Happy Halloween

And Happy Fall, and Happy Daylight Savings Time, and Happy Autumn and Happy Almost November 4th!

SO much going on this week...not all of it good. But a lot of it really sweet. There's actually a dual feeling for so many things that happen. It's funny, as a kid, things either seemed 'good' or 'bad'. As an adult, things are really pretty gray-area style. Or, maybe it's always wanting to look on the bright side of things. Or maybe there really is good and bad to be found in everything.

I ended up getting into some serious craft making for school this week. After the craft afternoon last weekend, it felt pretty natural to be working with construction paper and glue stick. Not my normal bunch of materials, but I'm digging on 'em. Made these three little boxes for a "Feed the Scary Things" game the kids play to show they know the sounds of words. There are a bunch of cards with pictures on them and if the word in the picture matches the first letter of the box (G, W, P) then they drop it in there.


The teacher I work with is so very cool. We decided on a split second change of plan and that meant that we would come up with all new Language Arts Centers for Halloween. We made that decision on Monday, so, we got to making 'em!
Another one was "Scary Bingo" All in all, a pretty successful, good time was had. By way of the afternoon comes the Halloween Parade, so I knew I had to have a good costume to really thrill the kids with.

Lucky for me, T has a sewing machine, a good sense of humor, and a way with material. I found all the "ingredients" at SCRAP, brought them over to T's and we nearly wet our pants laughing while we worked out a caterpillar costume. I'm not normally that into this particular holiday, but with 30 kids, thrilled to the tips of their toes about Halloween (I mean, for the last thirty days, we've read Halloween books, talked about goblins and ghosts, and made pumpkin bread, and talked and talked and talked about it...) I felt I owed them my very best. We happen to be studying butterflies this year and I had heard a rumor that all the kids were (secretly) planning to be butterflies for the big day. So, I told Miss P. we needed to come as a caterpillar and a...... "Chrysalis!", she said. Um, I didn't wanna make that costume, so she picked Lepidopterist. And I came as the caterpillar (which one of the kids calls a "calapitter"--so adorable!). Sewing the thing together and trying it on over and over, and figuring out how to make arm holes in the right places, and how to make a hood, and how to walk in a tight tube of fabric, and not really trying at all to make the stripes even in the back...all of it, classic. The kids loved it. I did too. I even laid down on the floor and did the worm a couple times.

All in the name of good times.
And to all, a good night!