no camp for me

so sad... while my fifth grade colleagues and most of our students enjoyed a winter wonderland at camp oakes in big bear, ca. i stayed behind... no 3 feet of freshly fallen snow for me. no sled runs. no snowmen or snow angels. ::sniffle, sniffle:: just me and 31 students whose parents were too lame or too afraid to let their children have this once-in-a-lifetime experience. (i realize that that last statement is a judgment call, but it happens to be true, which gives it the extra force of veracity.)

ultimately, this was my choice. since i've had so many things on my plate in my personal life, and since i didn't think it was cool to give the fourth grade teachers 6 extra students each, i asked the principal if i could stay behind with these students and take care of some unfinished business at home. this would not only help me, but eliminate the problem of placing more students in already-crowded classes--a win-win situation.

thankfully, he was cool with the idea, and thankfully, the students were great! the mutuality of their situation helped these students from disparate classes form an instant community, and we had an awesome little tribe by the end of our first day! we reviewed math concepts in geometry, did some reader's workshop, and i got to confer with students on their realistic fiction writing (my favorite). of course, i also had to get some buy-in, so i promised that i'd bring in my drum set on friday if their temporary tribe maintained decorum.

it worked. i brought in my kit, and the students took turns trying it out. i taught them all about the components of the set and how to make a simple beat. since one of the students already knew how to play, (he's been playing since he was 6.) we jammed together. it was awesome--i played guitar, and he rocked the beats, while all the other students sang and clapped their hands to their hearts' content!