The Allen's Online Blog

At the end of the day, I was sending the students home for the weekend when one of my first graders told me he was going to America tomorrow. I was taken aback, and thought maybe he was leaving for good, so I asked when he was coming back. He responded with, "I don't know. I think I'll be back for school on Monday." I told him that it takes that long just to fly to America and back. He wouldn't even have time to get off the plane. He told me, "I know. That's why we're taking the train. It's faster." You would think that I would have given up on reasoning with first graders by this point in the year, but no, I tried to tell him that you can't take a train to America because America is across the ocean and trains drive on land. His best friend saw through my excuse and quickly responded, "Yes they can, if the train can fly!" So, my student is flying in a High Speed Train to America for the weekend.
Actually, because I was concerned at this last minute trip to America, and the boy had no idea why he was going, I thought it must be a funeral or something serious. So, I asked at the office if they knew what was going on. The secretary was surprised too, so she immediately called his parents. Strangely enough, they were surprised too! After reflecting for a moment, his mom told us that they were going to see Disney on Ice. He must have thought they were going to Florida because they were going to Disney. No train to America after all.

Labels: School