Thursday, 10/31/13

Halloween! What a day in a primary school! The walls are buzzing and vibrating before the kids are even on the property, and once they arrive, even on a rainy day, there is excitement everywhere you look. In our classroom the day is all-Halloween, all-day! The morning consists of Pumpkin Math. That's right all morning long we do math (and science) using a pumpkin. We feel, smell and listen to it. We predict its weight and weigh it. We predict if it will float or sink and then find out (if your child hasn't told you already, please ask about this, it's so cool to hear them teach what they've learned). We predict the circumference, then find out who predicted too short, too long or just right. Then we guess the number of seeds and scoop them out to see if anyone's guess was close. We then put a tea light in the pumpkin after predicting what will happen. What do you think happened? Did the pumpkin blow up, did the inside shrivel up, did the candle go out or did the top pop off? Ask your child, then ask WHY the result was as it was. Finally the kids graphed how they'd like to see the face carved and with 10 minutes left in the morning, our pumpkin became a Jack-o-Lantern. While I was carving with the kids sitting all around me, these were two of the comments I heard, "Is this real life right now????" and "I never thought I'd see my teacher carving a pumpkin!" And there you go folks: why I do this job, even on the days when the stress brings my shoulders to my earlobes, even on the days when I'd rather cry than talk, and even on the days that I feel like I blow my lessons------there are days like today and without a doubt none, NONE of that other junk matters. I would not want to be anywhere else on this planet than in this classroom listening to my favorite little seven/eight year olds.

Then the afternoon came around. The kids changed into their costumes, the hallways were lined with family members and we all paraded through the building. It's so amazing to work in a community where so many parents come out to support their children. What a blessing!! Because of the rain of course, we paraded inside. At one point during the parade, the kids walking in the front with me and I noticed that we seemed to be going in circles over and over, so we broke away and headed back to our classroom where some amazing moms were putting together a rockin party for the kids. I can't thank them enough. The party was well paced and kept the kids engaged. I know first-hand that planning and executing those parties is not an easy feat, so I can't praise them enough for what they pulled off. On top of it all, many of our parents also send it treats for the kids to take home in their goodie bags. It was day of memories, that's for darn sure. Check out these cuties:

Oh, did I fail to mention something------------- MY RED SOX WON THE SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, on top of it all, I'm a bit bleary eyed today, but it was soooo worth it. And as soon as that happened, my costume changed. As much as I'd rather post pics of the cute kids, I feel that I should share my costume with you since you've been on this ride with me since the play-offs, so don't laugh too hard, but check out the 'selfie' below. For the final out of the game, I was able to be on the phone with my dad, the person who initially instilled a love for the Sox in me. He grew up in upstate New York and would take his little transistor radio into the bathroom to listen to the games because that was the only room in the house where the reception would pick up the Boston station. So, needless to say, being on the phone with him and hearing his joy over his team taking the series at home was a priceless moment. Here you go, my Halloween tribute to my team:

Not the greatest pic, but you get the idea. I didn't capture my Boston Stong t-shirt as well, but I had to represent!! 

I'm off to finish up my stuff here and head on home. I hope you all have a great Halloween!!