Why are 5th grade boys so obsessed

[Veronica]

with pictures of naked people? It doesn't matter if it's male or female. If they find any nakedness in a book, the book starts making the rounds in the classroom with lots of snickering.

Spring in 5th grade STINKS! Both literally and figuratively.

Veronica

[Ana]

Testosterone.

Their bodies are going through major changes at this age.

[RolliePollie]

When I was in 5th grade, I got in big trouble because of the boys and their obsession with nakedness. On the long bus ride home, they would draw pictures of naked people doing various "activities." Then one day, somebody decided it was time to throw all the pictures away and get rid of the evidence. Well, naive little me was the one who got to take them home and throw them out. Being only 10 years old, I didn't think about the fact that throwing them in the bottom of an empty trash can might be a little obvious. When my mom took out the trash later that week, she opened the can and saw all the pictures at the bottom. Needless to say, I got busted. It really wasn't fair because I hadn't drawn any of the pictures! I'll never forget my mom saying "well, they ARE anatomically correct, but <insert getting in trouble lecture here>."

[Veronica]

But why the need to pass it around? And why the snickering? Why in the classroom? And why aren't their parents telling them to shower daily? Why is it only some boys and not all boys?

Veronica

[ttaylor508]

My son is now in 6th grade and showers every day, but I remember last year, it was all I could do to get him to shower twice a week. It was simply an inconvenience for him. In his defense, he hasn't started "stinking" yet, but there are plenty of kids that have the "funk". The 5th grade teachers at our school have deodorant sitting on the kids desks the first day of school. I just think some kids are slower to get the personal hygiene thing. As for the "naked" pictures, I think it is just the age of discovery and it isn't as fun snickering when they aren't with their buddies.

[Crankin]

I think only some of them stink, because only some of them use deodorant. A lot of parents don't think of "telling" their son they need to use some, along with the showering. Thankfully, my boys liked taking showers.
I used to keep a can of Glade in my classroom. When the weather got warm and what you are describing invariably happened, I would bring it out, spray it around and say, "Someone in here stinks. Please use deodorant."
That worked every time. If not, I sent them to the nurse who explained it in a nicer, but more clinical way.

As an aside, over Thanksgiving we flew to San Diego to see my son in the Marines. My older son was there, too, along with his girlfriend. We were all sitting in the living room of our hotel suite and someone really did smell. Not badly, but it was there. Everyone was accusing the other, until I went around and gave my boys the "sniff test." Just because they are grown ups, doesn't mean I can take them smelling bad.
We had a good laugh, since only a mother could do that.

[kelownagirl]

We watched a video on plants with my grade 3's today and there was entirely too much talk about pollen and reproduction for my kids, including a bumblebee that tries to mate with a flower.

[Cataboo]

This brings back memories of 5th grade... Tony McGlauphin or whatever really stunk. Big bumbling guy. The teacher would at least 2 times a week give us a lecture on personal hygiene, showering, and using deoderant. I think she gave the rest of us a complex... But Tony never caught on. So he'd reek, and the teacher would continue to lecture.

I remember we had to do square dancing.... and he was standing there holding his arms crossed across his chest with his hands in his armpits (he was wearing a sleeveless red shirt)... then he took them out and I had to grab his hand, it was one of those things were you exchange your partner.

Blech.

[shootingstar]

Admittedly because I don't have children nor do I work with them for any job, I didn't realize how uh..smelly they could be.

I remember we had to use our nephews' bedroom to sleep when visiting a sister and her family. Boys were 9 and 7 and slept somewhere else in house, on behalf for the guests. I was trying to sleep, thinking how sweaty and smelly the bedroom was.

And probably the parents became immune to it that they didn't notice much themselves to do anything in advance about it.

[Tri Girl]

They're getting kinda stinky. We had the deodorant talk a month ago. We need to have it again. Tomorrow we have the "growth and development" talk ("the talk" about puberty). AND it's party day. It's going to be a long day tomorrow...
Only 16 more days...

V- I'm glad we haven't had the naked picture silliness yet. If they've been doing it, I haven't seen it. Then again, I tend to ignore a lot of things in the spring and get "selective hearing and seeing."

[Tuckervill]

I remember with all three of my boys, that the stink just kind of sneaks up on you. You don't realize their pits are starting to stink until it just happens! One of mine was 9. Little kids don't usually get the B.O., so it's a surprise!

I'm sure all of them stunk up the classroom on occasion before I caught a whiff at home, and prescribed the remedy.

Karen

[DirtDiva]

The thing is, unless someone really reeks, I don't notice the smell in my own classroom. But it's so obvious if I go into someone else's room. I guess I've just become immune to my lot.

[Tri Girl]

The thing is, unless someone really reeks, I don't notice the smell in my own classroom. But it's so obvious if I go into someone else's room. I guess I've just become immune to my lot.

That's true, I think.
I think it's true of your own home, too. You don't notice the smell because you become immune to it since you spend so much time there.

Oh, and we had the "growth and development" talk today (aka: the puberty talk) with the nurses, so they got the deodorant talk today (along with a sample in their "special" bag). They were all talking about it at recess and I'm sure the books with all the good dirty pictures were circulating around the bus on the way home.

[Mr. Bloom]

As one of the few participants who has actually been a 5th grade boy...

a) Males tend to be more "visual" than females and more prone to comparison; it's OK for guys to be different Frankly, I think that we men are just as perplexed by some of the things that women tend toward...vive le différence
b) All early teens tend to have a distinct odor

[deeaimond]

Nice to see how many other teachers there are here on the forum, and that children all over the world smell. Now it's hitting the high of the hot season, its 35 degrees celsius out on some days, the kids come back to class dripping with sweat u can feel the blast of heat when u step into the room. 40 - 41 hot sweaty kids in one room is really unpleasant. My oldest kids are only 10. I can imagine what the teachers in higher grades are facing. sometimes these kids run past and I just wanna faint.