where the wild things are.

today, i took my first official field trip as a teacher.

 

i've been planning/organizing/arranging for weeks to take 70 sixth graders and 15 chaperones to see "where the wild things are" today, the day the movie opened. we used the classic children's book by maurice sendak to study plot this week, and the kids have been anticipating their trip to the movies for quite some time.

 

i tried to think of everything...e-ve-ry-thing. there were no children in groups with their friends, they were NOT allowed to sit with their friends in the theater or on the bus, only ONE person was allowed in the bathroom at a time, i threatened many times that they would come sit with me if they misbehaved, they were NOT allowed to buy extra concessions (kids packs came with our special showing) and on and on. i organized bus drivers, large sums of money, permission slips, emergency contacts and subs for abandoned classes. sixty-nine out of 70 kids came. the only one who missed was going to miss school anyway to show his cow at the state fair in dallas. i was pretty anal about the whole thing, really. i think, for the most part, it paid off. i started having an anxiety attack when i realized the movie was not going to end right when i thought it was, and we were going to be late for lunch. but i called my principal and lunch was very calmly adjusted to allow for us being 10 minutes tardy.

 

i am completely exhausted now. you know how when you've been working hard at something, then it's over and you feel wiped? yeah. that's me.

 

oh. the kids loved the movie. it was very good, though a bit more emotionally complex than i expected. it isn't really a little kid movie, but i do recommend it. visually, it is awesomeness. monday we'll compare the book and the movie in class. the kids are bursting at the seams to discuss it today, but i really needed silent reading to be our lesson plan for the rest of the day.

 

think anyone will notice if i crawl under the desk and sleep?

 

(please don't hate me if you've ever planned a field trip for 400 students with your eyes closed and your hands tied behind your back. i'm new. forgive me.)