south pole

yesterday i had my adventures in math.  today it was at the lunch table.  i get the fabulous perk of eating with 2nd graders everyday.  there are no cafeteria monitors so we get to sit (very quietly) at the end of the table.  assistant teacher on one end, me on the other.  you can imagine the things i get to talk about.  i use it as my "get to know you so you will like my class and not cause any problems" time.  it has worked quite well with one of my problem students.  this boy comes from a "rough" family and twice last year go mad in class and took off out of the school with his teacher running after him all the way home (we are in fact responsible for them from 7:30-2:30). he is a little bit bored in my class (he's "gifted") but doesn't have attitude problems... just problems sitting down so i let him stand at his desk and do his work.

anyway, i am getting off track.  my lunch time conversation.  i think it started with us talking about movies.  some student said his dad has made a movie and it is really scary ( i am not even gonna ask... just  don't want to know.... don't go there, right!)  somehow that took us into talking about the south pole and how cold it is there.  one of my little girls said she had been there but had to wear a sweater (ok, i thought.  hmmm interesting.... are we talking about the same thing)  then the little boy across from me said "well what about antarctica?"  i explained that the south pole was actually in antarctica because antarctica is at the very "bottom of the earth".  he said he would never go there and i asked him if he would never go there because it was too cold.  and he said  "no, i ain't goin' there because i don't wanna fall off the earth.  You know you are upside down when your all the way down there."

All I have to say is it is very difficult to try and teach a science lesson on gravity in 5 minutes in a cafeteria with a bunch of 2nd graders.  whew. TGIF