Halloween

How could I have forgotten to post about Halloween?  There was no trick-or-treating but we did carve pumpkins and the kids dressed up for school.  We actually left for Toledo on Halloween day and there were a few dressed up kids in the streets there (to which the girls were quite annoyed that I didn’t know about this) but for the most part no one handed over eight pounds of candy to my children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was missing the pumpkin carving parties back home, it was like my kids had never carved a pumpkin before.  The insides were pretty dry but the girls were hesitant to jump in and get their hands dirty.  At first.  Carving pumpkins with butter knives is fairly difficult but October & Scarlett did a pretty good job.  I would have given up long before they did.  But since Jeff, nearly removed a finger with our sharp kitchen knives a few weeks ago I decided finished up their design’s for them.

The school hosted a horror house in the morning and the kids arrived in costume in the afternoon. I kept trying to imagine a horror house happening at an American school — during the school day — but I simply couldn’t.  Their teachers brought them to the horror house and the older the kids got, the darker the horror house became.  Eventually it devolved into a nearly pitch-black room with kids huddled together in the center screaming.  The oldest kids were 6th graders.  For the 3 year olds through third graders I played a witch in jail that kids were suppose to steal a set of keys from.  I was the tour guide for the 4th – 6th graders.  It was a lot of fun to go volunteer at the school and “talk” with some of the teachers.

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This is the black tunnel that the kids were suppose to crawl through. Some of the little ones did it. But not many others. The witch’s jail is in the background.

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Before they turned the lights off

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This is Lavender’s classroom in the horror house.

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October was actually scared. She was especially scared when someone came and grabbed her and picked her up. Her mom!

The girls dressed in their costumes and on the way back to school.  Scarlett wasn’t feeling well.  She actually did take an hour nap during lunch/siesta time.  We made the angel costumes out of bed sheets.

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I thought it odd that the parents were not invited to stay and watch the classroom Halloween presentations.  There was definitely some things lost in translation as Scarlett continually invited me to come and see her song and I feel like even the English language specialist invited me.  I hung around the outside gates to the school and there were certainly more parents mingling than usual but they never went in.  In fact, they stood on tippie toes to get a peek!  I finally just asked the English specialist and she confirmed that no, parents weren’t invited but since I had volunteered all morning at the horror house (which must have been 80 degrees by the end) I could come in.  Great, for me!  Not so great for the parents that watched me go and stand with Scarlett and take pictures.  I’m told there is a Christmas event that the parents are invited to.

As Halloween is an American tradition, the kids of the school were learning about Halloween in relation to learning the English language.  All the songs were in the English and the 5th grade group tried their best to recreate the Thriller dance.

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Lavender is near the center with her cowboy hat on.

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Scarlett being a monster in her song.

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The 5th graders dancing the Thriller dance.

 

 

 

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3 Comments

  1. Debbie B

    Amazing angel costumes you whipped up there Missy! I love the pumpkin pics and how the jack o lanterns have the kids personalities. Holy smokes how do you get roped into volunteering to be the main attraction in crazy haunted house when you barely speak the language. LOVE IT.

    • Amanda

      Yes,the specifics were lost in translation. I arrived thinking I was helping to decorate classrooms for the Halloween party. Once I arrived, I understood why I was encouraged to dress up.

      • Debbie B

        L.O.L!!! Way to roll with it!

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