Toy time

As a teacher, sometimes you carry more things to class than you would for a weekend getaway.
Last week the load included my laptop, speakers, 23 student journals, handouts, power strip, water bottle...and these guys...
Because the week before the biggest exam of their college career, all students really need to do is play with toys.
I'm serious! Look how happy they are:
OK, so the toys also had educational value. The lesson last week was focused on expanding our students' arsenal of adjectives. Because if I read colorful or lovely one more time in my students' writing, I may just have a mental breakdown. There is simply nothing better than a bunch of baby toys for teaching sensory adjectives. Just think of the possibilities: striped, spotted, silky, fuzzy, squeaky, jingling, squishy, bumpy, vibrating...the list goes on and on.Toys are educational..."He's squishy, and fuzzy..."
And let's be honest, they're just downright fun. And we could all use a little more fun in our lives.
I also carried to class objects with strong odors, so students would have opportunities to use words like rancid, pungent, and fragrant. The list included things like hand sanitizer, vanilla, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, and oregano.
I made the important discovery that liquid smoke is a Chinese student's kryptonite.
One whiff of that and they'll wave a flag of surrender.
Except Sabrina. She's impervious to the powers of the liquid smoke.
I thought about taking a class field trip to the bathrooms for a precise example of rancid, but decided I really didn't want to assault my nostrils. Warmer weather + poor plumbing + old building = no deep breathing as you walk the halls.