Magnet Man

Some might call them an impulse purchase.

I call them...um....objectively awesome.   Take a gander:

I was at Staples several years ago to pick up some blank DVDs and a plastic pencil box, or something equally personality-free, when this guy caught my eye.  "Do I need a set of magnets that look like a little dude coming out of the metal surface of your choice?" I asked myself in front of the aisle 4 endcap.  YES!  I mean, why would I affix a paper to the board with a lame-colored circle of boringness when I could pin it on there with a FACE?  The choice was clear.

The little Magnet Man made a home in my classroom.  This year he took up residence on the closet door behind my desk, the disembodied legs and arms firmly pressing various photos and important papers in place.  Though certainly an important fixture of the closet door, the smiling face and scattered "Whee!" limbs hadn't caught the eye of any of the kids.

Until today.

Javonte and I were typing up a draft of his essay this afternoon so he could read it more clearly to use for his final copy.  And by that I mean that Javonte was reading aloud a couple of sentences and then playing with the magnets on the closet door while I looked over his shoulder and typed.  "OK - next sentence..." I prompted.  He read, I typed, the magnets beckoned.

He had discovered and re-assembled the Magnet Man appendage by appendage and was completely tickled by the little dude.  Because as we've established, Magnet Man is objectively awesome.  It's like his thighs and upper arms are still stuck in a sea of orange door and he's reaching out to play.  With Javonte.  Who really likes little buddies. 

into-the-wild.org

The stuffed purple frog that Javonte found near the resource room where we were working on an assignment last week was one such incredibly fantastic little buddy.  At first it seemed like it might be the useful variety of little buddy, delighting Javonte and helping him get through the tough assignment all at the same time.  But as you might imagine, the frog turned out to be the distracting type of little buddy, delighting Javonte and carrying on an extended play session with him.  Little buddy--fail.

I printed out Javonte's draft and he got crackin' on writing out the final copy.  Magnet Man, however, was not content to be forgotten so quickly.  He hurled himself from the closet door and disjointedly ambled his way over to the magnetic leg of Javonte's table where he proceeded to delight Javonte and...carry on an extended play session with him.

When I checked in on Javonte and his final copy, I discovered the migratory, tie-wearing dude.  I held my hand out for the pieces.  Javonte forked them over.  Hands.  Feet.  Face.  Potbelly.  But it wasn't the full little dude.

"Where's the hat?" I asked, knowing that leaving behind even one of the pieces would ruin both the set and the prospects for this neglected final copy.

"There's a HAT?!?!" Javonte exclaimed in disbelief as I realized that Magnet Man had just gotten a whole lot more appealing, and the final copy just got a whole lot farther from completion.

'Cause you see...when fully dressed, Magnet Man actually looks like this -->

My surprise at finding myself here inside this metal door just propelled my hat straight off my head!

I will not tell Javonte about the umbrella that completes the set....