Sixth grade boys crack me up. Seriously – they are truly amazing sources of laughter. Feeling stressed from the holidays? Sit back and watch sixth grade boys interact with each other. Your feelings of stress will melt away as you dissolve into laughter and remember your younger days.
On the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, we took our students to see the movie “The Princess and the Frog” at the local theater. As we made our way to our seats, I found my seat and was tickled by the reaction of the boys who were seated near me.
“You aren’t going to sit here, are you, Mrs. Moore?”
“Why, yes, I am. You don’t mind do you?”
“Oh…no….but I think you would feel more comfortable over there.”
“Aww. You are sweet, but I think I’m fine here.” *groan*
As the movie progressed, the boys entertained me as much as, if not more than, the movie itself. In tender moments of the film, there was elbow-jabbing and the sounds of “awwwww!” followed by muffled laughter. When the music was playing, there was chair-dancing followed by huge grins. When the movie ended and the guy got the girl, they cheered loudly and applauded. I confess to frequently losing sight of the movie in my amusement at the boys’ antics. None of them were ever still, twisting and turning in their seats – laughing and whispering.
As we left the theater and headed back to school, the boys were eagerly anticipating lunch followed by a Christmas party. As the party began, their plates were loaded with chips and dip and pizza and cookies as I looked on in amazement. Didn’t they just eat lunch? Yep – but they are still hungry. The boys laughed and joked and teased each other in a way that showed their familiarity with one another. I confess to joining in and laughing with them.
“Mrs. Moore, we need to have more parties. This is fun!”
“I am glad you are having a good time!”
“So can we do this more often?”
“Um. No. We do have to learn, you know.”
“Why?”
At the end of the day, my oh-so-cool boys all gave me a high-five as they left. I am proud to say I am finally getting the hang (sort of) of the complicated high-five up, down, knuckle thing. I laughed a lot and enjoyed it tremendously. The sweet girls were a nice contrast as they hugged me and all the kids wished me a merry Christmas.
As the last one of my kids left for the two-week holiday, one of my boys came back and gave me a quick hug. I felt my heart swell with gratitude for my amazing students as the famous words of Dickens’ Tiny Tim resounded in my head, “God bless us….every one!”
Merry Christmas!
Christine Moore currently holds a degree from Howard Payne University and is actively working toward a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. Married with four children, Christine teaches 6th grade reading in Brownwood and has been working in education at various levels for the past 14 years. Her husband, Jeremy, owns a local company that specializes in web design, custom computer builds, and on-location repair called DreamSoft Design at www.dreamsoftdesign.com. Christine welcomes your questions and comments and would love to hear from you!