Teacha Madi's 2nd Grade Class

At first I wasn't going to write a post about my second graders, because I don't enjoy them quite as much as I enjoy my sweet little first graders. But in the end, of course I love them! How could I not, as I've gotten to know their quirky, sweet, and mischievous personalities. Each kids is so different, and I always want to remember these little friends of mine. So I had Bailey come take pictures of us, and it was utter CHAOS, but they turned out pretty good!

First in line is always Avril. Avril is a unique one, that's for sure. First of all, she is an absolute GENIUS. Her ability to reason and think things through is really surprising sometimes. In the first week of teaching, Avril said to me "Teacha Madi! Either your father or your mother is a Chinaman!" She's wrong of course, but she was close! Her English is very advanced as well, she must have English speaking parents at home. I should record her speaking for you, because the way she talks is so funny and cute. She speaks with such force and certainty. It kind of reminds me of an old Russian man. Avril is always very matter-of-fact, and you can't slide anything past her. I'm quite proud of this one, I think she will go really far in life!

Next to her is always Jasmine. Jasmine is so sweet! She doesn't talk much so she and Avril make a good team. It is hard as a teacher to give the quiet kids the attention they deserve when other kids are like "TEACHA TEACHA TEACHA" and other kids are trying to climb out the window. But Jasmine has surprised me more than once with drawings and cards as gifts! And when she does talk, she speaks English pretty well and will explain things over and over to me until I understand what she is talking about. So she's patient too!

Esmee hangs out near the front of the line with the two other girls, but is  generally even quieter than Jasmine and keeps to herself most of the time. Sometimes she surprises me though, and will loudly say something hilarious in the middle of my class! She's always listening, and is very smart and witty. So she comes up with the funniest things to say! She's also thoughtful and will help out when she notices that help is needed. And she has been known to bring other teachers and me chocolate and homemade drawings, so she's a favorite!

Mr. Tony! Oh Tony. How I love him! At first he kind of drove me crazy because he's always doing something loud. And us teachers get in trouble if we let our classes be too loud! But over time I realized that he's not a naughty kid at all, he just loves to SING! Very loud! All up and down the stairs! I don't quiet him any more because I too love to sing. Anyway, Tony is super cute and friendly. He's very smart and likes to make people laugh. He's very sensitive though! Sometimes he is naughty, and I have to speak strictly with him. Then the rest of the day is he somber and then I feel bad! Don't worry though, Tony is usually good. More than once I've excused just him and the girls early, because the rest of the boys needed a good talking to.

Max is also a cutie. Well, sometimes. Sometimes I have to nag him to stay in line and stop kicking kids in the other class. Lately, though, I've been very entertained by him! His English is good and he's had this thing lately for saying "so crazy...". Like we were making paper fish the other day, and he's just looking at his fish saying, "this fish... so crazy...". Or another day when we were using glue, "this glue... so crazy." He says it so calm, but of course he spiced it up when I ask him to do it for the camera! I'll have to catch him on film when he's not looking.

Justin is one of the more wild ones. He doesn't talk a whole lot, until you put him with his friends! Teaching games can get a little overwhelming with that group of boys! He's a sweet kid though, and never means any harm.  He is always sure to say "hallo teacha!" whenever I see him by the lunchroom!  I know that he knows how to listen, because on store day, I pick the kids who are being the quietest to go first.  And on store days, he often tends to be in that group!  Haha, oh Justin...

Jarred is sweet and I love him, but oh has he been a challenge! He's not very naughty, but he has a bit of a hard time listening. His English isn't great and he doesn't always know what's going on, so you can't really blame him for spending the whole class cleaning his glasses. Haha, he always has his glasses case, spray, and cleaning cloth for optimum cleaning. But if I say "Jarred! Jarred! Jarred!" enough, he will pay attention and create some killer crafts with us.

Jack is SO good. But only when he wants to be. In fact, he was the student of the week for the first few weeks! But after that... I have no idea what happened, because now he is my naughtiest kid! I don't understand it! I have to take him to the Chinese teacher at least once a week, and it's really frustrating for me because I know this kid can be so good if he wants to be. I keep holding out hope though, because I know this kid has serious potential!

Jo is another tough one for me. Sometimes I love him and sometimes I hear another teacher say to him "Jo! You do NOT pull your pants down in ILP" and I don't have quite as fond of feelings for him. He can be a little overwhelming at times, but other times he decides to be good and listen! He has been making me smile lately because someone taught him the phrase "of course" and he uses it for everything. Like,
"Should we use glue to attach the paper?"
"Of course!"
Or
"There are 4 apples in the bag!"
"Of course!"

Angela is very very sweet. That's really the best word for her. She is always looking for ways to help me (she LOVES to sweep!), and always sticks around after class to chat for a little bit and wish me a "happy day!" At that point she usually gives me whatever craft she made that day, saying, "for you!" Sweet Angela is a bit sensitive and often needs hugs. I would need hugs too, though, if I lived at school!

So there are my infamous second graders! Though it is a hard group, I really do have a lot of good ones. And of course there are still things to love about the not so good ones! It's been a really great learning experience for me to work with them and learn to love them all. They're definitely a talented bunch (their English as a whole is very good) and have come a long way since I met them in February!