Dancing

Normally when I get a call for OK-8 I flat-out turn it down. I did a day or two there as a rookie and with the volume of my business now, have the privilege of never going back. It's one of those urban schools where the kids are loud and unruly and bring so many issues to the classroom that it makes for a nightmarish day. However, as the school year winds down I'm hearing out any job offer because I know I'll regret passing up money. So I listened to the job offer - afternoon only? dance class? Hell yeah!! Sleep in and then go to dance class? Sure, why not?
I figured that we'd probably watch a movie but just in case, I grabbed my dance bag (my hobby is bellydancing, the bag had loose yoga pants, CDs, and some "extras" like my veil and finger cymbals.)
When I arrived, it turned out we WERE dancing and using the auditorium as a classroom so I spent my prep time figuring out the sound system (the best I could do was put my CDs in the DVD player and play them through the TV. The first group arrived, a mix of 1st and 2nd graders. The procedure was to make them run in a giant circle for 5 minutes to warm up, then lay on the floor for 3-4 minutes to calm down and focus, then play "freeze dance." The running went well. The laying down? Not so much. I made them listen to a calm song twice and maybe got 10 seconds of consecutive quiet. Then we played freeze dance and I pulled out my practice veil and let kids take turns spinning with it, which they enjoyed. Unfortunately I had the discipline problem of one kid biting four others ... oh well. This is why I refuse to try and teach them math.
The lesson plan repeated for the 3rd and 4th grade group. They got pooped a little faster then the little ones, but still didn't want to leave when I had to send them back. At the end of the afternoon I stunk of sweat- mine and theirs - and I should probably apologize to my veil. But I think it was a success.