This Is Halloween

I just had to borrow the line from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas movie. Why you may ask? Well, in the days that followed up to Halloween, two of my students, one American, the other Israeli, both sang this song. They, along with my 20 other students were incredibly excited for Halloween.

Okay, that's a total understatement. They were crazy, wild, running round the room excited for Halloween.

Halloween is not celebrated in Brazil but since I teach at an American School, we definitely celebrated it in the most festive of ways. I don't think I've ever, in my entire life, celebrated Halloween as much as I did here, in a country that doesn't even celebrate the holiday.

There are a couple of disclaimers that I should put out there.

1. Due to the abudance of Halloween celebrated at school, I did not particpate in any adult celebrations. There were offers but knowing how I felt after Halloween at home in the U.S., I thought I would need a break. One party I was invited to was hosted by our school librarian. This week the local paper ran an articlea bout it in the society pages and compared to Barack and Michelle hosting a Halloween party at the White House. Can't find a link to the article but you get the idea about how big a deal it is here. I suppose though it's just like people celebrating Cinco de Mayo or another holiday, it's just about the fun, right?

2. For those teachers who ever feel Halloween is an insane day, read on and have your pumpkin stickers ready for me.

My day began bright and early at 7:45 as the vampires, Star Wars characters, Laura Ingalls Wilders, bats, jaguars and more began to enter my classroom.

We quickly had our morning meeting and around 8:10 walked out to the front volleball/basketball courts where parents and other classes were waiting for us to begin the parade.

After we took photos outside, we moved into the auditorium where we took our usual seats. Each class had a turn parading across the stage showing off their costumes to all of the K3 (that's age 3) to 5th graders. 2 classes per grade level x 8 + adults in costume groups = 1 hour of Halloween parading.

My class led by Dr. Miguel, our mad scientist (you can check out his photo on EAB's homepage) to a 70s disco song.

Sidenote: We were both mad scientists but I have now realized that I don't have a picture of me! I know some friends who have them so I'll try to get one soon. I went as Dr. Looney, Brain Surgeon. My class calls me Miss Megan so a lot of them don't even know my last name and it was great when finally one of my students "got" the Dr. Looney part.

As each class walked around the stage there was spooky or dance music playing. One of the kids' favorites and I have to admit mine too, was one of the 5th graders who dressed up as Michael Jackson. He took right to the front of the stage and put his gloved hand into the air. It was hilarious! He was perfect for it.

After our parade we played a game of good old fashioned Hangman and then took our morning break. This is usually a 10 minute recess/snack for the kids. Since my special was cancelled that day (sigh and grrrr) we decided to give the kids 30 minutes instead. By this time, the temps outside were in the mid 80s. The kids played soccer, ran around and sat and talked.

While they were having a great time outside, I was scrambling inside to get things ready for their return. I quickly borrowed and burned a copy of a Halloween cd so we could play "Hot Eyeball." My version of Hot Potato but with an eyeball beanbag. We played this a few times, they really loved it and then we began our party.

Here is SOME of the food that was brought for the party.

Parties here are a really big deal. Erica and I had the kids brainstorm ideas for what they would like. Each brought something to contribute. For our Halloween party my class ate: pizza, cake, pancakes, chips (Cheetos, Doritos, etc), candy (gummy and chocolate), pastels (deep fried goodness - like an empanada but deep fried) and more. Yummy but oh my. My class LOVES to eat so I knew they would be excited.

After they finished eating, Erica and I opened our doors for games. The kids could move freely between classrooms making mad scientist glasses, playing eyeball toss, Bozo buckets, coloring Halloween pictures and throwing velcro balls at a target. They had a great time.

At 11:30, the went home. I was wiped. Sweaty and tired. But just wait, the day was only beginning! Now that the kids were gone, we had to prepare for the annual Halloween Carnival. Yea! (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice).

The Halloween Carnival was started, well, a long, long time ago. Each elementary grade level has a booth and a game. The HS seniors put on a haunted house and sell refreshments. All the profits go to the group who sponsors the booth. It ends up being a pretty amazing fundraiser but it just falls on the most tiring teaching day of an elementary teacher. Good idea, bad timing.

Before decorating I decided I needed a break so I ate lunch. The canteen was serving Mexican food. It was so hot, I wasn't even really hungry which is a bummer because it's actually a pretty decent lunch and a nice change of pace. Anyway...

Fom 12:30 - 3:30, I decorated the 3rd grade Halloween Carnival booth in the gym with Miguel and Erica's substitute assistant Shaila. The temps in the afternoon were in the 90s. Gym, no air con. Decorating. Sorry, I just want to paint a clear picture.

Our booth was going to have 2 games. Bozo buckets (again with the eyeball beanbags) and then Pin the Eyeball on the Mad Scientist. We spent 3 hours getting the booth ready. All the hard work was worth it in the end. However, as my dad taught me long ago, from the experience, next year I will work smarter not harder. 3 hours will be decreased to 1 at the most. EAB, be ready to see similar games next year!For our booth we asked our students and their families to work for 30 minute shifts throughout the evening. That was wonderful because they had a good time, I got a little break from the action and could actually socialize a bit.
This photo was taken early in the evening. The Carnival runs from 7-9:00 p.m. Families come, buy tickets and enjoy the great time. It was packed by 8:00, literally wall-to-wall people. At 9:00, we quickly cleaned up, put things into our classroom and headed home. Whew! What a long, long day.

My most favorite costume in Brazil came from my good friend Vanessa. While we walked home from school the day before Halloween, we were inspired. Can you guess what she was?

She even downloaded cicadas to her ipod which she cleverly put into her purse and had playing. Her 4th grade booth was right next to our 3rd grade one and the sound caught me off guard. Love it!

My most favorite costume of this Halloween season actually didn't even happen in Brazil. Jez, who ironically I wrote about yesterday, sent me the following email that arrived to my inbox at 4:30 in the afternoon after I arrived home sweaty, exhausted and taking a short break before the carnival.

Guess who I am today?

I have big earrings.
I have leapard shoes.
I am wearing layers with a cardigan.
I have a fun scarf around my neck.
I carry around books with me.

Who I am?

Right away I knew who she was! She was me!

You did a great job Jez. Totally looks like me from head-to-toe. And after one of the longest days in my entire teaching career I couldn't have asked for a better surprise.

It's wonderful to be loved, missed and teased. Just wait till next year when everyone here will have met you so I can dress up as you next time!