It’s time once again to visit the innocent ramblings of the typical elementary student. I tell you what, nothing is edited or held back until about…..junior high age I think. I had no idea the kind of things kids said until I started working here. Did MY kids say stuff like this? It makes me wonder why I didn’t have CPS or homeland security knocking my door down years ago.

The weather was almost pleasant today as my partner in crime and I sat under our shade canopy at recess. We have vowed to never tell anyone how easy our half hour outside has become since we discovered the canopy and two chairs. The 5th and 6th graders take turns sitting at our feet playing Pokemon. Yes, the totally addictive and confusing game that has been around since my kids were babies. Amazing. We honestly can’t complain. It is super easy! The kids are great, make us laugh, and get along swimmingly. (watch, tomorrow there will be blood…dang!)

Since we ARE out there to watch the kids, we do tend to listen to what they say at times. When we aren’t sharing ‘interesting’ pictures from Pinterest. Today I had to look at my P.I.C. to confirm that I had actually just heard a 5th grade boy sing a little diddly that went like this, “I want to eat your babies, cuz they taste like ravioli….” You know, sometimes even I, with my somewhat twisted sense of humor, just can’t seem to find a reasonable explanation for things. What the heck was this boy thinking about and more than that, what movie did his parents let him watch?

I think parents need to be reminded sometimes that our kids are KIDS. They are not adults, capable (except for me) of watching disturbing things and not being scarred for life. One of my favorite little first graders told me about a movie today where a little girl is slapped in the face by her father (“but it was just pretend, like this…”), and then she goes outside where bugs start flying from her mouth. Yikes. I have no idea what this movie is/was, but…it sounds too scarey for me!

When Jurassic Park first came out, Brad and I went to see it. It was scarey!! I wasn’t surprised when I heard the seven year old in back of us cry and scream through the ENTIRE movie. Um….parent…..please remove child and think twice about the movies you take them too.

That being said, I haven’t been the perfect shining example of parenting. My kids are Doctor Who junkies, have seen all the Jurassic park movies, and had a short lived stint with the Big Bang Theory. All of them fun, but…not really conducive to good moral teachings. Okay, maybe Doctor Who is….But anyway. It was easier when we could trust Disney to make quality movies and shows. Not anymore….I feel like I need to screen everything now before my kids watch it. It’s not that I want to shield or hide the world from my kids, I’d just like then to fill their mind with better things that will sustain them through the hard times and challenges I know are coming. Like it or not.

I’ll get off my soap box now and share another saying from school. As I walked behind a row of second graders, one little girl threw her head back and reached up at me saying, “I’m going to kiss you.” Although I have several kids that hang on me and call me momma, I wasn’t quite prepared for second base with them. I asked her “What?” and she replied, ” I need a tissue.” Whew. Out of the mouths of babes, and into the ears of the aged. Sometimes there is a reeeeeal big gap. Cause I said so.

Photo credit: http://www.vegalicious.org