Hans' Classroom

It was t-ravs in the lunch room that morning for all the starving children. Starving for t-ravs anyway. Maybe not so much the accompanying mozzarella cheese sticks, which always surprises me.

Puck waved wildly to me from the back table with two of his best buds – Mickey and Snicky – while I served up more salad in the kitchen. In 2nd grade he loved to see me during lunch, in 3rd grade he was almost too distracted to notice, and now in 4th grade he’s nearer 2nd than 3rd.

It was cold again. Too soon. After homemade chicken pot pie for lunch, Carrie-Bri and I sat out in the sun at the Big House to watch Yali run around the front yard, giggling about who-knew-what and making boy noises to himself.

Five kids clustered around Hans’ desk after school for a little good old-fashioned gossip while they spread crumbs liberally across the desk and floor, Hansel and Gretyl style. It always surprises me that the boys are just as eager as the girls to learn about the “goings on” of 4th grade.

“So-and-so thinks I like so-and-so.”

“WHAT?!”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“I AM GOING TO BARF!”

“Yeah, we have a wedding cake planned and everything.”

“AH HA HA HA HA!”

The over-exaggerated laughter is always the most entertaining part of this floor show.

Meanwhile, Kid Number Five – little Yali – couldn’t care less about who said what or who liked whom. He was only interested in the peppermint he received from Heidi. And screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. One of these days it’s going to be more words and less blood-curdling shrieks.

Sometime later we moved this fascinating conversation to the playground where two girls and two boys found it necessary to tell each other who they liked in 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and now 4th grade.

“Well, I don’t like anyone at this school now.”

“Yeah. I liked so-and-so last year, and I don’t like anyone now.”

“Yeah, I don’t like anyone now either.”

“Yeah, I like no one.”

Yeah right.

Countdown till moving: 3 days.