Valentine's Day

I'm pretty sure that the person who invented Valentine's Day was not an elementary school teacher. In fact, I be the person who invented Halloween wasn't an elementary school teacher either. Regardless, days like today are really not that fun. The day is often a waste because all the kids are looking forward to the party - which is usually held towards the end of the day so the kids can get all sugared up from the onslaught of treats and then go home! Teachers like the end of the day because they can eat the "safe" treats - you know, the wrapped treats or the ones made by parents you trust - and toss the rest, leaving little chance the students will find out that you didn't eat them all.

As a specialist, I get treats from a bunch of students at various grades. Some seem to search me out in order to give me a treat or a little Spiderman Valentine. Others are wandering the halls with one cupcake left and happen to stroll by the library when it hits them - hey, I'll give this last crappy cupcake that no one else wants to the IMC Guy so I can get back to my party. Wow, I'm flattered. However, what I really get a kick out of is those cheap, little Valentine's that the kids hand out. Of course, my own children hand out those same cheap Valentine's at their school. Anyway, I get a kick out of these cards because of what is written on them. In some cases, there isn't a single thing on the cards - including who the card is from. On others, my name is actually written correctly. Then, there are the children who have absolutely no idea how to spell my name. Now, I don't have a simple name like Smith, but it's also not that difficult to spell. This is a list of what showed up on my Valentine's Day cards today - all of them wrong:

Leamen
Leman
Lamem
Lemon
Lamine
Misster L.

My favorite, and one that made my laugh, was the one with 3 simple letters in the little box marked "To:" One student simply wrote "You."