Friday, January 28, 2011

3...2...1...Blast Off

Like any Friday, the kids are filled with the wiggles (although I'm starting to realize that this isn't just happening on Fridays). The day was quite productive despite the anticipation of the weekend.

Recently the kids started on their movie theater company and are separated into different departments so to plan an all PYP movie event. I have to admit that I am pretty impressed with their hard work and determination. They were very concerned about every little detail and worked with other departments to make sure everything was accounted for and running smoothly.

By the time their work dwindled down for the week, it was time for English. I was definitely not prepared for what happened today. I was in the middle of talking about sequencing when one of m kids started sneezing. After four times a lake of snot blasted out of his nose and landed about two feet in front of him and the remainder of it oozed down all his arm. I had to bite my tongue to the point of bleeding to hold back the laughter that was throbbing inside of me. It wasn't but a few moments later when one of the girls saw the jungle of snot and began to puke. She was holding it in with her best effort but it was spurting between her fingers. She raced to the bathroom so to not make a display of her lunch on the linoleum floor.

I couldn't hold it in. Not even a little. Neither could Budi. We were literally laughing so hard that we were wheezing, trying to catch our breath. An orchestra of laughter followed and there was no turning back to the lesson. Everyone was far gone.

In a desperate attempt to get them back to a peaceful state, we started to do yoga. It worked for about two minutes but the giggles kept bursting out of them. So we did the invisible wall sit. This is where you put your ankles and knees together, hands above your head, and bend down to half of your height. Keeping a straight back is a must in this exercise. Kids were dropping on the floor like flies. They tried so hard to hold their stance but their muscles were burning and shaking.

There were four boys left and I said that the winner will get chocolate. This made them work harder, but the longer they stayed in this position, the harder it was not to give up. Four quickly became two; one of those two being one of my more naughty boys, Braven. Sweat was dripping down his face and all over his body. He kept screaming "chocolate!" to keep himself motivated. After about six minutes (no joke) we called it a tie. The two fell over and laid on the floor. Their clothes were soaking in sweat and a pool of it was left behind when they got up.

Everyone got in their seats soon after and laid their heads on their desk to rest while I read our class novel "Pelican Cove". They were wiped out.

At the end of the day, all of my kids told me, "Ms. Marie, we are going to practice all weekend so that Monday we can have another invisible wall sit contest. Bring chocolate." I had to laugh. Their determination seems to brew a contagious concoction that affects their peers.

It definitely was a day for the books though. Lots of laughs, lots of exerted energy trying to calm kids down, and of course snot rockets and upchucking. The kids were already talking this afternoon as if it was some untouchable historic event. Gotta love the enthusiasm and humor of eight year olds!

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