Oh, hurray! You can hear every teacher sigh. "So, we HAVE to work?" states a 4th grader in my classroom. I love being a teacher. But, the thing is that it is much harder than you would think to get kids to learn when they are dreaming of an up and coming holiday. This time of year becomes a race to see what we can teach them and what they will or can write about. It is full of writing about spooky things, even fairly graphic and scary things. I always tell the kids there is to be no blood and guts in the stories they write for me. After all, I have to read them and I need to sleep well at night to be able to be a bright and cheerful teacher in the morning. However, they continue to tell me stories of very scary movies they have seen, even some I KNOW they should not be watching at their ages. Then, as the day approaches it gets harder and harder for the kids to concentrate. I am always really excited to learn that Halloween in on a Saturday, like this year. What a break! They will have their afternoon fun time on Friday at school, Trick or Treat on Saturday, and come crashing down from the sugar highs on Sunday. By the time they get to me on Monday they will actually be quite docile. So, if anyone is reading this or cares, I vote we set Halloween on the last Saturday of October. I am sure if your are a teacher you would whole heartedly agree. Have a Happy Halloween.
