For those of us who are "lucky" enough to live in Western Washington (specifically the Seattle area), we know that today was HORRIFYING in terms of rain. I think it let up twice that I saw, and the rest of the day was dreary, dark, and deep! I'm referring to the puddles with that last one. And the flooding.
When we closed the blinds for naptime, the room got DARK! I mean, normally it gets darkER, but it isn't too dark to see. Today, it was. We couldn't work during naptime because of the lack of light. That's how horrible the weather was. That, and we didn't have recess AT ALL today because trees were falling down and the wind was too strong, power was going out in other schools and stores, and there was lightning.
If you've ever worked with kids, you know what that means. No run-around time!!! What a frightening thought. By the afternoon, the kids were going crazy, so I had to do some fast-thinking and find an activity that kept them busy and also constructive.
For a bit, I worked on paper snowflakes--yep, it's that time of year already, and I sort of go snowflake-crazy every year--but that didn't interest everyone. Plus, the boys were a bit rowdy. So instead, we had a...DANCE PARTY!
It was brilliant. I taught the kids the Macarena--I need to find a slower version of it--and we played Call Me Maybe, a few Kidz Bop songs, and we danced around the room. It wound up being pretty fun, the kids loved it, and it kept them running around the way I wanted--not into each other. And not literally waving their hands above their heads while making obnoxious noises (it actually happens in real life, as I've discovered). Tomorrow, if it happens again (even if it doesn't since it's relaxed curriculum), I'll probably introduce FREEZEDANCE. You play a song, they dance, and when the music stops...everybody freeze! Then it starts again and you dance again. Sounds fun to me and I'm 22.
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