<![CDATA[Little Lessons Learned by Dana - Chuckles and Chalk Dust]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:27:45 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Bacon and Eggs With a Side of Socks]]>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 20:11:45 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/bacon-and-eggs-with-a-side-of-socks

Photo by Nick Page on Unsplash

A resourceful teacher is always looking for more efficient and practical ways of managing tasks in the classroom. One of the tools that are used almost daily in my classroom are wipe boards. When paired with a dry erase marker, they come in very handy for language arts and math lessons especially.

One challenge I always experienced, however, was we never seemed to have enough erasers to go around. Then it came to me! The solution that I had seen in another classroom was pure genius. It was the mismatch bag of socks that had no mates—or I’m sorry, let me rephrase that “Super Special Sock Erasers.”

My sister rounded up a bag of these priceless gems for me, but let’s just say some of those lonely socks were a little too special. Cue the bacon and eggs sock. The bacon and eggs sock was a colourful and crazy statement sock that put all the rest of the white and athletic socks to shame. Nothing compared to it, and the students became quickly aware of that.

For this reason, the bacon and eggs sock became the crown jewel that all students sought to possess during any time we used wipe boards. That sock was a source of stress and a true bone of contention for me on the daily.

One day, before the kids came in, I remembered the infamous bacon and eggs sock and the conflict it brought, and I intentionally removed it from the bag and put it in my teaching bag. A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.

I couldn’t help but laugh when we needed the socks for the next lesson and the students were frantically searching for the favoured sock. One student called out, in shock and horror, “The bacon and eggs sock is missing!” Trying to act surprised, I responded, “Oh no, really? How unfortunate.”

The treasured sock was somehow “lost,” and my lessons went so much smoother. The class will never know the shocking truth of that sock’s fate—and honestly, some stories are just better left untold.

]]><![CDATA[Where's Mom?]]>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 19:14:02 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/wheres-mom

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya

One Sunday, when I was teaching Sunday School, we began work on a Mother's Day booklet as Mother's Day was just around the corner. I explained that we would be working on the booklets for a few weeks and when we were done, the kids would have a very special gift to give their moms when Mother's Day came.

They were very excited and couldn't wait to start. The first thing we were going to do was draw a detailed picture of our moms. I asked the kids to take their time, make it very colourful and special and draw their moms doing something they enjoyed.

Most of the kids did an incredible job and were very eager to share with each other their mom drawings. One little guy, however, got up to present his picture and let's just say... he did not "understand the assignment."

He began, "Here's my living room, and our big TV. Here's our dining room table. Here's our stove, fridge and dishwasher. Here's our couch and chairs." He went on and on, and well, you get the picture.

Trying not to interrupt, I waited until he was done. (which seemed like forever) I was very confused, yet politely said, "You did a great job on your home, but your job was to draw a picture of your mom for Mother's Day. I am wondering, where's mom?" He looked like a deer in the headlights as I could tell he realized he had not followed the instructions. An uncomfortable expression came across his face as he said, "Oh, where's my mom?" I said "Yes, where's mom?" Thinking for a second, he quickly grabbed a black crayon and scribbled something down very fast and then turned around his picture proudly. He had drawn a staircase and said "Umm... my mom is upstairs!"

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust (Dana Romualdi)

Tags: Mother's Day, kids' drawings, gift for mom

]]><![CDATA[Class Picture Gone Wrong]]>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:11:58 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/class-picture-gone-wrong

Photo by Artem Podrez

School Picture Day is always a big source of excitement. It is always so cute to see the kids come dressed in their Sunday best, new hairstyles and smiles a mile wide.

One student one year went ALL OUT. He wore a suit like what a ring bearer at a wedding would wear and had his hair spiked with hair gel. He looked amazing, and you could tell he felt amazing too.

I couldn't wait to see how the pictures turned out when they came back about a month later. His individual pictures were so great. He looked so handsome and grown up. I could imagine how proud his parents would be. Then came the class picture... To my dismay, I was NOT happy with what I saw. He and another boy were making very deliberate silly faces and the camera had captured it ALL!

Before I sent the class pictures home, I showed him first and asked for an explanation about this as it was so out of character for him. He was mortified and said he didn't really want to do it, but the other boy had convinced him it would be fun and a great memory. It broke my heart to see him cry as he begged me to not send the class picture home to anyone. He was so embarrassed. I told him I couldn't do that, but hoped he could learn to not do that in the future.

Shortly after, his parents booked an interview with me at report card time. We talked about various things and then they brought up the class picture. I was unsure what direction they were going, but they said that he learned a very valuable lesson. They looked at it as a teachable moment and they said they had a great conversation about reputations and how you can give others an impression of you that is incorrect simply by making a poor choice. They knew that he already felt very badly about it so they had a very gentle conversation about it. They felt that in the end, he learned a great life lesson that will stick with him for years. I share this story because I was so impressed with how these parents handled the situation, and I told them that. They could have punished him or made him feel worse, yet chose to take the high road, tread softly and help him see that something good could come from even the most embarrassing situation if you are open to it.

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust
(Dana Romualdi)

Tags: class picture, cute kids story, life lessons, learn from mistakes

]]><![CDATA[Pray Without Ceasing]]>Mon, 08 Apr 2024 17:52:55 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/pray-without-ceasing

One Sunday morning I was teaching Sunday School years ago to a group of energetic 5 -year -olds. The Biblical principle that we were trying to convey was the concept of "pray without ceasing" that the Bible speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 - 18.

We explained that we should always be ready to take our matters to God in prayer, but it doesn't necessarily mean we literally pray 24/7. One little guy said, "We pray at breakfast, so we pray once a day." My friend who was teaching with me said, "Good for you!" The little guy then said, "No wait a minute we pray at lunch and dinner too! Silly me, so I guess we pray 3x a day." I chimed in with "That's wonderful."

As I attempted to continue the lesson, he kept interrupting me. Next, he said "We also pray at the bus stop! I forgot. So, we pray 4x a day." As I again tried to move on, he jumped in once more and said, "Just wait a minute we also pray at bedtime, so we really pray 5x a day."

Before I had a chance to respond a little girl sitting beside him rolled her eyes and said, sarcastically "O.k. o.k., we got it already!" It really cracked me up because I was thinking the same thing and didn't really have the time to hear how he prays, six, seven or eight times a day either for that matter! So funny!

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust
(Dana Romualdi)

Tags: Sunday school stories, prayer, pray without ceasing, funny kid stories

]]><![CDATA[You Can Call Me Mrs. R.]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:30:06 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/you-can-call-me-mrs-r

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

As a beginning teacher, where I live, you must do a period of substitute teaching before getting a teaching contract. Shortly after graduating from teacher's college, I was supply teaching in a kindergarten classroom, in a nearby city. Back then, some kindergarten kids went to school for a half day only.

Kids either went in the morning or afternoon. It was like that when I was a kid too. It was truly the best of both worlds for me. Half a day of school and half a day hanging out with my sweet mom.

When you are substitute teaching, and only have a half day assignment, it doesn't give you a chance to get to know the kids very well. When I arrived in the classroom that morning a sweet little ESL (English as a Second Language) student was very happy to see me. He proudly said with very calculated words "Good morning! I am John, and you are?” I could see that English was indeed a factor and Romualdi is often a very hard name to remember and pronounce.

To make it easier on the little guy, I said clearly and slowly, pointing to myself, "You can call me Mrs. R." John then sweetly replied without missing a beat, "Oh welcome, you can call me Mrs. R!"

I didn't have the heart to correct him, nor did I think he would even understand my explanation, so I just left it at that. I walked away with a big smile and a very unforgettable welcome to kindergarten story to cherish.

Sending you a smile,

Dana

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust
(Dana Romualdi)

Tags: teaching memories, elementary teacher, substitute teacher, occasional teacher, classroom teacher, classroom stories, Canadian teacher, early years classroom, welcome to kindergarten, kids say the funniest things, teaching memories

]]><![CDATA[Where's the Paparazzi?]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 19:04:42 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/wheres-the-paparazzi

Photo by Jessica Lewis □ thepaintedsquare

It is a very peculiar thing when teachers see a student of theirs somewhere other than the school. Over the years I have had all sorts of reactions. Embarrassment, indifference, pride, curiosity, pleasure, and complete avoidance. No reaction, however, would ever top the one I got repeatedly from a little girl I taught many years ago, named Victoria.

Victoria was a ray of sunshine, a bundle of energy and positivity that would draw anyone in. Her and I clicked immediately and I was so happy to have her on my class list. As fate would have it, I saw Victoria MANY times in MANY different places outside of school. It became a running joke between her Mom and I of where we would run into each other next. I guess I had my own version of a "Where's Waldo?" game going with them, but in this case it was "Where's Mrs. R?" I am telling you, if I was out there, Victoria would surely find me!

I remember this so vividly. Every time I saw her, even if I had just seen her at school, she would squeal with delight, clap her hands and jump up and down overflowing with extreme excitement. She was beside herself. I am telling you Taylor Swift had NOTHING on me! Consistently she treated me like I was a famous celebrity that she was absolutely shocked to see EVERY TIME! You would think I had the paparazzi not far behind me the way she was acting! Truth be told, I am surprised she didn't ask for my autograph!

It was so precious and very good for my self esteem too I might add. I will never forget her and the way she made me feel so special and loved. It is a precious memory that always brings a smile to my face!

Sending you a smile,

Dana

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust
(Dana Romualdi)

Tags: teaching memories, elementary teacher, classroom stories, celebrity sighting, Taylor Swift fan, Taylor Swift, fan club, kids say the funniest things, Canadian teacher

]]><![CDATA[Miracle in Room 19]]>Mon, 18 Mar 2024 23:57:11 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/miracle-in-room-19

Polesie Toys photo

Since the beginning of time, as long as kids have been kids, there seems to be NO other subject that even remotely compares to this one. It is the subject they just can't get enough of. The cat's meow, the top of the heap, the crème de la crème, the best subject of all time in a kid's eyes... It is drumroll please... GYM class! "Do we have Gym today?" "Do we have Gym today?" "Do we have Gym today?" If I had a dollar for every time this question was asked, I tell you I would be a VERY RICH woman!

Once upon a time there was a student who just wasn't up to doing any work one day. Try as I may, I just couldn't get him to accomplish a thing. When I inquired what was wrong, he stated " I think I broke my arm, so because of that I need to let you know that I am just going to sit here all day and do NO work at all." It was hard to keep a straight face as I saw him at recess, and he was clearly fine.

I replied "Wow, that is so unfortunate." He said, "I know, eh? These things happen. What can you do?" I then said, "What I meant to say is, that is so unfortunate that you broke your arm because not only can you not do ANY work ALL day, but I guess you will just have to sit on the bench as well, because we have Gym class in about ten minutes!"

My little friend then immediately sat up straight, and said with great conviction "We have GYM today? You are not going to believe this, it is like a miracle or something, but my arm seems suddenly so much better!" I then said much to his dismay "Wonderful, so let's get busy until then!"

Sending you a smile,

Dana

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust
Dana Romualdi

Tags: teaching memories, elementary teacher, classroom stories, Canadian teacher, Gym class, kids say the funniest things, miracles

]]><![CDATA[Health Lesson Gone Wrong]]>Mon, 18 Mar 2024 19:35:45 GMThttps://www.littlelessonslearnedbydana.com/chuckles-and-chalk-dust/health-lesson-gone-wrong

A LOVELY picture of me given to me by a student!

Years ago, I was teaching a lesson in Health and the topic was obesity. We talked about how obesity can even affect children if they are not active and choose to only do activities like watching TV or playing video games all the time. We watched a video about kids making choices to have an active or inactive lifestyle and had a wonderful discussion around why we should choose to be active.
I felt though obesity was an unfamiliar term, the kids really understood what the lesson was about. I couldn't help but smile when a student said to me "I really enjoyed this lesson! I learned so much! I can't wait to tell my parents all about it!" I thought to myself, "Wow that is so great!" What a proud teacher moment for me! Well, my sense of pride quickly faded when I asked her "What will you say to your parents about what we learned in Health class?" She said, "Oh, that's simple. I will just say Mrs. Romualdi gave a fantastic lesson today on why she doesn't want any of us to be OBEDIENT!" You can't make this stuff up! I quickly clarified. Obedient, YES! Obese, NO!
Sending you a smile,

Dana

P.S. To read about the value of laughter in our daily lives click here.

Copyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana/ chucklesandchalkdust
Dana Romualdi

Tags: elementary teacher, Canadian teacher, obesity, kids say the funniest things, childhood obesity, Health class, funny classroom storries

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