*Let me preface by saying that this first paragraph is me simply "ranting" about how celebrating Halloween at school in the United States is a dying art. If you wish to skip my diatribe, you can start at the second paragraph.
I have forgotten how much fun celebrating Halloween at school can be. Halloween is supposed to be fun, and somehow, schools in the states seem to suck the life right out of the holiday. Why? Well, "It gets so crazy with all of those kids dressed up on a sugar high in your classroom" some say. Others may add, "Not all kids can afford a costume. " My answer to these concerns is: Stop whining, and realize that you're a teacher! If you're a good one, you will manage the classroom and set parameters as you usually do, and everything will be fine. School is most fun for kids when they are allowed to be kids! If you relax and let them have fun, in the process you'll have fun too, I promise. In regards to those students who cannot afford costumes, as a teacher you can accommodate them as well. You can make paper mache masks in advance, or you can run to the dollar store and buy a handful of masks and other items so that they don't go empty handed. They can also take lead on decorating your room. All you have to do is include them, and they won't feel left out. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.
Yesterday we celebrated Halloween, and it was a blast! Almost everyone in the Primary section dressed up, teachers included (I bit the bullet, chose to be a 'team player', and dressed as character from Grease. Little does my team know how much I hate that movie, and musicals in general. But I digress). My class started decorating the room last week, so we just hung out, admired each others' costumes, delivered small gifts to our "Secreto Friendos", and watched "A Nightmare Before Christmas". One student of mine baked a chocolate cake for the students on her bus, but the driver wouldn't allow them to eat it on the bus, so instead, our class reaped the benefits of her labor.
At 9:30 a school assembly was scheduled for the entire primary section (K-6th International & National) to celebrate Halloween, so we all filed into the auditorium. Not knowing what to expect, I thought we would watch a few skits on Halloween, and talk about safety while trick-or-treating. Turns out, this was to be a "Halloween Parade", where every grade level would show of their costumes by walking across a giant catwalk, for both the school and parents to see (families were seated on the opposite side of the auditorium). The kids loved it. Myself and my teaching partners felt a bit awkward, but it was fun nonetheless. After the assembly it was adios to the students, who only had a half day. ¡Feliz Halloween!
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| Alice & Wonderland. |
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| A pair of Afroditas ("Aphrodite") |
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| Two of my favorite students simply dressed up as nothing in particular. Their captions read." Live 6th Grade" & "You have to enjoy it!" |
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| Why yes Jose, the future IS full of opportunities... especially in a zombie apocalypse. |
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| Best friends with a love/hate relationship. |
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| How appropriate is it that "Nacho" chose to be Pinocchio (and the Pinocchio whose nose is constantly growing because of all the lies no less)? VERY. Thanks for showing your true colors "Nacho", I'll have to act as your Jiminy Cricket this year :) |
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| "Belle" from Beauty & the Beast. |
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| Eeyore, looking as sad as ever. |
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| Award for "Most Fun Costume" goes to the Monsters Inc crew. Being that this is Ecuador, they were are also recipients of the unofficial "Most Hot and Miserable Costumes to Wear" award. |
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| Let the fun begin. |
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| I think we pulled off the "Grease" look fairly well. |
