Hot Cocoa Mishap (5/31)

Let me begin by sharing that my boys costumes turned out GREAT and I wasn't even up past my bedtime. Whoo hoo! I left the costumes all folded up on their place mats so they could get dressed right away this morning. I heard squeals and giggles as they began to assemble everything together. I couldn't help but smile and relish in the moment. Success!

My little man informed me that he wanted to be Calvin everyday while my big guy showed off his Max costume to everyone who would look/listen. He even insisted on sleeping in it. I guess that I did an OK job. 

J snuggled Hobbes all day long

My class seemed to have a good time too. We started with a guest reader. She did a wonderful job reading some poems from Shel Siverstein. Then she reached into her bag, for what she thought was a special surprise. As she pulled out the book, my class yelled out how much they loved that story. She was amazed that I had already shared it with the class. She smiled and said that she had another trick up her sleeve and reached in to grab yet another book. Yes, you guessed it....we were currently reading that one. I apologized and offered her some newer books that I hadn't shared yet. She just lucked out and got the book lovers classroom. 

Next, I turned off all the lights except a couple strings of Christmas lights. The class scooped up handfuls of my hidden hard copy books and settled in under their covers, flashlights in hands. They had heard about this moment from every child who has been in my class. It was the eagerly anticipated read-in under the stars. My sons have a laser star projector that they sleep with at night. I bring it in every year so my class can read under the stars. I counted down before hitting the switch. 

5....4....3....2....1....Click!

Blue and green lights covered the ceiling and a chorus of ah's filled the room. Then flashlights turned on and the room went silent. There wasn't a wandering eye or body...everyone was glued to their books. Groans came from every mouth when I announced that we needed to stop for recess. "Can we PLEASE stay in?" echoed from child to child. "Nope! I have to get your next surprise ready.", I replied. 

T played with his crown all day.

I have a chatty class this year who work to earn points for a hot cocoa party. They earned their party right in time to compliment our Literacy Day. I laid out the cups and poured the cocoa in them before heading out the door to fill up containers full of hot water. I filled cup after cup with water and quickly attempted to stir them without scattering brown powder all over my counter top. 

Why won't this darn stuff mix?

I headed out to gather the children and then returned to mixing. The cocoa sat clumped on the top like dirt a fresh rainfall. I mixed as best as I could before handing cups out to the children. 

"My cocoa is cold. Can you warm it up?"

Are you kidding me? Give me that cup and let me see. I placed my finger into the clumpy layer. A quick shiver went up my arm as I realized that it was ice cold. The special hot water tap in the staff room must have been empty when I was filling up my containers. No wonder the mix wouldn't blend....I was using cold water instead of hot water. 

I glanced at the clock and realized that we had 10 minutes before the assembly. There wouldn't be enough time to zap all of their cups in the microwave and still have time to drink it. RATS! I quickly smiled and took this opportunity to talk to them about unexpected things happening in life. I also promised that I would bring my slightly used coffee pot in tomorrow to make sure that we had enough HOT water. 

Teaching....never predictable, but always entertaining. 

Yes, I dressed up too. Can you guess what my partner in crime and I are?