Anyone see my unicorn?

When you were a kid, did you ever run into one of your teachers outside of school?  It always cracks me up the way kids react when they see me outside the brick walls of my school.  My kids know I have a life outside of the classroom, but it isn't real to them until they actually experience it in person.  So far this year I've run into kids snowboarding at Snowshoe, WV; at indoor rock climbing; shopping at the grocery store; and shopping at the mall.  Each time, it's the same reaction - the one where the mute button on their mouths is pressed and the same confused look they get when I'm trying to explain how to change fractions into decimals comes over their face.

Being able to relate what they learn in the classroom is essential to a child’s understanding, and one of the major reasons we, as teachers, strive to make our lessons connect with their lives.  In Puzzling class for example, we recently learned about measuring volume.  To demonstrate the different units of measurement, we had our students measure out and mix together different amounts of cereal and marshmallows to make multi-colored Rice Krispie treats.  The kids experienced first-hand what cups, pints, quarts, gallons, liters, and milliliters look like – and we all got to eat tasty treats afterwards!

This post isn't about pedagogy or best practices though.  Let’s be real – how any of my posts actually are?  This is a post about my life outside the classroom.  This past weekend I took a trip up to New York City, to celebrate my buddy's birthday, to visit my other buddy's newborn, and to eat yet another buddy's restaurant.  I didn't run into any of my students on this trip; instead, the only kid that was around was the 10-year old that resides inside my adult body: 

Jenny:  Wait, you’re a teacher?!?

Me:  Yup.  I teach the 5^th grade

Jenny:  WOW!  That explains a LOT!

I apparently have the maturity level of a 10-year old… and I’m completely OK with that.  I love that I get to act like a 10-year old every day – it’s one of the perks of my job!  Seriously, how many professions are there where acting and thinking like a kid is not only acceptable, but actually encouraged?  Speaking of which, only in NYC would you find THIS…

Needless to say, I couldn't resist the urge to text one of my similarly child-like colleagues:

Me:  Have you seen my unicorn?  I seem to have lost her L

Stacey:  My boyfriend say all unicorns are male. 

Me:  Umm...

Stacey:  There’s nothing in my sex ed textbook that says all of them are male.

Me:  Yeah – if they’re all male, how do they reproduce?

Stacey:  Magic, duh!

Me:  There’s no such thing as magic. Duh!

Stacey:  Sounds like a boring way to reproduce

Me:  Especially since all unicorns are horny.  Get it?  Horny??  Haha I crack myself up.

Yup, I fit right in with my 10 year old students.  Aren't you jealous?