OO

Today I was checking my 1st grader's workbooks as they finished each page... walking around the semi-circle of desks slowly, drawing red "checks" and stars on their pages (they are obsessed--the whole world will surely end if we move from one page to the next and they don't have a mark of crimson affirmation slashed across their fastidious work). One boy stopped me as I was cruising past with my red pen.

"Teacher!" he announced. "Look!" He pointed to his page, where near the bottom he had written "oo" several times, with the "o's" pushed together.

"Teacher, 'oo' looks like a bumbum!" He was clearly delighted with this discovery and thrilled to share it with me. He even drew another one while I stood next to his desk, just to make sure I got it. I scolded him mildly, then turned away quickly so he couldn't see my smile.

It's ironic and also very fitting that his English name is "Swat." He could probably use one on his OO.