It's part of the job, HONESTLY!

I have the distinct honor of teaching children. It's a career that brings so much joy to my life. I work with little ones almost 2 years old all the way up to 5th graders. I love the 10-11 year old kids as much as I love the 2-5 year old preschoolers and every age in between. As a speech-language pathologist, I work on a WIDE range of communication skills. With that said, I have to have a WIDE range of materials. What 2 year old kids like is very different than 11 year old preteens. Needless to say, my room has a lot of "stuff" (another nonspecific word that my students know that I rather they didn't use unless absolutely necessary). I've heard it said as classes line up outside my door to go to lunch or to the library, "That must be the toy room." Many of the "toys" in my room are from when my own boys were little....their Lego's, Lincoln Logs, Hot Wheel cars and the list goes on. Remember, it's the toy room! So, when our art teacher Kris goes by and sees me at my table with a quite LARGE tub of Mr. Potato Head facial and body parts (all sorted and labeled in large baggies I might add), I HAVE to make sure she understands that "It's part of my job, Honestly Kris. It's part of my job to play with Mr. Potato Head. Do you know the language I get from kids requesting the body part they want, the sentence structure I can teach them when I purposely give them the wrong part so that they can use their newly found language to tell me that's not what they asked for? It's a POWERFUL teaching material Kris, HONESTLY. Yes Kris, I know I get paid to play with Mr. Potato Head.. But Kris, it's really not "playing" per say. It's teaching, it's all in the name of teaching!

You can only imagine how touched I was when in my Catoctin Love basket, I found this card that Kris took her time to make for me.

Even though my own children's large tub of Mr. Potato Head bodies and accessories are safely tucked away in my room at school for future use by my own future grandbabies, Kris has given me a piece of school for home. Thank you our talented and thoughtful Kris! YOUR Mr. Potato Head is on my refrigerator waving to me as we open the door thanks to his arm that you made purposely move.

On a quick side note...several summer ago when Butch and I were cleaning out one of our sheds, he asked me if we still needed to keep the little red battery powered jeep that the boys had when they were little. I was quite taken aback when Butch asked me this. What did he think was the answer? Of Course we still needed it. Our future grandbabies will ride in it as their daddies did when they were little. Silly question My Butch. Well, in an attempt to be negotiable, I told him to call Bradley. Bradley is now 29, so lets say he was 27 then. Butch called and asked him if we needed to keep it. Bradley told Butch, "Dad, tell mom that I don't fit in it anymore!"