Everyday we learn a new word of the day. We talk about the synonyms, antonyms, syllabication, and then come up with an action. During the day I try to work it in to sentences and questions. Some are silly (scrumptious), some are content related (conservation), and some are just words that "feel right" (hullabaloo).
Today, a big house lizard came into the classroom and you can imagine the hullabaloo that ensued. There was some screaming, some ruckus, and some general foolishness. I being the competent and ever-ready lizard wrangler I got two rubbermaid lids and started my strategic way towards the door-the child wrangling was a little more difficult then the lizard. Anyway, as I am scooting and cajoling the lizard towards the door I hit the edge of a paint palate, which was sitting on the table, with my arm. This particular paint plate I had asked Preciosa to put in the trash about 1 hour before. When I hit the plate it didn't spill, it didn't tip, it didn't even fall. It flipped up and stuck to my sweater...I had a rainbow of tempera all over my sweater with a paper plate stuck to it, a lizard I didn't want, and a class full of hysterical 7 year olds. I was sooo angry at Preciosa for not doing what I had asked, even when I had reminded her. I was also angry at myself for not just throwing the paint away, and I was very mad at this lizard who interrupted math and my life. I looked up into 18 pairs of saucer eyes and a tiny voice in the back peeps "Furious! You look just like the word of the day." Before I could growl, shout, or exclaim. A chorus of agreement erupted and it was at that point I realized how ridiculous this situation was. A teachable moment-yes. However, when they talk about teachable moments in teacher education programs they never mention paint, lizards, or chaos. Tomorrow's word of the day: pandemonium
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