Be a Little Spontaneous This Holiday Season

   Today our middle school students dressed up with Ugly Christmas Sweater day.  It is always interesting to see which students get involved or attempt to join in, as well as, teachers. The 8th grade teachers dressed up as snowmen and looked very jaunty in top hats and orange paper carrot noses.  Our principal found a tacky holiday sweatshirt complete with a bow-tie! Several students outdid themselves after visiting the local thrift stores and embellishing their sweater finds with additional holiday potpourri.   
   Since half of my day is spent teaching middle school classes, I decided to join in the fun.  Lacking an ugly sweater and itchy wool is not my thing, I opted for a classic vintage t-shirt and added a very, very large bow to the top of my head.   Students and teachers were doing double-takes all day and I kept hearing chuckles and giggles. One student confessed that he just could not take me seriously with such a large bow on my head.   It certainly kept my students attention on me during my lesson rather than playing with the mouse or icons on their computer screen.  But it was a kindergarten student who sweetly asked me in a whisper that made my day...."Mrs. Brown, did you know that you have a rather large red bow on your head?"  "I do?" I asked innocently.  "Yes, you do. I just wanted you to make sure that you knew it was there."   I had a hard time keeping a straight face as I thanked him for letting me know.  
    So surprise your students.  Let them see the fun side of you. Don't let them see only your serious teaching side but show off a little spontaneous fun.  I guarantee you will enjoy watching their faces and loving the smiles and giggles from everyone.