Halloween is a very cute time of year to be working at a kindergarten.
In the morning, each class takes turns going through a decently elaborate haunted house set up in one of the classrooms. There were a few scare-stations built into it where Mike and I hid out and waited for the kids to come through. Escorted by the Chinese teachers, the kids came through in groups of about 4 or 5. Upon entry, the Chinese teachers would say the names of the kids loud enough for me and Mike to hear so we could adjust our scare level (ranging from doing nothing, to a spooky laugh, to reaching out from the dark to grab arms and legs). Given that the maximum age was probably 6 years old, and the average age was about 4, tears were inevitably shed.
Next stop: trick or treating! On a regular basis, my class, as mentioned before, is full of angels and princesses. To nobody's surprise, that's what they all were for Halloween. Just about every girl was wearing a long sparkling dress along with some girly accessory, along the likes of a tiara, wings, a wand, etc. The boys showed up as Batman, Superman, a knight, a pirate, and a pumpkin. And off we go...
Sticking close to school, we stopped at 5 pre-determined and pre-supplied shops around Shijr to sing the two Halloween songs we had been practicing for what seemed like the better part of my tenure here. Leaving my pride and shame at home that morning, I led my class around wearing a big diaper, a bib, and a pacifier dangling from my mouth. At around 11:00 on the morning of Friday, October 30, life went on as usual in Shijr, except for the costume parade making its way around town.
To cap off a great day, I "volunteered" to host the Halloween parade back at school. This involved me addressing the 100+ students in the kindergarten, and introducing each class and each student so they could show off their costumes.
Cute by day, but when the sun goes down, Halloween is just as it is back home: An excuse for girls to dress as slutty as possible because (they think) nobody will judge them.
Dave, Natalie, and me disguised as Bruce Lee, the Queen of Hearts, and a swimmer.
[special thanks to T-Chellie for the pics. My camera is, as one might say, "over the wall."]
2 comments:
awwww your kids are so cute!! you're such a good teacher. but why didn't you keep your baby costume on the whole night? it would've been better than a "swimmer."
there aren't actually any pics of my kids in this post, but these ones are cute anyway!
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