Love in the Eyes of a 3rd Grader

I knew I was in for it when one of my students asked me to hold her mood ring. I obliged and the ring proceeded to turn dark blue.  And here's what she said. "Dark blue means romance. But don't worry, that's what mine is too" and she grinned and walked away! The best part was I overheard her talking to her friends exclaiming, "Well it would only make sense that hers is on romance. She just got married, so I'm sure she's thinking about her husband all the time!" And so began the love fest that has taken over Room 409.


As a teacher, I am privy to all kinds of top secret information. I must wear a sign on my back that says "Tell me who you like" because my girls will not stop sharing these things with me...but I certainly don't mind because I love turning it around on them and pairing them up with the boys that they like! Of course, you'll always have the ones who are like totally not into 3rd grade romance. You know, the ones who say "My mom says my Dad is the only boy I need in my life" or "My cat is my boyfriend." But those are few and far between (probably the smart ones!), and it is pretty safe to say that most of my students  have someone that gives them "smiley eyes," as some of the girls like to say!


My kiddos were all in a tizzy today because they would have to be square dancing in PE with a student of the opposite sex! No joke, the boys came back into the classroom and sanitized their hands. 


So, I thought I would share my insights on love in the eyes of nine year olds.  Get ready, ladies...you might pick up some really great tips!


 Ways 9 year olds express their affection:
1.  Throwing pencils at each other
2.  Calling the person you like a "Dog"
3.  Picking up a pencil (not the one you threw) for your crush (I cracked up when one student picked up a pencil for one of my precious girls and she looked at her friend across the room and mouthed "He hearts me")
4.  Following each other around like puppy dogs
5.  Flashing your goods on the bus (I would not recommend this one because you might end up in the principal's office!)


Awkward ways to flirt:
1.  Asking the 8-year old boy you like where he wants to go to college (This happened at lunch one day, and I was like "Oh, baby girl." This kid stuffs paper towels in toilets...I'm pretty sure college is not in his vocabulary yet.)
2. Trying to tell the boys what puberty means...Yeahhhhh, no words for this one


All I can say is that I am sooo glad we don't do the Growth & Changes program in 3rd grade! I can handle crushes. I can handle poor flirting. Anything past that gets me all hot and bothered!