Finley Funnies!

Finley Funnies is a Column I'm writing here in my blog and is dedicated to the great things kids say!

This week in Camp Finley... (Student's actual names will not be used.)

Darren: "Miss Finley, um, some people think I speak Spanish, but I don't. I'm not a Mexican. I speak Navajo."

Henry: "Can we have a talking time? Because you always say this is a working time, or a reading time, or a listening time, or a taking turns to talk time, but can we just have a talking time?"

Libby: "Miss Finley, do you like your shirt?"

Miss Finley: "Yeah, I like it alright."

Libby: "That's my favorite shirt of yours!"

Ben's classwork: When given the assignment to write two words that when put together, make a new word, otherwise known as a compound word wrote: Bill + Ding = Billding. It took me a minute to figure this one out. He meant BUILDING! What do you think...time to teach the difference between syllables and compounds?

Flashback Funny:

My second year of teaching I had the two funnies kids ever in my class. I really wish I could write their names and pay them tribute to their comedy! Let me paint a picture of these two boys who where best friends. One boy was very small, maybe kindergarten size but in second grade. He had a speech impediment and had a hard time say his "r"s. For privacy, let's call him Larry, and for the sake of painting a picture let's give his code name with two R's because his had two "r"s. Saying his name was obviously not easy for this little guy. The other boy was his best friend! They were inseparable! Let's call him Tanner. He was larger than the other second graders and let's just say most kids would know not to mess with him. Both boys were very intelligent.

Now for the funny story. On Secretaries day I had the kids write letters telling the secretaries how wonderful they were. Tanner wrote a very clever letter, not out of the usual for him. Larry wrote a very simple, get the job done type a letter, also very typical for him. He was very gifted, but smart enough to know that a simple letter would get him the same grade as a very detailed letter. Larry decides to read Tanner's letter. Now remember, Larry can not say his "R's!" As Larry gets to the end of reading this letter where Tanner has written:

"Love Literally, Tanner."

And the rest the conversation goes as follows:

Larry: "You don't literally love the secretaries!"

Tanner: (being the sweet boy he was) "I literally love them!"

Larry: "No you don't, that's not possible!"

Tanner: "I really, literally love them."

Larry: "No, you literally love your mom and dad, but not the secretaries!"

Tanner: "And I literally love the secretaries too."

Larry: "No, you literally love your mom and dad, or your family, but not the secretaries."

Tanner: "I literally love them."

Larry: (as he shouts across the room to me) "Miss Finley, can Tanner literally love the secretaries?"

Miss Finley: "There are different types of love."

Tanner: "See!"

Larry: "Hm, I still don't think you can literally love them."