I Promised Them, Here They Are

A few treasures for the elementary school story chest...

I have been working for the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR). Its great. Last week I was at Littlewood testing K-2nd grade on vocabulary. We had large cards with pictures (not photographs) of different objects, scenes and "workers;" for example, a refrigerator, the desert and a veterinarian. I pulled students out of class, one at a time and asked them to tell me what was on the card. Here are a few kids' funny interpretations:

Me: "What type of nut is this?" (Holding a picture of cashews)
Kid: Confidently declares, "a peach."

Me: "What type of writing is this?" (Pointing to a word written in italics)
Kid: "Human writing."

Me: "What is this volcano doing?" (We're going for the word erupting here)
Kid: "Spreading his lava."

Me: "What type of worker is this?" (Holding a picture of a detective)
Kid: "A metal detector."

The funniest part of the whole week was a story that a very energetic, very freckled 2nd grade boy told me. He came bouncing out of his classroom to the picnic table where I was set up and announced that he has a new kitten. I asked him a couple things about his new kitten, like it's name and when he got it. He said he got the new kitten when Tangerine, his old cat died. Then he told me the following story without taking a breath:

"You see when my old cat Tangerine was alive she used to hang out in the dryer and my mom has this friend that might be my stepdad well that probably will be my stepdad well that might not be my stepdad and they talk on the phone a lot and then my mom went into the laundry room and then my mom was on the phone and then my mom turned on the dryer but she didn't know she was in there and then I found Tangerine in the dryer but she had thrown up all over the clothes but my mom said it wasn't throw up that she just bled out of her mouth over all the clothes but then my mom wasn't there right when it happened and so I went inside cause Tangerine was asleep and wouldn't wake up but my mom and her friend were upstairs and I called up to tell her Tangerine won't wake up but she said she was dead. Now my grandma's back yard is a funeral."

I only say it was the funniest story because this cute little boy was not upset in the least. If he was sad about Tangerine, I would have felt really bad. I like cats, but let's be honest, it was pretty hilarious.