The Last Day Before Break

Today was the last day of school before winter break. Every year, no matter what activity I plan for my students, the one that works best is coloring. Yes, 8th grade students still love to color. Despite the media often portraying this age group as jaded and difficult, they are often still quite young. Not exactly innocent, but somehow still young, especially when given a chance to just be themselves. So today, despite starting out with an interesting and educational experience involving the picture book, Snowflake Bentley, and some complicated snowflake patterns for them to cut out, by the last bell I had given up and passed out the holiday coloring sheets. And peace and joy reigned at last.