Recently it's been unusually cold in north Texas, and we've had to spend several days inside for recess. Those kinds of days are long and crazy! I found the perfect Grumpy Cat meme for how I feel about indoor recess:
To add to the craziness, today was the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break. I decided to stop for a large Coke Zero before school. That is not something I do everyday, but this week has required several Coke Zeros instead of my usual Diet Coke. A teacher friend who understands my love of Coke Zero and Diet Coke surprised me this morning with a new Coke product: Coke Life. (Fun facts: Coke Zero is sweetened with aspartame and has about 24 mg caffeine/8 oz, zero calories. Coke Life is sweetened with Cane Sugar and Stevia, and has 19mg caffeine/8oz, 60 calories.)
My plan was to enjoy the new Coke Life at school when I had finished my Coke Zero. But then I decided to savor it at home this evening to celebrate surviving this crazy day and week, as one might savor a fine wine. It is currently waiting for me in my home refrigerator, waiting for some relaxation time to enjoy it. (And as much as I am building it up, I sure hope it's good! I've waited all day for it!)
I had purposely underplanned my lessons today, as I knew it was going to be a challenging day. But late last night I realized that I did not pull out my fun Thanksgiving work, and I didn't have enough work for my students to do. I'm usually much more prepared than that. So, I decided to check Facebook (that's the most logical thing to do, right?!). Actually I'm so glad I did! My new friend at Smart Puppy Learning had just posted the perfect Math Thanksgiving craftivity on TPT! It would give my students a fun way to work on their multiplication facts! I let the students decide how and where they wanted their feathers. Everyone's turned out a little differently, and they had a great time making it! And, it took plenty of time to do!
You can find this activity from Smart Puppy Learning on TPT. Thanks Smart Puppy Learning! You saved the day!
One last fun, crazy event of the day was our annual Turkey Bowling! Staff members get 3 throws (with a frozen turkey in a pillow case) to knock down as many pins as possible. I scored 24! The second place winner had 25, so I was very close to winning a frozen turkey! (Thankfully the winners do not take the turkey that's been thrown around all day- they get a new one!). I had a lot of fun, and my students were a great cheering section!
And to end the day, we WERE able to enjoy outdoor recess today! Finally! Goodbye to Nutty November! School starts back December 1st!
