Summon the Beast

It was my day back after 2 sick days. I felt like a celebrity! My kids were ecstatic that I was back and other teachers asked me all day how I was feeling. Some acted like I had been diagnosed with SARS and others were were just glad I was back and "healthy". I'm not going to lie, it was a bit hard to be back all day. It took a lot of energy out of me and my kids, although grateful for my return, weren't so cooperative all day. I was very happy that I only had to return for one day and then the weekend would be in full swing.

Of course in the midst of trying to stay alive today, there was some humorous "activity". The books that my class were so patiently waiting on arrived today and were waiting for them on their desks when they walked in this morning. One student ordered a book that sparked interest in many students. He took it to lunch so they could read it. While walking out of lunch, they were holding up a piece of paper to the sky. I tried looking at it to see what they were seeing and it must be a kid thing; I couldn't see anything! "What's it for?" I asked. "Summoning the beast," replied Juan. "WHAT? What beast are you talking about?" "The one from my book." "Okay, whatever."

During recess, I observe a group of student gathered around Juan and his popular book. They seem to be dancing around and and doing some strange behaviors. I know they are goofy 4th graders and do goofy things, so I didn't ask much about it. When I called the class to line up for recess, they were still trying to summon the beasts. My co-worker is very concerned about this and tried to warn them of what might happen when the beast arrives. I just thought it was funny.

I thought it was done with for the day, but I was wrong. During Writers' Workshop time, we had some drama (some vomit was spewed in my classroom). While I was responding to this, a few girls got their hands on this book in which you can supposedly summon the beast. I got onto them for not working on writing and then Juan comes over and asks who was misusing his book. I let him know and then he lets me know that he's actually kind of scared of the beast he's been summoning all afternoon.
J: "Ms. L, I'm a little scared of the beast."
Me: "Why?"
J: "Because when I get home from school off the bus, I have to walk a long way to my house by myself. What happens if the beast comes then?"
Me: "I don't know. I think you'll have to read your book and see if there's something you can do to protect yourself when the beast comes."

This provided quite a bit of entertainment throughout the day...enough to keep me going through not so great health. I love my class!