A coloring class....hmmm...

Last night Thing 1's school had their Fall Festival.  Knowing there is a limited number of people who help out with PTA at the school, I decided it was something we should do as a family, even though it wasn't something Thing 1 was real thrilled about doing.  So, I volunteered to do something behind the scenes....set up.  However, that fell through as they had plenty who offered to do that, so they assigned me to the craft tables for the last shift. I shuddered as I responded with a "No problem. We'll be there."

Upon entering the school grounds, the first thing I'm greeted with was  "Hi Miss Cummins! What are YOU doing here?" by a kid who was absent from my class because he was sick.  I returned the greeting with "Hi Casey. The question is what are YOU doing here if you're sick?"  His response was quick.  "I'm all better. Bye."  He literally jumped on his bike and rode away like he was on fire.  I shook my head and continued walking only to hear another, "Hi Miss Cummins. AAARRRGGGGGHHHH!" from another student who was chasing Casey with a bag of garbage and literally caught him and hit him over the head with it.  At this point, Thing 1 looked at me and said, "Do we have to do this?"

I feel it necessary to remind you that this was an elementary fall festival, NOT a middle school one.  Yet, as we walked into the gym area where the food was being served (walking tacos---loved it, my kids, not so much--yet one more food to cross off my list of supper options) and found many of my students and former students helping out.  It was nice to see them working since that's a rarity in my classroom, but nonetheless, they were everywhere.  It makes sense since I live in the same neighborhood I teach in.  Probably not the wisest choice, but hey, it is what it is.

The point of this post is to say that a couple of my wildest, naughtiest students were running like wild maniacs through that fair and of course, decided to join me at the craft table once I took over the shift.  It was almost like magic when they were given these Oriental Trade magnets to color and foam book marks to make and little white pumpkins to color. I watched them transform into little kids, quietly concentrating and watching carefully as they filled in the white with something much brighter.  No punching each other.  No weird antics like tapping their markers continuously as they do in my room. No rude comments.  It was so good that I literally got a little scared for a moment.  It was at that moment that I realized there should be a coloring class offered at school for kids and adults alike who simply need that moment to unwind.....to focus on nothing but creating....to see something lifeless come to life and most importantly, to get approval from all those around on how cool your creation is no matter what it really looks like.  Yep, I'm on to something here.