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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Check the Backpack!

Working in a transitional kindergarten class brings many joys, frustrations, and surprises!  These children come in to our classroom at the beginning of the school year as "babies", and leave at the end, not just 9 months older, but advanced in leaps and bounds; academically,  emotionally and socially.  It gives us teachers a real sense of accomplishment.

Routine is an important part of the day for these children.  It starts with disembarking from the bus, entering the classroom and hanging up backpacks and coats.  The teachers then check each back pack to see if the child has brought homework, signed notes, or anything else needed for school.

We have found some interesting things in backpacks. 
Here are just a few of the items we've discovered during our searches:

Prescription pills (not sure of the street value)
K-Y Jelly
Week-old hard-boiled Easter egg (We sniffed that one out!)
Weapons (usually toys)
I'm sure parents are horrified when they discover what their child has brought to school!

We always want the parents to check for important papers when their child comes home from school.  It would be a good idea for them to check backpacks BEFORE the children leave for school!

I'm grateful I don't work in a secondary school and have to check backpacks.  I suspect I'd find the same types of contraband but instead of coming from the parent's drawers, medicine cabinet, and toy box, it would be the student's own stash! 

What's in your backpack?


15 comments:

Julie Harward said...

Good idea to check whats in the BP as they go off to school! Once as I visited my little daughters classroom, I looked through her desk and found a bag of the most foul..rotten...monsterous...carrots in the back of her desk..they smelled too! I wondered if the teacher just thought this girl smells bad! LOL Come say hi :D

Kristina P. said...

Oh, man, that KY Jelly is a classic.

The Jones Fam said...

This post gives me an ulcer thinking of the possibilities that could be ending up at my kids' school. But wow- your list... some of the items I didn't even know existed (flavored body lotion). So funny.

Kazzy said...

In my backpack are four huge binders, pens, pencils, paper clips, sticky notes, a pencil sharpener, and chewing tobacco. No, wait...

Yvonne said...

That is way too funny.

It is interesting what a difference one school year makes, eh. Learning is a wonderful thing.

My 72 hour kit is in my backpack. This reminds me I better get in it and ROTATE.

Tracy said...

Some peoples kids!!! ;-)...joking!! More like some kids parents!! The BP "thing" is huge!! It most definitely needs to be part of the parents routine!! :-)

Oh the things you see and hear, I bet you could write a book!!

Kerin said...

Good Morning..
Our 72 hour kits are in our backpacks right now. Sweet husband likes to work on them and keep them updated (thank goodness ).
I WISH that I had my mp3 player, a stash of good books and magazines and a ticket to Hawaii :))
Have a great day. Hope we get sunshine soon!

Barbaloot said...

Yikes-I don't know if I'm amused or scared and the things kids get their hands on.

I don't have backpacks anymore. HOORAY for no more school! I guess I do have two 72-hour ones in my garage, so that's not so bad.

wendy said...

The K-Y Jelly is a little disturbing (tee,hee) I can't imagine some of the things you find.

what would be in My backpack. My camera for sure (what blogger isn't without her camera eh) lipgloss, a power bar and a can of diet coke.
there, that about covers it

Teachinfourth said...

I've found quite the interesting array of items (some immensely gross) in student's desks over the years. The two top would need to be some lunch fare the student brought, put in their desk, and left.

A few weeks later the Ziplock-sealed lunch had turned into a wet, furry, mass of grossness.

I won't share the last one...

Jenny said...

K-Y Jelly, now that is some thing I have not seen working at the school.

Anonymous said...

Umm, K-Y? Really? I once found melting strawberry ice cream in a first grader's backpack. That was not an easy clean-up job.

CB said...

Oh my gosh KY Jelly? What a crack up and how funny it would be to see the parents face when you told them about that one - ha ha!

Around here backpacks are sort of taboo - Kids cannot even bring them to class because of what might be in them. Very sad.

Valerie said...

Whew! I'm a mom that checks the backpack BEFORE school! I'd shudder to think what things my boy would take if I didn't.
However, one time when my daughter was in middle school (5th grade) she brought home with her the remains of the squid they had just dissected. Thankfully she left it on the step in the garage and didn't bring it in the house. This wasn't a happy mama.

gigi said...

Wet Wipes
Lipstick
Sunblock
cash
Tootsie Pops
Gum
tooth brush and paste
Advil
Sunglasses

Our Pre~K GRAND~daughter took a toy gun and we were mortified! I didn't even know she owned one! Yep, her dad had bought her a a pink cowgirl gun and holster. He had to take it away and it ended up in his toolbox on the truck! It can happen and it happened to us!