"Tuck" internal combustion.

The first grade classroom I am in uses the inquiry method of learning for social studies. The children choose a topic and spend the semester investigating it in smaller research groups. I was put in charge of a group interested in investigating "vehicles". Today was our first meeting where we had to narrow that topic down. For some reason I wanted to try to persuade my group to investigate sanitation vehicles (I am still not sure why... I became momentary fascinated with street sweepers).

They did not go for it.

Instead they want to know how engines work, something I know less than NOTHING about. So I am now frantically reading about spark plugs and pistons and trying to figure out how to translate that for 6 year olds. I am planning of buying myself some time and starting with bikes but it turns out I know nothing about them either. Though, thanks to a very nice bike shop on the upper east side, I have a bike chain and two sprockets which I shall attempt to base a lesson around.

Also, today a reminder of how 6 year olds minds may be in the toilet (poop is a huge theme) but they are not yet in the gutter:

Today while learning about the sounds certain letter combos make the teacher asked this question:

"Who can tell me another word that rhymes with 'duck' that your parents do when you go to bed"

Every child in the class immediately knew the answer is 'Tuck (you into bed)'.

you dirty pervs.