He He! Giggle, Giggle! -- The "F" Word

My computer at school has been down since last Friday morning. Lord! That's a WEEK of no computer in my classroom. That means I can't work on my reading newsletter or the school's literary magazine since they're on the school's server - which I can't access. I also can't make quick email checks between reading groups. Instead, I must hike down to the library or the computer lab to use one of their computers to send or read email whenever I get more than a few minutes free.

This afternoon, I went to the computer lab only to discover that a fifth grade class was in there. However since several computers were still open I checked with the teacher to be sure it was okay, and I slipped in next to a student who's in one of my reading groups. I proceeded to check my email. One of my emails was from another reading specialist (thanks, JeNan). Now imagine how I felt when I had to not laugh and disrupt what the kids were doing and then hope-like-crazy the fifth grader next to me didn't see the following (she didn't - she was too engrossed in her math project):

Whatever you do . . .

never

NEVER

NEVER

I mean NEVER . . .

NEVER Fart in a wet suit!

Which brings me to the title of this post - the "F" word. Many years ago when I was teaching second grade, a little boy came up to me and said so seriously, "Mrs. J., Bobby said the 'F' word!"

Surprised, I asked, "He did? Tell me exactly what he said."

"Oh no, I couldn't say THAT!" He was visibly distressed.

"It's okay, you're not saying it - you won't get into trouble. You are just reporting to me so I can decide what should be done about it."

With lowered voice, he answered, "Bobby said 'fart.'"

Later note: Please read the comments for more stories about children and those "special" words.