moanKEY! moanKEY!

Bashful and coy at first, my students used to stay in their seats, look away when spoken to, giggle and bury their heads when asked a question. Now, at the end of week three, things are different. I've got children climbing on tables to jump on my back, children yelling out unintelligible (and usually entirely wrong) answers to questions, children throwing scissors like darts. simply a joy to have in class each day.

and now a couple of the little boys in my grade 5 and 6 classes have taken a liking to the hair on my arms. It started with Mon (a 5th grader) who'd walk up next to me and casually run his miniature fingers along my arm as he sidled by in the hallways. Getting bolder and bolder everyday, he now will get up while I'm speaking in front of the class to stand next to me and stroke my arms. I do believe that it's pure fascination on his part, so i mostly just let him pet a couple of times and then he'll go sit back down. some of the boys will call out to me when they've finished their work, "Teacher, teacher! arm, arm!" I'll go over and let them yank on my furry forearms for a few seconds and then they're satisfied. It's hilarious to watch - weird, but hilarious.

fuzzy object of fascination

The best reaction yet, though, was from a grade 4 boy who, seeing my arms up close for the first time, yelled "moanKEY! moanKEY! moanKEY!" (his pronunciation was, of course, poor but he got his point across.) I'll tell you, nothing makes a girl feel more special than being called a hairy monkey.