Leavin' On a Jet Plane

It was good we had lots of recess planned for this afternoon because my 6th graders did not want to do ANYTHING after lunch.  Not sure how math went for them, but when they came back to my room they were whining about school being boring and stupid and not fun (mostly just one student, but she was very vocal about her opinion. "School is supposed to be fun.  This is stupid.").  Another 6th grader kept wandering around the room, never settling in one place, never actually getting anything accomplished. 


The 8th graders started out class after lunch okay, but things went downhill after their presentations.  Today was the due date for their Africa projects.  One of the boys was so wound up, he started marching while giving his presentation about the geography of Africa.  And he talked in a goofy voice to make his classmates laugh until I put the kibosh on it.  He and the other 8th grade boy asked random questions of the girls when they were presenting, so the girls came up with even harder questions for the guys to answer during their presentations.  After everyone presented, we moved on to spelling.  There was still time left, so I had them work on Mystery Class or their Animal Habitat projects.  No one was very motivated to work.  Then Mr. E called to ask if he could get an extra ten minutes of math with the 5th graders (bringing us up to the 1:40 singing time in Mr. E's room before all-school recess).  The 8th graders got the memo, but they kept asking if it was time to go back.  The student council members left early to draw chalk outlines of hopscotch and four-square on the pavement and their classmates thought they were getting extra recess.  Oh the uproar!  By the time everyone got settled down to work, it was time to leave.


We practiced our song once, then booked it outside for recess!  I played four-square with a bunch of 4-6th graders.  Mrs. E and Mr. E joined the game too.  Before going out, my whiny 6th grader had mumbled that recess was a stupid idea and it wasn't going to be any fun... I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time.  There were people playing on the playground, playing football, playing mini-basketball, playing two games of four-square, drawing with chalk... all the grades were intermixed and the weather was perfect.  A lot of my students said we should do it again some time.  So not all bad reviews.


And now it's time for me to depart!  I have everything packed up in my classroom (just need to close the windows).  There are a few things left on my to-do list at home and then I'm off to Carissa's.  Tomorrow our flight leaves at 9:00 and we'll be in Cancun by 1:00.  I'm leaving all my plans and papers at home to work on Monday.  So, adios amigos!