Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Children's homework assignments often have amusing errors. Case in point: this homework assignment I found on the ground near a local elementary school.

The assignment consists of five numbered sentences, with certain words underlined. It reads:

1. I went to the store today.
2. Can I go to the store never mind i Can't.
3. I am so exciting because I can go the park all the time.
4. I am so happy because Ime getteing a puppy tomorrow.
5. There is always a confusion outside.

At the bottom of the paper, under the word "homework" is a sentence where, inexplicably, every word is circled: "It's gonna be exciting to see my uncle." Then the word "exciting" is written three different times, as if to practice the spelling.

Clearly, this was a very exciting assignment.

On the back are some word doodles, as I called them: lists of words, some in colored pencil. The first list is "unhappiness, with, winner, usually" and something indecipherable.

Further down the page, we find "qu, quick, quack, quanna". Then "est, mideast" with the word "mideast" crossed out. And finally, "Best, Nest, Guest".

Strangely, the incongruous phrase "It's a french" appears to the left.

In this case, the student seems to have been playing around with words that either started with the same letter or ended with the same sound. I'm not certain what "quanna" is meant to indicate, as it's clearly a misspelled word. Maybe it's someone's name.

Maybe the student was student was writing down words which could be used in a simple poem. May I suggest the following free verse stanza:

Quick, Quanna, quack your best!
It's a French guest in our nest.
Oh, unhappiness!

The other find I'll share this week consists of two notes apparently dropped by a student, Billy, on his way home from school. They are on pumpkin-colored pieces of paper, apparently delivered as Halloween greetings from fellow students.

The first says nothing but the name of the sender, Terrance. The second, from "Michelle (Michael's sister)", says simply, "Happy Halloween".

I wonder if this was a club fundraiser or a schoolwide event. It conjures memories of Valentine's Day in grade school, where I had only slightly more success than Charlie Brown in receiving Valentine's greetings from my classmates.

So I suppose it could be a trick or a treat, depending on the popularity of the student.

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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