T is for Tarnation!

I don't know what it is about the "Rocks, Sand, and Soil" lesson that makes us start talking like Stinky Pete the Prospector (Toy Story 2, duh).  We just do.

Maybe it's the excitement of my rock collection. It always gets oooohhhhs and ahhhhhhhs.

Beautiful right? All of the kids get wide eyed. Mr. Mohawk raised his hand to inform me that he has a jelly bean collection. Princess wanted to know if I put all of those little sticker numbers on the rocks (no, my servants did it, Princess). And, Sassy HAD to know WHERE I found all of those rocks!

I don't want to burst their bubbles and tell them they came from a catalog. I did find them...in the catalog...

They decided this one looks like silver.

And this one looks like a petrified chick.

This one looks like a mini glacier.

Then I noticed that one was missing!

Number 4! See!

We looked on the reference sheet to see which one it was.

Number 4 is Fluorite!

Mr. Spacey, Jr.: Fluorite? That's what the dentist puts in my mouth!
Mr. Fact Man: The dentist puts rocks in your MOUTH?!
Smartypants: No, no, no! That's fluorIDE!
Mr. Spacey, Jr.: That's what I said...

During this, I thought to myself, "Self, PYRITE is missing!"

Me: Guys! Pyrite is missing! It's supposed to go here! Pyrite is Fool's Gold!
Them: GASPS!
Mr. Facts Man: Well Ms. Buckler, did you learn a lesson here?
Me: Huh?
Mr. Facts Man: You probably shouldn't leave your rocks in an unlocked box. Not with gold in it anyway.

Now I KNOW I didn't take this box of rocks out last year. For reasons like THIS. Not to mention the characters I had last year. The rocks couldn't have been taken by last year's kids!

So that means one thing. It was my class from TWO years ago! Who are now fourth graders.

I think I may start the interrogation with the president, vice president, and secretary of "The Rock Club" that was created during recess that year. I had a suspicion they weren't talking about guitars and drums...

Drats! Dag Nabbit! TARNATION!

At least someone hasn't poisoned the water hole...yet.