When I planned to give the students a choice of brain breaks today, I thought they would think back to some of the activities they enjoyed over the year and pick one to repeat. I figured there would be some discussion, perhaps even a bit of debate about the relative merits of whatever suggestions the group came up with. And that's pretty much how it went yesterday and for the first block today. But when my third period got to the activity the first student who raised her hand suggested that we all scream as loudly as possible.
"That's a suggestion," I said mildly. "Does anyone have another?"
Determined to rankle me, the next kid I called on proposed that I throw candy in the air and they all scramble for it.
I raised my eyebrows, and I was quiet for a minute. Shooting down ridiculous suggestions was not how I wanted to end the year. I shrugged. "I'll tell you what," I said. "Why don't we go outside, and you guys can scream as loud as you want, AND I'll throw Jolly Ranchers in the air for you."
"Really?" they asked.
"Sure, why not?" I replied.
As we headed down the hallway one of them fell into step with me. "How are you the most awesome teacher, ever?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm not," I told her, "I just kind of want to see what happens if we do this."
Once outside, we found a nice grassy spot. "Okay!" I announced. "You scream, and I will throw this handful of candy as high as I can!"
Shrieks erupted and Jolly Ranchers rained down on them. Some dropped to their knees for candy, and others continued hollering. It was pretty hilarious, and in less than a minute, we were done and on our way back in.
"That was awesome!" several students agreed.
"That was a pretty good brain break," I admitted.
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