Tuesday mornings are a little crazy as we have choir rehearsal next to a beginning band rehearsal literally sandwiched between two groups of early morning day care groups.   It’s an exercise in learning to focus on your own sounds and not all the others going on.  This morning was just a little different however as instead of the occasional yelling in the hall, there was a louder disturbance, enough of a disturbance that I left the rehearsal my student teacher was teaching to see what was up.

There was a gaggle of little girls gathered in front of the bathroom.  As I walked out my door, preparing to ask them what the deal was, they all shouted at me at once, “there’s a tarantula in the bathroom!”.  One girl did say, “there are no tarantulas in Nebraska”, but the others were convinced.  “Are you sure it’s not just a big spider?”  I asked.  “It’s HUGE!” one of the girls said, while the one with common sense showed me with her fingers just how little it was.  I told them to get the custodian and ask him to get the spider for them and I returned back to choir.  At least for a few minutes.

Several minutes later, there was another commotion and I walked out the door again, only to find a gaggle of girls and a couple of boys running into the girls bathroom, ahead of the custodian to see the “tarantula”.  I’m immediately on the boys for going into the girl’s bathroom and our hero Custodian David walked in to capture the massive spider.  I start to chase the other kids away when one little girl looks at me with concern on her face saying “but Mrs. Bush, I have to use the bathroom!”.

That’s one of the things that’s fun about kids and what I take great pride in when I can keep a straight face – their ability to tell me the wildest stories and totally believing them.  One 4th grade girl told me that everyone was telling her that she and a friend were dating but they really weren’t, they were just friends because dating a boy would be gross.  I didn’t even know kids used the word “gross” anymore.

I couldn’t walk into my room this morning without a little one running up to me and lifting up her chin to show me she had gotten stitches taken out yesterday, her poor mom following her to tell her to leave me alone, but it’s ok.  They tell me about stitches, broken bones, bloody noses, loose teeth and braces.  One little guy stopped me on his way out of the bathroom with a silly grin on his face to tell me that someone was using the stall to poop.  With a straight face, I told him that’s what it’s for.

Multiply this by 180+ school days and you can see that I’ve heard just about everything.  Maybe not about a tarantula every day, (and notice I didn’t go in to check out the tarantula but told them to get someone else), but enough to fill a book I’m sure.  Here’s looking forward to what the kids have to tell me tomorrow!