Thursday, May 04, 2006

Fifth grade boys and interpretative dance????

This is my first year in teaching theatre as a requirment. Oh, it has been a great year...fraught with delight and,other thoughts of you've got to be kidding floating in my head!

So, to end this school year and huge Sonnet-a-thon has been planned by my fourth graders. You know, community leaders coming in to the school to read sonnets (even our state representative), reception, and a very ceremonious literary day. I love days like that. This one is, like all others, student directed (by the fourth graders) with a little help from their teacher/director!! Of course, the reception is out of my hands...we may have cookies, but no napkins...punch and no cups or vice versa!!! Teaching them hand shaking is another gift lots of children are void of.....a whole class on hand shaking???

I thought how fun (&^%$$#) to involve the fifth grade students in interpretive dance to Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. By now, (you knew this was coming) I am about to re-evaluate all of my teaching and directing methods. I vetoed socks after yesterday's rehearsal as the boys (notice I said the boys) slid across the gym floor and bounced off the gym floors...allst the while the lovely young ladies are flitting and dancing and freezing on cue. "Stomping," I say is not dancing. "I do not want to hear body parts slapping the floor."

All right, there is still a week to go. How many sick days do I have left?????

Lou Ann Homan is a writer, teacher, and storyteller who lives in Angola, Indiana. She is available for writing seminars, storytelling, and speaking engagements. She can be contacted at locketoftime@aol.com. You can read more at www.louannhoman.com

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