I just thought it was neat on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I Know CPR."

One day this week we had indoor recess, since it was raining. My kids spent most of their recess talking to me. They wanted to share things with me. They are really a funny class. I'm so thankful the Lord is working in them/with them and in me. I believe we are enjoying each other more, since they are improving in their behavior.
Well, somehow CPR got mentioned while they were talking to me. One of my little boys said, "I know CPR." So, I said, "Really?" Remember, he is 6! He said, "Yes, you just press on the stomach and breathe into their mouth." Well, he is close--- somewhat :-) Then one of my other little boys (who is hilarious and just such a happy boy!) said, "EWWW!" It was such a hilarious moment. Then, I had to explain about the breathing in the mouth.
My kids make me laugh. I love to hear the laughter of children. There are not many things better than that! God is good! I just wanted to share with you on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I'm Shrinking"

One day this week, one of my little girls said to me, "I'm turning green." Then later, she said, "I'm shrinking!" I didn't really respond to her comment about turning green, but I told her that I'm sure she wasn't shrinking and that usually only older people shrink. But, I thought it was funny that I had a "turning green, shrinking" first grader! :-) I thought it was funny on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I Have a Heart in My Eye. It is Beeping."

One day earlier this week one of my little girl's eyes, I guess, was twitching. She was trying to explain it to me. She said, "I have a heart in my eye. It is beeping." How cute! She was explaining the twitching and that is the best she could explain it. For some reason, first graders often say "beeping" instead of "beating" when referring to the beating of their heart. But, I thought it was such a neat and cute explanation on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"You Look Like a Little Girl"

Today for school, I wore my hair up with four little hair clips ("claws"). Sometime during the middle of the school day, one of my little girls said that I was wearing hair clips. I told her yes. She then said, "You look like a girl." I said, "Yes, that's because I am a girl!" She said, "You look like a little girl." So, I guess I looked like a little girl today, since I had my hair pulled back in hair clips. I thought it was cute (and kind of flattering!) on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"They Help Deliver Presents at Christmas"

In class we've been going over Children of the World. I focus on a country a day. Today was Italy! I was done teaching and then I asked questions about what I taught. I asked, "What is the Italian Alps?" Of course, they are Italian mountains. Well, one of my cute little boys said, "They help deliver presents at Christmas." He thought I said elves rather than alps. How cute is that!! I had to laugh. It was so precious on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

A Child's Thankful Heart

Every day during Bible class, we have prayer time. I have three students come to the front. They each give a request, then I switch them up, so each child will pray for another child's request. Then, I end in prayer. I'm trying to teach them to thank God for something He has given them. Well, one day this week, one of my children were praying. She thanked God for the air and trees. She also thanked God for her family and her teacher (me!). But, I was just touched that she would think about thanking God for air and the trees. Remember, she is six! It was a blessing to hear. I just wanted to share with you all what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Hair Cut Done By a Child

A few weeks ago I had a situation at school that happened with a couple of my boys. I was talking to them and trying to get the whole story and just dealing with the situation. As I was talking to the boys, I had a first happen! One of my girls took out her scissors and decided to give herself a hair cut. She cut her hair! I've heard that happen before; however, in the past eight years of teaching, I have not had that happen in my class before. So, it was a first! This class is giving me a lot of firsts. We are having fun (or at least their teacher is!). They do make me laugh at the things they do and say. They are quite eventful! I wanted to share with you what a "babe" did.

"I Guess (child's name) Wants to Hold All the Girls Hands"

It has been rainy here the last couple of days. So when it is rainy, we have rainy day recess at school. I try to use a variety of games for my kids to play. Well, on Thursday, we played my version of "hot potato." I have the kids first stand in a circle and hold hands. I do this to help them form a circle. Then, they sit down. I put music in, usually a Patch the Pirate music cd. The kids have to pass this stuff animal around the circle. When the music stops, whoever has the stuffed animal is out! They loved this game!!! They laughed almost constantly. They thought it was funny when someone got out.
On one of the turns to start a new game, the kids were getting in a circle and held hands to help form a circle. Well, there were three kids standing beside each other. One little girl reached around another girl to grab a little boy's hand, and the boy moved beside her and just smiled and held her hand. I looked at the boy (he's also the son of a good friend of mine), and I just smiled and looked at him. He looked at me and said, "What?" I guess he was wondering why I was staring at him. You see, I remember holding him when he was like a day old. So, it was funny and weird for me to see him act like this.
Well, the kids played that round of the game. It was time for another round to start. The same boy went around and looked (almost searched) and then held hands with another girl. I again just looked at him in surprise. The new girl he was holding hands with said, "I guess (child's name) wants to hold all the girls hands." (I don't use the names of my kids in the blog that is why I just used "child's name.") It was hilarious!!! I had to laugh and so did my kids. It was precious! I had to share with you on what a "babe" did and what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"No, it's mine"

This week, on Thursday, I kept hearing a noise during class. It wasn't an annoying noise, but I just couldn't figure out what it was. That was what the annoying part to me was. I finally asked my kids if they heard the noise. I wanted to make sure Miss Pregony wasn't going crazy!! Praise the Lord I'm not; they heard the noise, too. :-) I even checked my cell phone to make sure it wasn't my phone, even though I'm usually pretty good at turning the sound off. Well, it wasn't my phone. I thought maybe it was a noise that was coming from outside by the trees. Maybe a child lost a toy at AWANAS the night before and that was making the noise. I even asked my kids if they had a toy in their pocket or something. They didn't! So, the mystery noise still existed!
Well, after lunch, I asked the second grade teacher if she had heard noise during the day, again thinking maybe it was coming from outside. Well, after lunch and restroom break, we went back to class to have an arithmetic test. I still heard the noise! So, after the test before I did the oral part of the test, I told the kids I was going to check book bags to see if anyone had a toy that was making the noise. So, I checked the book bags. One of the first ones I looked in had a cell phone in it. I told her that she had her mom's cell phone. She said, "No, it's mine." I was like "What? You have a cell phone when you are six?" She said, "I'm five." Oh my, I have a five year old that has a cell phone. I had to have her show me how to "unlock" her phone, and I realized she had a voicemail from her grandma. That's why the phone was making the noise. Of course, I turned the phone off. But, I thought it was quite interesting and definitely eventful!! To be honest, it was funny, too. I had to share my eventful first grade experience (which was a first for me!-- a five year old having a cell phone) that a "babe" did and what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Because I'm Getting Saved"

Last night I had the opportunity and privilege to help with a teen activity lock in for the youth department at my church. It was great fun! We did several fun activities- including driving really fast cars at G-Force and playing laser tag. Of course, we stayed up ALL night! However, the highlight of my evening/early morning was that I had the opportunity and privilege to lead a 7th grade girl to the Lord. It was amazing! I am always in awe when I get the opportunity to talk to a child about the Lord. I had been desiring and praying about being able to talk to teenager. So, this was indeed, an answer to prayer!
As I was talking to her, she had a smile on her face about the whole time. That was sweet to see. However, the sweetest thing I got to experience while I was talking to her and dealing with this child was when I saw a tear come from her eye. I asked her while she was crying, and she said, "Because I'm getting saved!" How sweet is that! I about cried myself. Her one tear became several and the tears started flowing. It was such a sweet and tender moment. I am so thankful and humbled that I was able to be a part of this awesome opportunity. I wanted to share with you what God had done and what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes." It was a true blessing!

A Blessing in Song

I love music! I'm not the best singer, by any means. I'll admit that right off, but I love to listen to music. So, at school, I play a lot of music cds in class. One of my favorite times to put on my music is while my children are writing in their writing books. Recently, I've been playing a cd I bought a few weeks ago at a ladies retreat. The cd has many songs on it about God being so good and how He helps us through our trials. On a personal note, the cd has been a huge blessing to me in my personal life, as I have been dealing with different situations in my life lately.
Back to my kids, one day during writing, I had my cd on. A song called, "He'll Do It Again" was playing. The song talks about how God will help us with our problems even though "we may not know how, we may not know when, but He'll do it again" like He has done in the past. The song is one of my favorites! I was walking around checking my kids work, and I looked up at one of my kids. When I looked at him, he was mouthing the words to this song. It was a blessing to see him learn this song. What a great lesson to learn, especially at a young age on how God will help us with our problems! I was touched by this sight, and I wanted to share with you on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Keep It All Day If You Want To"

Yesterday at school we celebrated one of my little ones' birthday. His mom sent cupcakes and goody bags in for the kids. On the cupcakes were these little plastic rings (as decoration). Of course, the children put the rings on after they licked the icing off. I told them that was fine, but they had to make sure that they did not play with them during arithmetic class (which is after lunch time), or Miss Pregony would have to take the ring away. Well, during class, one of my boys was playing with his ring. I had to take it away; I had told them I would, so I had to. When I went to go take it away, at first he didn't want me to and moved the ring away from me. So, Miss Pregony gave him a nice "teacher look" then he gave it to me and said, " Keep it all day if you want to." I thought it was funny that he gave me permission to keep his ring all day. I did tell him that I would keep it all day, and I did. I just laughed at what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I'm More Medium Sized..."

Today in arithmetic class, I called on a student to be my helper. I guess when I called him up I must have called him up to be a "little teacher." When he got up to the front to be "teacher," he said "Will you please call me medium sized? I'm more medium sized than little." How funny is that! I thought that was cute on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Jesus Loves the Little Children"

Today, I had the opportunity to teach toddler jr. church. Before the lesson, we were singing some songs. One song I was going to have them sing was "Jesus Loves the Little Children." Before we sang that song, I asked the children (remember these kids are mostly 3 years old), "Who does Jesus love?" I was hoping for an answer like everybody or us, since we were going to sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children." Well, I called on a little boy who wanted to answer. He said, "Me!" I said, "Does He love anyone else?" He said, "No." I asked him again if God loved anyone else or just him. He said only him. How cute!
I then asked him if God loved me, Miss Pregony. He said, "No." Then this other little boy sitting next to me on my left said, "I love you." Then the boy sitting next to me on my right said, "I love you." Then this little girl (who I call my "mini me" because she looks just like me when I was her age!) said, "I love you." So, according to this boy, God does not love me but I have three little ones that do. I thought it was cute on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes" today. I do have to close with saying, Praise the Lord that He does love me and not just me, but "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and not just children but adults, too. God is SO good!!

"I Want a Million Daughters!"

School is back in session!!! That means that the frequency of my blogging may increase. YEAH!! I am only two days into the new school year with my new class; however, I am happy to report that I do believe that this class will give me many "Out of the Mouth of Babes" stories to share. They are sweet and pretty fun with good personality.
Today, we were in arithmetic class. I gave them a story problem. After the story problem, I called up children to the front of the room to "act" out the problem, so they could "see" it. The problem was "A dad and mom went to the zoo with their three children. How many people went to the zoo?" To "act" out the problem, I called up a "dad", a "mom", two "sons" and a "daughter." After the problem was over, I said to the "mom" that she had more "sons" then "daughters." She said, "I want a million daughters!" Oh my, I thought. She wants a million daughters. How cute is that! I think she'll change her mind. :-) What do you think? But, I thought that was cute on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Good for Two Things"

One day this week my boys were playing and I guess they were doing something weird or crazy. One of my girls said something about them being weird and crazy. She said to me that "Boys are only good for two things." I couldn't believe she said this. She is only 7. I was interested to hear what the two things were going to be. So, of course, I asked. She told me the two things that boys were good for were when you hear noise downstairs and they go down and check it out--- which is true! The other reason why boys are good is to order pizza! :-) How cute is that! I thought that was hilarious! That is "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Mommy!"

At daycare this summer, I have several girls in my class. Early on in the summer, one of the little girls started playing and calling me "Mommy." She kept calling me that. So, I finally told her that if she was going to call me that, then I was going to change her name to a name I would call one of my daughters, if I would ever have one. So, she continued and has had a "name change." As the summer has gone by, I think I have "six daughters" now, which is more than I would want in reality, by the way (I've found out girls fight all the time with each other!) It is kind of sweet and funny on what comes "Out of the Mouth of Babes." Truthfully, I love hearing it, except when they come to me calling me, "Mommy", followed by fighting with their "sister." Just wanted to share with you! It is cute. I also find it funny because I think it annoys the boys when they call me "Mommy."

"You can google it"

At daycare the other day, I was talking to my kids and I was telling them I wanted to have 34 eyeballs on me (there were 17 kids there and they each have 2 eyes). I explained that fact to them as well about why I said 34 eyeballs. I also told them that was a multiplication fact (17 x 2). After I was done talking, one of my girls asked me a big/hard multiplication fact. I said I don't know I'd have have to figure that one out. She said, "You can google it. That's what my dad does when he wants to find something out." I just found it funny that a first grader would be that familiar with "google." Well, I didn't "google" it. I figured it out on paper and showed her and told her the answer. But, I thought it was funny, and I wanted to share with you what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Hard Work Pays Off !!!

At the daycare, I have a cool opportunity to go swimming with my kids two times a week. So, I get paid to be in the pool for an hour and a half, two times a week. I have a hard job, don't I? :-) Well, actually, in some other respects I do. But, I have a pool story I want to share with you.

This week has been a very hard week for me at the daycare. I have a couple of boys, that I have mentioned in a prior post, that are quite challenging. I haven't given up on them. I won't! I've told them that we are a team, and we will work together through their anger management issues because I have two boys that cannot control their anger. It is pretty sad! I am determined that God has placed me there for a reason this summer to help them and be a blessing to them even though it is hard and challenging for me.

Well on Friday, we were in the pool. I have this one little boy who is five years old. He is about the cutest thing you've seen! He is small in size with longer blonde, curly hair. He is adorable! He also has beautiful bright blue eyes! Like I said, he's adorable!! He's the same boy that I mentioned in the previous post about not going to a country. :-)

Well... back to the pool, he cannot swim. When we are in the pool, he hangs on to pool noodles. He decided yesterday that he was going to practice swimming. So, he would hold his breath under water for a while.; he was so proud of himself. Then, he would ask me hold on to the noodles and pull them while he kicked. After that, I got rid of the noodles and just held his hands while he kicked. He said, "Miss Heather, don't let me go!" Of course, I wouldn't! He kept practicing. He said, I just can't blow bubbles with my nose under water.

Well, while we were in the water, he kept trying to swim. He didn't give up. By the end, he was swimming!! He doesn't have it down perfect, but he did it. I was so proud of him. He didn't give up! I had so much fun helping him and watching him achieve his goal. It was a great end of a hard week for me. It brought joy at the end of a hard week! It reminded me how fun it is to watch children learn and be happy. I needed that. I am thankful that God gave me this little reminder on Friday afternoon! I wanted to share with you the joy of hard work of what a "babe" did!

"Is it o-kay if I cry?"

At daycare the other day, I had a student that came to me kind of sad. She came and talked to me. She told me that her dog "Wicket" was going to be put to sleep that day. How sad! She asked me, "Is it o-kay if I cry?" Oh my, that about broke my heart! I told her, "Of course it is! It is o-kay to cry when we are sad." I also told her, that I've cried a lot, even recently, when I've been sad. I just felt so sad for her because she was so sad because her dog was going to die that day. I wanted to share that tender moment that came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I Haven't Been in a Country"

At the daycare this summer, we are "traveling" around the world. Each week we are "going" to a different country. It is going to be exciting! During the week, we do art projects and journal entries pertaining to the country we are "visiting."
Since this is our first week, we are getting ready for our travels. So today we made passports. Remember, I am working with children that just finished kindergarten and first grade, so I have to do a lot of explaining. I was trying to explain to them the reason why we have passports. I was explaining that they need passports when people go to different countries. I gave them names of countries and tried to explain the difference between states and countries. I told them that when people visit different countries they get stamps in their passports. Well, I had this one boy who just finished kindergarten that said in a very sad, whiny type voice, "I haven't been in a country." He sounded so sad; I thought he was going to cry. He then put his head on the table. Part of my heart almost "broke" for him; part of me was laughing because it was funny-- I was laughing! Then, I had a boy said, "You are in a country. You are in the U.S.A." He was right! We are in a country. It was very funny! I wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"If I could go anywhere...."

As I mentioned in an earlier post, during the summer I work at a daycare. I am working with children that just finished kindergarten and some that just finished first grade. It is a great age! Today, Monday, June 15, 2009, was my first day. It was a pretty good day. I've learned I will have my work "cut" out for me with some of the boys, especially. However, I think we will have a good summer, once we get to know each other.
Today, the children had to write a journal entry about "If I could go anywhere...." They had to finish that sentence and tell me why they chose that place. I told them to pick any place they wanted to go and to pretend they had as much money as they needed to get there. I gave them an example of where I would and why I want to go there.
Well, three of my girls wrote about the same place for the same reason. I don't have their stories with me. But, I will paraphrase. They said, If I could go anywhere, I would go to New York. So, I can go shopping with my friends.
I loved that! I agree totally! They are my "girly girls!" That made me smile! I wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Hold Your Horses!

I help with the K-4 Sunday school class at my church. This time of the year, most of the children are five years old. This past Sunday, the children were pretty rambunctious. We were working on our worksheet about our Bible lesson that was just taught. I had to pass out little papers for them to glue. The children were asking for them. I said, in a joking manner,"Hold your horses!" One kid said, "We don't have any horses." But another child said, "But, I have a goat!" Let me add, this child does not have a goat. However, I thought this was quite funny on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

From the Heart of a Teacher

School is now over for me. This is a happy and sad time. I had told my kids for about the last two weeks of school when we were counting the days, that it was a happy/sad time. It truly was! It is happy because summer is here; however, it is sad because I have said goodbye to my kids. I've always loved teaching! I am so thankful for the love God has given me for teaching. I cannot imagine doing anything else. I know I have mentioned it several times on this blog, but children truly are my life!

I have just finished my seventh year teaching, which is hard to believe. Most of those years have been great. There has only been one year that was truly not good, and that was partly due to personal sorrow (the year of my dad's passing when I was "empty"). The other years have been great. This year that I just finished has been probably been my best or tied for the best year I have had.

This class is so much fun! They have so much personality! You all that have been reading my blog have been able to get a small glimpse of how great they are. I wish you could meet these kids. I hope that you have laughed with me, been touched with me, and perhaps been even "moved" with me.

The biggest thing this class has impressed upon me is their spiritual sensitivity. I have loved watching them "grow." I have loved listening them pray and share their requests. I have shared requests with them, my personal requests, and they pray for them. I have asked them to pray for my cousin who has cancer, and I have been told by parents that they go home and pray for her. I have asked them to pray for my friend's friend to get saved, and they have. They really do care! It is so encouraging to me even at this young age, that these children care so much about the things of the Lord. I hope and pray that doesn't change as they get older.

These kids truly have a special place in my heart. I truly love them and, yes, I already do miss them. I miss their smiles, hugs, and even their silliness. I miss their jewelry talks- from my "girly" girls. I miss their crazy "treasure hunts" and jumping on the swings.
You see, yes, I was their teacher. But, you have to remember, I had these kids for 7 hours a day for 175 days. They are like my kids. That is why I am so sappy, today. I do love them and miss them. I wanted to share with you not just what babes do but what is coming not from "Out of the mouth of babes" but from "the heart of the teacher."

Since school is over, I may not be blogging as much. I will be working at a daycare this summer with children around the same age. So, I'm sure I will have some stories to tell. I will continue to work and serve in my church with the children, so I'm sure that will give me stories, too. But, I wanted to close up my school year with a final entry. I hope you enjoyed reading these entries as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you! I wish you all a blessed summer. I hope you can experience some personal joy in hearing on what comes "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Snake and Tell"

I mentioned in a previous post that I am a "girly" girl. With being a "girly" girl, I hate snakes! My kids know that. They were laughing at me! I, basically, hate anything that can crawl over my feet. Well, one of my students brought a snake skin in to school to show the class. Even though I personally do not like stuff like that, I thought for educational purposes, I should let him show them. So, he took it out and showed them. The kids loved it..... even the girls. I measured it, without touching it, it was 4 1/2 feet long. The kids enjoyed it so much! Almost all of them touched it, even my girls. I just wanted to share with you a neat experience that my "babes" got to have. I also am including some pictures of the snake skin. Hope you enjoy it!

My student holding the snake skin.
The snake skin on my reading group chairs. Look how long it is!

"You look like a Queen!"

In my class this year, I have 10 girls and 5 boys. Most of my girls are "girly." Their teacher, me, is also very "girly." One of my reading groups has five girls in it and one boy. The five girls in that group are very "girly." If we aren't careful, we end up talking about jewelry, clothes, and other things, at times, after we read. This year, my class knows that my older brother is getting married. He is actually getting married in a week. My kids, especially my "girly girls", ask me questions. You know girls, they love weddings. I think it is funny how even when girls are so young, they are so interested in weddings. Well, they know I'm a bridesmaid, so they ask questions about my dress and shoes and all the stuff concerning the wedding. Well, today, I brought my camera in and showed them a picture of myself with my hair done, make up done, and bridesmaid dress on, and shoes on for the wedding. I was trying things on and "practicing" with my hair and makeup. Well, I was showing my girls the picture, and my one boy in the reading group looked at the picture and said, "You look like a Queen!"
I thought that was SO sweet! I laughed at it, too, though because I was shocked. But, I thought that was one of the sweetest things I've heard. If he keeps being sweet, he will make one girl very happy one day! I loved what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Here comes the bride"

Recess time lately is full of so much laughter, not just the laughter of my children but my own laughter. They make me laugh SO hard! My kids are hilarious! I have told some of my friends, some of you that read this blog, my kids are a blast! I wish you all could meet them. They are just so much fun. They do the funniest things.
The other day, the boys were running to the swings singing "Here comes the bride"(which is weird they were singing that song anyway) and falling off the swings. I don't know why they were doing that. I don't know what the purpose of that was. But, it really was funny! The way they were falling was just so funny because they were rolling over the mulch. They, themselves, were laughing so hard. Some of the stuff they do really is nonsense, but it is funny. They enjoy doing it. I, truly enjoy watching them having fun! It is a pleasure to be their teacher and laughing with them and their craziness. I enjoy watching the craziness my "babes" do.

"Why do snacks make kids so quiet?"

Tonight, I had the privilege to babysit three children. I LOVE children! If you know me, you know or should know that about me. Children are my life. Well, I had the opportunity to babysit three children after school today, take them to dinner, and take them to church. I told them if they did a good job in church, especially the youngest, that he would get a treat after church. Well, he did a pretty good job! We had a good time. On the way to get a treat, we were singing in the car, "If You're Happy and You Know It." I had such a good time! So, we went to McDonalds. The girls and I got ice cream. The boy got fries. We were on the way home. The oldest girl (11) said, "Why do snacks make kids so quiet?" I thought that was so cute! That is a good idea! I guess whenever you want kids to be quiet..... feed them :-) Not really.... it was cute, though. It made me laugh. I wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Puppy Stories

One of our last writing assignments for first grade is that the students had to write stories about puppies. Well, my kids did! I wanted to share two of them with you. They were all cute! But, these two I thought were really neat. I hope you enjoy them.
The first one: "I like puppies. I like big puppies and little puppies. I like medium size puppies and they like to play ball and like to take a nap." I like how he included all size puppies! :-) I did correct the spelling in his story.
Here is the second story. I thought this one was quite entertaining! " I like puppies because they're so soft and furry and cute! Do you have a dog because if you do, it uses the bathroom a lot! So, I hope you don't get one because you have to clean behind them. So never get a puppy. You can if you want to, you can. But I'm not, unless my Mommy or my Daddy says so, but I don't want one!" I thought that was so funny that she talked about cleaning up behind the dog.
So, those are just two of my puppy stories that came from "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Our Own Little Language

I "speak" a lot with my facial expressions. One thing I do often is, I wink. I remember being in kindergarten, my principal would wink at me. I would wink right back at him. I credit him for teaching me to wink. That is probably why I wink a lot to my kids. One day this past week, one of my reading groups decided we were just going to wink. One girl, bless her heart, cannot wink. It is hilarious! In order for her to wink, she has to hold the non-winking eye down with her hand. One child, when she winks, her whole nose scrunches up. It is too cute! We had fun watching each other wink. I know this sounds silly, but it was fun! We have a good time together- winking and all! It is just funny to see them wink back at me when I wink at them. It is our own little language. I enjoy it and wanted to share something that "babes" and teacher do.

What Matters to Us, Matters to God!

These past several months have been amazing in my class regarding the spiritual aspect. This class is spiritually sensitive. They get excited about praying for others and seeing prayers answered. It is exciting for me!
One thing the Lord has been teaching me, therefore, I've been sharing with my kids, is that what matters to us matters to God. I am so thankful for that! So, I tell them if it is important to us, we need to share it with God because He cares about it, and it is important to Him.
Remember, I teach first grade. One big thing to happen to first graders is that they lose teeth. I have a student who has not lost a tooth, yet. She has had a loose tooth for a few weeks, now.
So, we've been praying for her to lose that tooth before the school year is out. Well, this past week, she came to school with one less tooth! The kids were excited to see that! I know this may sound silly to you, but it really is exciting to see the children get excited. I am even hearing from parents that their child is going home and praying for requests like for this child to lose her tooth. That is exciting to me! It is exciting to see prayers answered from "Out of the Mouth of Babes." I am so proud and privileged to be a part of this!

"We found treasure!"

At recess today while I was watching my kids, two of my boys came running to me saying, "We found treasure!" They came and gave me their "treasure." Their "treasure" was a broken zipper. I took it and thanked them for it and put it in my pocket, and they went off for more "treasure" hunting. Soon, they came back. "We found more treasure!" This "treasure" was a pen cap. Again, I took this "treasure." The boys were so excited! Again for the third time, they were off! Soon, they returned. This time they brought another "treasure." One boy said,"It's a sticker." I said, "No, it's a band aid. Gross! That's not a treasure!" However, they still liked that "treasure." It was neat and funny to see what my little boys enjoyed seeking and finding as their "treasure." It is funny to watch what "babes" do. It made me laugh!

Choir of Sweet Voices

There are so many things I love about teaching! There are so many things that "get " to me. One of my favorite things for me to hear my children say and do is the Lord's prayer. It is amazing to hear six and seven year olds quote the passage found in Matthew 6. Usually when the children say the Lord's prayer, I say it with them, but today, I just had to listen. I listened to the choir of sweet voices say the Lord's prayer. It was so precious and sweet what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Whisper a Prayer"

This week at school one of my students was sick for most of the week. We missed her a lot! We prayed for her everyday, several times throughout the day. The children were really missing her. This group of children that I have this year is a "tight" group. I always call each class I teach a "family." But, this class really is that close. For the most part, they all get along that well with each other. They are SO fun!
Well, on Friday morning during Bible time, it was our prayer time. Each day, three different children come up and give prayer requests. Then, I assign the requests, and they pray for each other's request and any request we may have as a class to share. This whole week we have been praying for this girl to feel better and come back to school. The children pray, and then I pray. While I was praying, the door opened. I looked up, and it was her! Yes, my kids eyes should be closed, but they looked up and were all so excited to see her! We had just finished praying for her. As far as they were concerned, God just answered their prayer! That is fine with me.
Then, immediately after praying, the song that we sung, suggested to sing from my curriculum, was "Whisper a Prayer." Here are the words to this song:
"Whisper a prayer in the morning, Whisper a prayer at noon. Whisper a prayer in the evening, He will keep your heart in tune. God answers prayer in the morning, God answers prayer at noon. God answers prayer in the evening. He will keep your heart in tune."
I do not know why, but the song was just a rebuke and an encouragement to me that day. We just prayed for this little girl to come back to school. Then, singing this song right after we saw our answered prayer, it was neat! I am glad my students and I got to see it! I, truthfully, teared up. It was encouraging to me and a great reminder to me on how God does hear and answer our prayers- even the ones that come"Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I Got New Socks!"

Getting new things is always exciting! I love getting new things, personally, I love getting new jewelry. :-) Well, kids are the same way. They like to get new things, too. Well, today one of my little boys came to me and said, "Miss Pregony, did you notice any thing new about me?" Well, I looked at him. I looked at his mouth first. I checked to see if he had lost any teeth. That is a big thing to happen in first grade. I then looked at his clothes. I didn't notice anything new. I said, "No." He then bent down. I was thinking he must have gotten new shoes, but I didn't notice them being new. He pulled at his socks. He said, "I got new socks!" He had the biggest grin on his face. It was so cute! He was so excited about his new pair of socks. Apparently, I was supposed to notice them. Oops! Sorry! I thought it was priceless on how excited he was to share with me about his socks, so I wanted to share with you on what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Rhymes with Pregony"

One awesome sign of spring is the beautiful bloom of fresh flowers. Sometimes being a teacher, I receive flowers from my students. Last Friday, one of my students gave me a beautiful bouquet of fresh tulips. They were beautiful! I have never received tulips before. So, I was really happy about them.
Today, Thursday, one of my students brought in a beautiful flower for me. It was a beautiful purple. She said, "It is a Peony, and it rhymes with Pregony." I thought that was cute! It rhymes with my last name! :-) I thought that was funny and had to share the fact that the flower rhymes with my name and that it came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Taking a bite out of Mulch

This is an absolutely hilarious story! However, I must say, it is probably hilarious to me because I was there. I will try my best to explain why I think this is so funny. It is also the type of story I wish I had a camera, or better yet, a video camera to capture the moment.
It happened Wednesday afternoon at recess. Lately, my children have been obsessed with the swings. The past couple of days, my boys have tried this new thing with the swings. They would run a few feet from the swing and land on the swing on their stomachs. Yes, I allow them to do this! I feel like this is harmless. Under the swings, is a nice padding of mulch. So, the kids are really safe. The boys have a blast doing this!
Well, today one of my boys was doing this. I was watching him. He was having fun. He was away from the swing. He ran to the swing to land on it. Instead of landing on it, he missed it! He jumped right over it! He landed on his belly! His mouth must have been opened! When he got up, he had mulch/dirt over his face, mouth, shirt and pants. I went over to him to make sure that he was alright. I was hoping he didn't get hurt. When I found he was o-kay, I had to laugh. It really was funny! A funny part was, he had mulch on his teeth, and he was trying to spit it out of his mouth. When I said he was covered, he was covered! I have heard taking a bite out of crime before, but I have never heard taking a bite out of mulch! :-) Well, I had to share this story about what one of my "babes" did. Yes, he is o-kay! I did check that out first, before I started laughing!

Personal and Tender Moment

For those of you that know me, know that four and a half years ago my father passed away from liver cancer. The reason why I am bringing this up on a blog about my "kids" is because I am going to "tie" it in with one of them. It seems that the Lord has used this very painful part of my personal life so many times to be a help (or try to be a help) to others.
Well, this year in my class, I have had a first. I have had the privilege to teach a boy whose mother passed away a few years ago, I think the year after my father passed away. As you can imagine, this is a bond we share. I often compare it to something like a "club" no one wants to be in. There has been times we have talked about our parents and try to imagine what they are doing up in Heaven. I have said things to him like, I wonder if my dad and your mom are watching us now while we are in class. It really is sweet! It helps me, hopefully it is a help to him.
Today, for me, for some reason, was just a hard day. For some reason, I think it was a hard day for him today, too. I think we both missed our parents! He was quite "huggy." At this age, children are still "huggy" (one reason why I still love this age!). But, today, he was more so than usual. The other children noticed and even commented on it. We started talking about how he is missing his mommy. Somehow it got about me missing my dad, too. We got talking about missing those we love. I actually teared up and tried to hide it-- but they are pretty observant. It was just a personal and tender moment with my children today. It was a sweet time!
It gave me an opportunity to remind them to be thankful for their moms and dads and to tell them that they love them. I do enjoy being able to talk to my children about things concerning life not just school. Maybe it will be a reminder to you, as it is to me, to be thankful for those we do still have in our lives. That's what happened today with my "babes."

Robot Spelling

As part of my phonics curriculum for first grade, we have spelling lists. We spend about the last five or so minutes of phonics class each day going over our spelling list for the week. Usually, we first use the say, spell, say method. That is when we say the word, spell the word, then say it again. After we do that, then we often review the list in a fun way! Well, about a week ago while doing the say, spell, say method my silly kids decided to do their spelling words in a monotone kind of way, all of a sudden. I honestly do not know who started it. Now, they do not know the meaning of monotone. I don't know how it happend! They really sounded funny! To me, they sounded like robots. I usually do the words with them, but I had to stop because it was TOO funny! I started laughing. After they were done, I told them they sounded like robots. Now, they do it on purpose. Everytime we do our spelling words they always ask if they sound like robots. I told them I don't mind if they sound like robots as long as they do a good job. So, evidently I have a class full of "robots." So, that is what is coming "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is right around the corner! For Mother's Day, I had my students write letters to their mothers as part of their gift to them. I told them to write whatever they want. I did not help them at all, except for a little spelling. I want to share a few of the letters with you. There are some funny and sweet ones. I am writing them the way they are written. If you need help with "translation," let me know.

The first one I wanted to share is, "Dear Mommy I hope you have a happy Mothers day. Not just a happy Mothers day. I mene a happy happy happy Mothers day." Cute!

This one I think is sweet and funny. "Dear Mommy Happy Mother's Day! I love you your a great Mommy and we have are ups and downs and you are my star." I think it is cute how she said they have their ups and downs! :-) Remember, this came from a seven year old.

Here is another sweet letter written to a mother. "Dear Mom, Happy Mother's Day I love you. The flower's bloom because of you. You make me glad when I am sad. Happy wishes. XOXOXOXOXOXO"

Another one I wanted to share "Dear Mommy Happy Mother's Day all your wishes have come true. Your the best Mom a child could ever had. I'm glad Mother day. I love you and I hope you have a great Mother's day and this is why I am writing this spelshel letter to you Mommy the best bestes Momy! Love forever and aways" Isn't that sweet?

This is the last letter I wanted to share and perhaps my favorite. "Dear Momy I love you so much that I cold huged you all day long and it is true. I love you. farry much you are sweet. and you are beautiful and nice."

I wanted to share these wonderful and sweet letters with you. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. I hope you were touched by what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes." I wish all the mothers out there reading my blog a very Happy Mother's Day!

Sisters?!?!

This past Wednesday afternoon I had a great blessing happen in my classroom. I wanted to share it with you all that read my blog. I hope and pray that it may be a blessing to you as it was a blessing to me and those to whom I have already shared it with. Remember, I have the privilege to teach at a Christian school.
I took my children outside for recess in the afternoon, on Wednesday. Two of my little girls were on the swings swinging. One little girl said to the other, "We're sisters." The other one said, "No, we're not." The first one said, "Yes, we are." The second one said, "No we aren't." This went back and forth. Then the second little girl finally said, "We can be if you are saved. We can be sisters in Christ." The first girl then said, "I'm not saved. I'm almost saved." The second girl said, "You can't be almost saved. You have to be saved." Then the second girl called me over. I was already close by "listening" anyway. I talked to the first girl, and she told me she almost got saved at church once. I told her that she can't almost get saved, but she needed to get saved. She told me that she didn't know how to get saved. I then told her that I could show her how to get saved if she wanted me to and if she asked me to.
Well, after recess when we got upstairs to the classroom, she told me she wanted to get saved! I had the honor and privilege to lead this little girl to the Lord! I count it a true honor to open God's Word and share it with her and present the plan of salvation to her. It is always so humbling to me to be used of God in a way such as this. But what really got to me on this day more than any other day I have ever led a child to Christ, was that on this day the Lord used another six year old. If my other student did not say what she said about being sisters in Christ, I might not have had the opportunity to lead this little girl to the Lord. I am so proud of my student for saying what she said about being sisters in Christ! God used her! God used a six year old. How awesome is that! It is amazing to me how God used what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I want to hold your hand forever"

Today, we were outside at recess and one of my girls said one of the sweetest things I think I have ever heard said or had said to me. Now, you may think this is crazy or not very sweet. But, to me, I thought it was precious. She grabbed my hand and she said, "I want to hold your hand forever." I thought that was so sweet! This is the same girl mentioned in previous posts that has called me her BFF and cutie pie. I wanted to share something that meant a lot to me that came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Japan"

If you know me and if I am comfortable with you, I am a talker. I enjoy talking. Well, my students get that from me. Even though they are little, they LOVE to talk. Lately, they have been quite "chatty." Not as much with each other but with me. They want to tell me EVERYTHING. They love to tell me what is going on with them and their families. One boy is having a birthday party in a couple of weeks, and he wanted to tell me what it is all going to be like. I have one girl, especially this week, who will just tell me the most random things. If I'm not careful, we could spend a lot of the day talking and not learning. That would not be a good thing!
The worst time for this is during reading group time. This is a time where there is about 5-7 children and me. So, it is a smaller group. If we have a couple of extra minutes, I do let them share something, it is important for them to talk. I want them to know they can talk to me. I want them to know if something is really bothering them, they have someone they can go to. That is important to me! Well, yesterday, some were sharing. They got to talking. It was time to go. I told them that we had to go(we are on a tight schedule). I said something to the affect we have to stop to talking and have to go learn something. Go figure we have to learn something at school. Who thought of that? One kid-- without missing a beat, said, "Japan!" I laughed. So, I guess it is Japan's fault that we have to learn in school! I thought it was funny and must share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"...I named her Pregony"

In first grade, I have the opportunity to teach my children to write stories. This can be a hard task. Some of them get the concept. Others.... well, it can be challenging. The story our class is now working on is about butterflies. I want to write one of the stories that one of my students wrote. Here goes:
"The beautiful butterfly laid her eggs and flew away. I see a butterfly and I named her Pregony and I took care of Pregony when she was a baby caterpillar. She liked me and ate a lot of leaves, and she was cute too."
I thought that was cute. She named the butterfly after me. This is the same child that has been mentioned in previous posts that has called me "cutie pie" and her "BFF." I thought this was sweet and had to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

My Most Interesting Experience as a Teacher

I have been a first grade teacher for now finishing my 6th year. I love it! There are so many things I love about teaching! If you know me, you probably have heard me talk about my kids and experiences often- maybe even too often. Being a teacher for a while, I have seen a lot of interesting things happen- some funny and some not so funny. This week I think I saw the most interesting thing I have ever experienced in my teaching career. I wanted to share. Something interesting indeed did happen! :-)

This story made me laugh a lot! I cannot believe it happened. I have shared it with several people since. If you are familiar with the layout of the school I teach at, that will help you with making the story even funnier for you. Promise!

Being a first grade teacher, we have bathroom breaks. One afternoon I took my children to the bathroom. Before they enter the bathroom, I always go in and check it. I check it to make sure they have toilet paper and that the toilets aren't clogged and things liked that. Well, that day I did that. I had sent the girls into their bathroom and the boys into theirs-- two at a time for each. Well, then I stepped into the school office to ask the secretary a question. Then, I walked by the boys bathroom. I keep the door open a little bit, so I can see where little feet are. When I walked by, I noticed that the mirror and paper towel dispensers were wet. I was just in there checking the bathroom. I hadn't noticed that before. So, I asked a boy if he knew anything about that. He just stared at me. I asked again. Again, he stared. I then asked if he did anything to make this wet. He said, "Yes, I peed on it!" I said, "What? How did you do that? Where were you standing?" This is where if you know the layout of our school, it helps with making the story funnier. There is a partition that separates the sinks/mirror from the urinal. The partition has to be about at least 6 feet tall-- its taller than me. I asked the child where he was standing. He was standing at the urinal. So, somehow, he had problems and went on the mirror. I was just flabbergasted how this could happen. Evidently, he was playing!

I'm not trying to be crude! But, I just thought it was hilarious. I kept my composure in front of him, but I then went in the office to get someone to disinfect the mirror and paper towel dispensers, then I lost it. I just think it is so funny! I thought this, indeed, was the most interesting thing I have ever seen in first grade. This is the most interesting thing I've seen a babe do.

"My hair is making me hungry"

The other day one of my girls raised her hand. I called on her. She said, "My hair is making me hungry." I said, "What?" She again said, "My hair is making me hungry. " I asked her to explain. She said she used coconut shampoo, and her hair smells like coconut. Now, the coconut is making her hungry. I then told her I use coconut shampoo, too! I thought that was funny what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"No Job"

Today in our phonics workbooks, the kids had to complete a section with opposites. The book listed words and the children had to list the opposite of each word. Some of the words were: walk, dark, and outside. There were more words. Another word listed was "work." The answer is to be "play." Well, one of my children put "no job." I thought that is cute! With how things are going in our society, it is true! I had to laugh and wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"...Drives Planes"

This story may not be one of the funniest entries that came from "out of the mouth of babes." But, I did think it is cute, and I'm posting it in honor of one of my friends, who will know who it is when they read it.
One of my reading groups was reading words that have two syllables and the vowel before consonant which begins the second syllable is long. Well, one of the words they had to read was "pilot." If the students have words to read that they may not normally speak in their everyday talk, I try to see if they know what it means and explain it to them if they do not. I asked them if they knew what a pilot was. I was curious to see what they would say. I was pretty sure they have heard of one. But, I wanted to see how they would explain it to me. They said, yes. One of the kids said, "A pilot is someone that drives planes." I corrected the child and said pilots fly planes not drive them. It was cute and made me smile. I wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Stuck

I teach at a Christian school that has a dress code. A part of the dress code is that the boy's shirt tails need to be tucked into their pants. Well, the other day one of my boy's shirt tails were untucked. I told him to tuck it in. He obeyed and did. Well, it was taking him a while, and I asked him to hurry up so we can start our reading group. The reason why it was taking so long was that his hands got "stuck" in the back of his pants. I had to pull his arm to help him get "unstuck." I tried not to laugh, but I had to because I was amazed that something like that could happen. I have seen a lot being a first grade teacher, but I have to admit that this was a first for me. I'll tell you that life being a first grade teacher is NEVER boring! I thought it was funny, so I wanted to share something "babes" do.

Letters to the Teacher

For first grade, I have a curriculum I follow. My kids have seatwork to do while I am in reading groups. My curriculum tells me what to put up on the board for the children to do. One day this week, my kids had to write a letter to their teacher.... that's me! They were sweet! I wanted to post some.

I am typing them the way they wrote them. Good luck on deciphering them. If you need help in translation, post a comment and I'll help you :-)

One said, "you are my cutedpie! I love you are the knisest teacher!I have ervey met! Love you!" This child has called me "cutie pie" several times. She is also the same girl that told me I was her BFF-- posted in a previous post.

Another note said, "I love you. you are sweet and you are pretty to me. your games are beautiful. you are my nice teacher. your canddy is goo to me." She wrote this note at school to me. I think that night she wrote another one to me and gave it to me the next morning with a ziplock bag of the cereal Apple Jacks. Here is the other one she wrote. "I love you. you are pretty. your my best teacher. you are nice to me and I like it win we play." How sweet my kids are!

One last note I wanted to share. "I love you and I I'm sure you love me too. you are my bff! you aer a good teacher.too. theys a haet around us. you like pekey I like pekey." I will "translate" this one; this one is harder to follow. She said there's a heart around us. I asked about that. You know how you can get picture frames with hearts. Well, there is a heart around us because she loves me... too cute! The last part, the "pekey" is pink. She said, "you like pink I like pink." That's true.... I love pink!

Even though being a teacher can have some hard times, it is such encouraging when you get hugs, coloring pictures and encouraging notes like these. I love my kids! I am so thankful to God for calling me to be a teacher! I wanted to share with you what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"You are Important"

Today, Sunday, my older brother and I taught Jr. Church for 1st-3rd graders at our church. When it was his time to start his lesson, he apologized for not being there last week. He told the kids he missed them. He explained that he wasn't there because he was in big church sitting with his fiance' and her parents from CT. I think he asked the kids if they missed him. Most of the kids said, "Yes." One little girl said, "You are important." I thought that was sweet on what came from "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"George Washington"

On Sundays, I have the privilege to be a Sunday School helper in the K-4 Sunday School at my church. Today, the Sunday school teacher was teaching about when God created man. She was teaching them how God used His hands to make man. She asked the kids what was the name of the first man. One kid said, "George Washington." I thought that was a pretty good guess from a four year old. I thought that was quite humorous on what came from "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I want to be 21"

Today I was outside at recess with my first graders. One of my girls said to me, "I want to be 21." I asked her why. She said, "My mom told me I can date when I'm 21." She is only 6 years old and thinking about dating. Wow, this is starting young! I was surprised and wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Handsome

During one of my reading groups this week, my children had to read words that contained certain special sounds. After the words were read, there were also sentences that contained some of the words. One of the words that was in a sentence was the word "handsome." The sentence read, "Handsome means good looking." One of my boys read that sentence. I asked him, "Are you handsome?" He said, "Yes." I then asked, "Who told you that?" I was expecting something like his mom. He said, "I did!" By the way, he is a cute kid! I just laughed when he said he told himself that he was handsome. The grin on his face while he said that made it just the more cute! I thought it was cute and precious what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Esau"

I have to share a story that happened several months ago. But, to me it is one of the best teaching stories I have. Remember, I teach at a Christian school. In Bible class, we were reviewing the Bible stories about Jacob. My kids were playing a review game. I asked one of my boys the question, "It is Jacob's wedding day. He has worked 7 years for Rachel. He gets married. He lifts the veil. Who did he see?" Well, if you are familiar with the Bible story, you know the answer is Leah. Well, my boy said, "Esau." The kids, and yes even the teacher, giggled at this answer. Of course, I corrected him. But, it was funny what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

A Proposal

A friend of mine called me tonight. She has two sons- 7 and 5. I taught the oldest one in first grade, and I have the youngest one in K-4 Sunday School. I also have occasionaly watched them while their parents have gone out. They are great boys! She called me to tell me the youngest one has made a decision.

Well, for several months he has been saying he was going to marry his Nana. His parents told him he can't marry her because she is already married. So lately, he has named a new wife for himself. He told his mom that he is going to marry Miss Pregony! That's me! So, I got a proposal tonight! :-) It's the best one I've had (not to say it is the only one I've had).

There is more, not only did I get "engaged", I found out that he wants to be the President of the United States. So, I am going to be First Lady, too. He knows the President lives in the White House in D.C. (which is one of my favorite places- so that is cool!). So, he is excited about that. His mom told him that they will have to go stay with him when he is the President and living in the White House. He told her that they can't because Miss Pregony will be my wife and will live there with me. Talk about an awesome night of good news I had!

He told his mom that he is going to marry me when Miss Pregony grows up. How cute! So, I don't know when that will be :-). I thought that my proposal was cute, and I wanted to share what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

Good News

I heard some really good news today. Remember, I have the privilege to teach in a Christian school. I am so thankful for that opportunity. This morning in my first reading group, one of my boy students said, "I got saved last night." I was so happy to hear it! Once in a while after teaching Bible class, I have my kids close their eyes and raise their hands if they aren't saved. His hands have gone up for several days. So, I've been praying for him specifically for his salvation. After he told me he got saved, I asked him questions about it and what he did. I believe he fully understands. I was so excited! I asked him if I could hug him. It was so AWESOME to hear that good news. Praise the Lord!! I am so thankful that the Lord can hear the sinner's prayer that comes from "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

I also am humbled by the Lord not only answering my prayer, but He is answering the prayer of my kids. My kids can see it! It is so exciting! I have one student who has not been doing well lately with getting his seatwork done during seatwork time. If the kids don't finish their seatwork during seatwork time, then the kids have to do it during recess. This one boy has had that happen for the past several days. I've been praying that he will do better and get his work done. Well, today he finished his work during seatwork time and was able to have full recess. So, I said to him that I was proud of him for finishing his work. One of my little girls raised her hand and told me that she prayed for this boy last night asking God to help him finish his work so he could have recess. She saw an answer to her prayer! I told her that I prayed for him, too. It was awesome and exciting for me to see that my kids can see answered prayers that come from "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"BFF"

I am one who doesn't have "best friends." I have some really close friends. Well, today, one of my girl students handed me a piece of paper in the shape of a heart. On the heart, she wrote BFF. I asked her what this meant. I did know what it meant, but I wanted her to tell me. So, she told me it meant Best Friends Forever. I then asked her when did this happen. "When did I become your best friend?" She said, "Last year." I told her that I didn't know her last year. Then she said, "At the beginnng of first grade, when I met you." So, I am a BFF of a six year old. It was sweet! I took the little heart paper and taped it to my phone. I showed it to her. It was such a sweet gesture that came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"It's Alive"

This story doesn't have anything to do with me. I did not hear the children; however, the teacher told me this. This story is about a second grader. I taught this child last year. One of the second grade teacher's students told her at lunch that this boy had a shell in his lunch box. She said, "Ok." She just told them to go eat. I would have done the same thing. They kept telling her about the shell. Finally, one student said, "It's Alive! Its' moving." Well, the teacher looked at it, and it was a hermit crab. The child brought his hermit crab to school in his lunch box. He said he poked holes in the baggie, so that it would be able to breathe. I thought this was hilarious! It is something "babes" do.

Update: February 26, 2009

I talked to the boy who brought his hermit crab to school yesterday. I asked him what his mother said. He told me he got grounded. When he was asked about the hermit crab, he said he thinks it is o-kay because it was moving. I just wanted to update you on this story. Hope you enjoyed it!

"Miss Pregony, you are a turtle"

The past couple of weeks have been pretty cold here in VA. I, personally, hate being cold. To me, it is one of the worst things. So, in order to try to stay warm, I have been wearing turtleneck sweaters. One day, one of my girls said, "Miss Pregony, you are a turtle." So, now every time someone wears a turtleneck we then call them turtles. I am the "Mommy Turtle", and I have several "Baby Turtles." I thought it was cute what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

A Blessing to Hear

Today, we played recess inside due to the cold temperatures. This afternoon my kids played a game called Huckle Buckle Beanstalk. That is when one kid hides my stuffed animal while 3-4 kids wait outside and then come into the room and try to find the hidden animal. Well, of course, the children love to find it and win the game. There is this one boy who often gets frustrated because he doesn't win, usually. When we were playing today, he found it! I said, "Yeah, You won!" He said, "That is because I prayed while I was outside." I thought that was sweet. It was a blessing to hear him say that. It was a true blessing to hear what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

One of the Greatest Sounds in the World

To me, one of my favorite sounds to hear is the laughter of children. It is precious and sweet!- don't forget quite contagious.
Being a first grade teacher, I do hear that sound quite a bit. The past couple of weeks my first graders have been QUITE giggly. Their giggles make me laugh then the whole classroom is full of laughter. Again.... a great sound!
One moment that happened this week which resulted in one of my favorite sounds was when I was teaching my kids about elephants. I was specifically teaching them the uses of the elephant's trunk. The elephant uses their trunk in several ways. They use it to pick up food, pick up trees, smell, and to give themselves showers. The part the children LOVED and LAUGHED a lot at was that the mother elephant uses her trunk to spank the baby elephants. The kids thought that was hilarious! I then asked them if their moms use their noses to spank them. Of course they don't, but the kids thought that was funny! So, we had such a fun time laughing together.
Another laughing moment was when I had four kids in one of my reading groups. That afternoon we were reviewing special sounds in phonics and reading words that contained certain special sounds. One of the words that the children read was "chowder." No, that is not a funny word. But, I guess, their is a children's show called Chowder. I had no clue. So, the children were laughing because they were trying to explain this show to me. I told them I would try to watch it sometime; they laughed even harder at that.
I wanted to share with you the One of the Greatest Sounds in the World that comes "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Apostrophe"

Today, we were going over science. In first grade, we do not really have a science "class", but we do have a science book that we read and talk about. We were talking about baby animals, specifically about kangaroos and opossums. After I taught the material, I asked some questions. I asked my children which animal stays in the mom's pouch for two months. Well, the answer is opossum. The child said, "Apostrophe." Then, the children laughed, and I have to admit I also laughed at what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Right here"

Today, I was helping in the Toddler Junior Church at my church. The children are ages 3-4. The teacher was giving her rules to the kids. She also told them that if they were good then they could go to the "candy store" (different types of candy she brought for them). Then she asked the kids how to get to the candy store. One little girl (3) answered and said, "Grow up." Of course, I had a laugh. Then the teacher was telling the kids that their eyes needed to be on the teacher and hands in their lap. She was reviewing the rules and asked where the children's eyes belong. The same little girl said, "Right here", and she pointed to her eyes rather then pointing to the teacher. She was, in essence, right. Her eyes do belong on her face. It was very cute! I, again, had to laugh at what came "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"I Have Super Power Brains"

I had the opportunity to babysit "my favorite kids" this weekend. There are three of them (ages 8,6,4). They are the children of a very good friend of mine. When it was time for bed, I was putting the middle child (My Little Man) to bed. I laid down with him and talked to him for a few minutes. Then I said, "Do you know what?" He said, "What?" I said, "I love you! Did you know that?" He said, "Yes." I then said, "How did you know that?" He said, "I have Super Power Brains." How cute! Well, that is "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

A Sweet Time

Today's story isn't really funny but sweet. Today, we had indoor recess because it was cold outside. The children were playing "hot potato." I put music on and when the music stops whoever has "it" is out. They like that game! Well after we played the game, I had the kids sit on the floor facing me. I wanted to have a quick sing along. I put the Patch the Pirate cd on. We listened to "I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart." The cd uses funny voices and several verses. So, we sang along. It was so sweet to look at my "kids" singing "I have the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my Heart" with smiles on their faces. Then, I remembered learning the first verse in the Indonesian language many years ago (thanks to Mrs. Quinlan). I was able to teach them that. They thought that was cool! So, we sang the first verse in English then in the Indonesian language. It was very sweet! There was one time I looked at my kids and one of the boys had his back towards me and was "directing" the kids as if he was directing a choir. It was cute and funny!
It was such a sweet time we had together. I wanted to share it. So, it is not "Out of the Mouth of Babes", but it is something "babes" do. Precious!

"That's from Charlie Brown"

I want to share a story that happened several weeks ago before Christmas. I have the opportunity to help in K-4 Sunday School class each Sunday at my church. I am usually a helper, but I had the privilege to teach them the Christmas story. During one part of the lesson, I quoted Luke 2:11, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." After I quoted it, one of my K-4 students (he is now 5) said, "That's from Charlie Brown." I told him yes but Charlie Brown got that from the Bible!
I thought that was cute and wanted to share what came from.... "Out of the Mouth of Babes."

"Cut out my Hands?"

This week my first graders had an art project to do. The art project was to cut out a teddy bear and a "face" of the clock and the clock's "hands". Then, the kids had to glue the "face" of the clock on to the teddy bear's belly, and then I was going to use a brad and put the "hands" on the clock. Well, I was telling my kids after they glued the "face" then they needed to cut out their "hands." One of my boys said, " We have to cut our hands?" I said, " No, not YOUR hands- the "hands" of the clock." It was quite humorous. My students and I all had a good laugh.
That is ... "Out of the Mouth of Babes."