Student Quote of the Year

Y'all may have been wondering (but probably weren't) when I would post stories about my little students. Wonder no more! Today one of them uttered something so completely cute that I have to share it.

I teach this 8-year-old girl, and she's as talkative and smart as can be. She showed up to her lesson today with a little stuffed elf, saying that it "just showed up" at her house, like it does every year, to cause mischief when no one is looking. Apparently, Santa retrieves this elf on Christmas Eve when he lays out her presents. This is an annual thing in her house.

So this elf has been causing all kinds of mischief when not pretending not to be alive by pretending to be a doll. My little student says the elf came with fairy dust that she can sprinkle on the elf when she wants it to come alive. She recounted a few stories of how this elf has caused mischief when she wasn't looking.

Now, you have to understand, this is a very exciting development each Christmas at her house. Her brother has an elf, too. Their parents and teachers are in on this little charade, so it seems to these kids that the elves really are causing mischief.

So she can't stop talking about the elf. No sooner has she hit the last note in a piece than she instantly starts in on another story, as if I can't tell she's just trying to think of a new story while she plays her pieces for me.

At one point, I need her to put her hands in Middle C Position, the first and easiest hand position a student usually learns. She has had no problems finding it for months, but today, she just couldn't figure it out. When I asked her why it was so hard to find Middle C Position today, this little 8-year-old said, and I'm not kidding,

"I have elf issues."

Case closed. Well, you'd better believe that this will be added to my personal list of excuses around Christmas. This was just too much.

My students rock.