Today was the last day of class before Christmas break. If you're not affiliated with the public school system, you might not be aware that schools must serve lunch every school day. So, although our only matter of business was taking the 4th period exam, we couldn't run the buses until 12:15, three hours after that was already over.
Most students are checked out, but there are a few who stay to ride the bus. It's been theorized by some teachers that many of these students are left behind intentionally by their mothers who just need three.more.hours.PLEASE of peace and quiet before the 2-week Christmas break. Regardless, downtime in a middle school classroom is simply unacceptable. It can and has led to all sorts of cockamamy high jinks that normally end in broken bones and threats of lawsuits...for the teacher.
Thus, I scrambled to find ways to fill the dead time.
Eventually, we decided to write our own version of the 12 days of Christmas that reflected back over the main events of 2010.
First, we brainstormed all the possibilities, like any good class:
....which resulted in some interesting submissions, like:
After paring down our list to the bare necessities*, we settled on our top 12. I hope you enjoy!
Most students are checked out, but there are a few who stay to ride the bus. It's been theorized by some teachers that many of these students are left behind intentionally by their mothers who just need three.more.hours.PLEASE of peace and quiet before the 2-week Christmas break. Regardless, downtime in a middle school classroom is simply unacceptable. It can and has led to all sorts of cockamamy high jinks that normally end in broken bones and threats of lawsuits...for the teacher.
Thus, I scrambled to find ways to fill the dead time.
Eventually, we decided to write our own version of the 12 days of Christmas that reflected back over the main events of 2010.
First, we brainstormed all the possibilities, like any good class:
....which resulted in some interesting submissions, like:
After paring down our list to the bare necessities*, we settled on our top 12. I hope you enjoy!
On the 12th day of Christmas, 2010 gave to me...
11 Wikis Leaking
9 Chileans Mining
8 Jobs a Losing
6 Brakes a Failing
4 Ipad Apps
3 Bed Bugs
Don't let the bed bugs bite,
Ms. P
*Now you have The Jungle Book in your head.
6 bonus points:
Leigh, you are hilarious, and a lot more fun than any middle schooler deserves!
How creative and fun! From my days of working with middle schoolers, I know that unstructured time after school, before break, is among the most chaotic. Way to channel the energies in a positive, educational way!
Leigh, this is awesome.
Thanks, guys! I don't know if you noticed (as it was in that mess on the board), but one of them said, "They don't DESERVE the elephant!" when I mentioned the Republicans' success in the midterm elections.
Why don't these kids work for CNN, again? I'd watch it.
Oh my, this was too fun! Thanks for giving me great reading material for our road trip tonight!
Leigh Anne
Once again, your blog made my day. 11 wikis leaking. I mean, you should send this stuff to Letterman or something.
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