Today I had the pleasure of being pelted with about 20 water balloons. Today was Project Day, and all of the dens displayed their trimester project. Our den put on a carnival with games made out of 100% recycled material. One of my groups decided to hold a canned food drive, and every student who donated a can got to throw a water balloon at a teacher. Only 3 other teachers joined in, but it was still a success. We drew a huge crowd and collected a ton of cans. I'd like to feel flattered that so many of my students cared enough to bring a can so they could throw things at me. It grew a little chaotic when kids started stealing balloons and cans, kids were aiming for our heads, and the VP started giving me the evil eye for allowing this mayhem to occur; but the kids had a lot of fun, and I think that made it worth it. I definitely had a lot of fun too, and I've been laughing about it all day. It's good to be goofy around the kids, and I think I might have won some brownie points.
The carnival was the most popular attraction on campus. Another den created a U.S. map the size of the cafeteria with facts and trivia games, which was really cool. But the other dens just had powerpoint presentations and posterboards, which were pretty boring. Any trouble I might have been in for the water balloon chaos was balanced out with the great job I did with the carnival. Rather, the job my students did, because they did everything. I was just responsible for it all.
I still don't know what I'm doing for my research unit and Anne Frank unit, and I'm a bit stressed; but I've been learning, and today helped reinforce this, that I don't need to be so uptight all the time. It's okay if my lessons are less than perfect, it's okay to allow laughter in the classroom, and it's okay to be myself around my students. I always tell people to chill out - I should take my own advice.

Update

I tend to eagerly get involved in something, and then forget about it shortly after. This blog for example. Part of the reason I haven't updated is because 1) I've been working on my MA that is due in three weeks (I'm on page 79) and 2) I'm working on a really boring unit in school. I'm prepping my students for the District Writing Assessment, so I've been teaching Response to Literature essay writing for the past two weeks. Strangely, I feel like I'm finally starting to teach my students something. I've actually felt a lot better about my teacher since the return after winter break. Things are starting to fit together and go smoothly. I really feel like I've gone back to school and retaught myself everything I used to tune out. I cannot wait until next year when I get to start all over again.

I'm thinking of doing a family history research unit next... I need to start brainstorming...

Anyway, I have things to say, and I will say them eventually.