So, the other day, I knocked over and broke a lamp. Never one to pass up an opportunity to use life's lemons to make some shite lemonade, I strung christmas lights around the lampshade and plugged those in instead. So, instead of being a transient monument to my klutziness, the lamp is now ob-jay-dar (that's American for objet d'art)!

In general, all the kids were well behaved today. I even got the sixth graders to clean up at the end of the day quietly. This is how:

"OK, kids, I need your attention. This is your mission, if you choose to accept it. Today, we are going to try packing up for the day as if we were ninjas."

the sixth graders giggle, begin making noise and karate chopping each other in the head.

"No, no. All wrong. See, ninjas move quietly, and get the job done quickly. Also, we're all part of the same dojo, so we're not going to fight each other. Just pack up, quickly and quietly, and get out the door as fast as possible..."

Surprisingly, this worked. Relatively well. We still had the boys crawling around under desks (cause hiding under chairs, apparently, is what ninjas DO, DUH), but at least they were quiet.

I think I'll start training them to rappel from ceilings.