The colors of Christmas

Hey! I love Christmas as much as anybody but, c'mon...you have to admit that maybe (just...may--be... (If you're French and have a waxed mustache...please be stroking it speculatively right now)), we've gotten a tad out of control? Hanksmas is a real problem for me. I need time to brace myself for the surge of relentless good cheer that comes at me each December. But the tsunami starts in October now and I'm DROWNING.

At least my students understand. Well...kind of. I help them understand by implementing Rule #13:  The consequences of any student caught singing a Christmas carol in Room 24 prior to Thanksgiving break will be the loss of one recess minute per infraction. (Conversely, if the teacher was caught singing a Christmas song, students would receive five extra minutes on the recess clock. HA! Like that was EVER going to happen!) We keep Christmas locked down TIGHT here in Room 24! It's more special that way!

Today, I received a super-special gift that showed me that like-minded people are out there. Our preschoolers colored candy cane decorations and secretly hung them on classroom doors throughout the elementary. When I spotted mine, my heart filled with hope. Devoid of glitter, my brown and gray candy cane welcomed visitors to a world where students gleefully toss darts at Santa's balloon beard as a count-down-to-Christmas activity. Where the theme song is Spongebob Squarepant's "Don't Be a Jerk...It's Christmas." Where children LITERALLY receive coal in their stockings to reflect the morning announcement quote about responding to pressure. Brown and gray. Glitter-less. The colors of Christmas.