Boogers, Anyone?

When I started teaching, a few years ago, I felt that our lunch should be called "brunch" because we ate so early - 11:05. Each year the second grade has been pushed later and later until we now go to lunch at 11:35. That is fairly reasonable, considering that on Fridays the kids go home at 1:15 and can eat there. But, for my kids, lunch might as well be tomorrow. They have a real hard time waiting that long. During first recess they are always telling me how hungry they are. I always tell them something like, "We just had breakfast," or "Lunch will be here in one hour," or "Work hard and you'll forget about your hunger pangs." Just a side note here, for too many of the kids, lunch is the first meal they get, if not their only meal, of the day. So, when Andy (name has been changed to protect the innocent) said that he was hungry I gave him one of my usual responses. I had no idea how hungry he was. I soon found out.

Andy is in my small guided reading group. As we began reading he began picking, and I'm not talking about picking his favorite book. I tried to ignore it for a while but I couldn't. Since he was sitting next to me I gently reached over and pulled his arm down. Within seconds the finger found its way back up to that nose. This time I quietly leaned over and whispered, "Stop picking your nose, please." He quickly pulled out. But, again, he went back to the action. This time, less quietly and less kindly, because I find it disgusting and I'm sick of all the germs, I said, "Keep your finger out of your nose. It is gross!" He put his book down, looked me in the eye and said as matter-of-factly (is that a word?) as he could, "Mrs. Grant, I'm hungry." Eat away, I guess. I may have to find a filling, yet cheap, snack tomorrow.