~it was a "moose on the loose"~

You wouldn't have thought that a small moose wearing a red ski cap and sitting atop a pair of shiny red skis could have made such an impact upon a classroom full of 6 and 7-year olds yesterday on our first day back at school after Thanksgiving break.  But one did and I was so thankful.

The last 3 weeks before Christmas break are tough in any classroom, not just for those who go to school at Olathe Elementary but for any other classroom across the nation as well.  Kids are kids and teachers are teachers.  We all start looking forward with great anticipation for the arrival of the holidays and a well deserved break from school.  Students here in the Montrose-Olathe School District have 16 days of vacation time coming to them and all of us, kids and adults alike, have lots of fun things planned to do.  But in the meantime, there are still 15 days of school that must be spent wisely.  If they are not, then they become time "lost" that will never be found again.  

I'd been thinking all along that I probably should be looking for that little elf guy that sits on the shelf for use in my room this year.  I'd heard stories about it for several Christmas seasons now and I figured that this year since my students were so young that we should probably give it a try as well.  I looked and looked over the past couple of weeks and it was the "thriftiness" that lives within me that said I should not spend that kind of money on something that was only going to be used for 3 weeks.  Maybe next year I'd do it.  

I was visiting our local hospice repurpose shop in downtown Montrose over the Thanksgiving break and came across the little moose guy that is shown in the photo above.  I was at the check out counter already with my one lonely purchase in hand when I looked over and spotted it sitting on a table near the register.  Immediately, as if it had sent me a subliminal message saying "Lady, take me home with you.", I walked over and picked it up.  It took all of about 15 seconds to decide that I would buy it and take it school to teach a valuable lesson for children.  Everything was 50% off in the store that day, so with its original price tag of $3.00 marked down to $1.50, it was a no-brainer that it should be ours to use.  I think we've been using rhyming words in class too much lately as it took me about 10 seconds more to decided that it should be called a "Moose on the Loose" and on "the loose" it was yesterday all day long.

"Otis" as he became known to us, arrived at school in an old cardboard box nestled deep down inside an opened up container of peppermints.  The note inside announced that he was sorry but had eaten a lot of the candy that Mrs. Renfro had purchased for the kids to enjoy.  He just couldn't help himself but had remembered to at least save enough for them to have one piece a day for the rest of the week.  The children knew that lesson immediately as they all proclaimed~

"Mrs. Renfro, how could one moose be that selfish?  He did not use good manners!"

And thus it began.

You know, sometimes I wonder just how much kids are getting from what they are being taught each day.  I always hope that most of it sinks in and just when you least expect it, someone says something that restores your faith in your teaching ability.  One little boy proved that to me yesterday.

"Mrs. Renfro, I know what kind of "too" that was.  It's not the kind of "two" where you are talking about a number and it's not the kind of "to" you use when you are talking about going to town.  It's the kind of "too" you use when you eat too much candy and now you have a belly ache!"

And "right" he was.

Later on, Otis went missing for most of the afternoon and no one had a clue where he might have been.  He comes by his name "moose on the loose" pretty naturally because that's what he was meant to do.  No one knew, save for the teacher, where on earth that guy might have wandered off to.  At the end of the day, as the children were getting their backpacks and coats on, one sweet little girl came up to me with a smile from ear to ear on her face.  I wish I would have recorded it because it was that precious.

"Mrs. Renfro, just look what's in my backpack!  He's in here now."

And "right" she was.  Our "moose on the loose" had made the decision to go home with a complete stranger of all things.  That doesn't sound like a safe plan for after school or anytime for that matter.  Most of the kids figured we would find him before we went home but at least a couple of them were not too sure about it.  One came up to me with a very serious look upon her face and even the hint of a tear in her eyes and said to me, 

"Teacher, I was kind of worried.  Otis had only been here for a day and was already gone.  I did not think we could find him.  I think you need to get some duct tape and hold him in place by his skis."

If I would have some duct tape I might well have done that but since I didn't, I can only hope that he is still where I left him on top of the book case at the end of the day.  I guess we will find out soon enough.  

The use of a "moose on the loose" or an "elf on a shelf" is nowhere to be seen on any state standards that I know of across this great nation of ours.  They are part of the "life lessons" that teachers can share with their students and if utilizing them within the confines of the classroom can help us sail through the last days before break and still learn at the same time, then my vote goes to using them.

I often say that my students are blessings to me, gifts that have been given for this one school year.  And for as often as I say it, I mean it more each and every time.  It's fun to look at life through their eyes, innocent beyond imagination.  Yesterday when they came into the classroom, they saw that I had decorated everything for Christmas.  All of them stopped to look and smiles came upon their faces one by one.  One little guy said to his friend standing next to him...

"Wow.  Look at that!  It's so fancy in here."

I told them that Mr. Renfro and I wanted them to have a nice Christmas here in the classroom.  Putting up all of those pretty things for them to see was our way of saying "Merry Christmas" to each of them.  My wish for them will always be to enjoy the wondrous beauty that this life really does have to offer all of us.  There seems to be an overabundance of really bad things all around us sometimes yet I say to you that the "good" is still there just waiting to be found.  

If you only just look for it.

From a year ago now.  The Christmas tree that "the 18" had in our room last year.  It was different but the meaning was still the same.

The best Christmas present that planet Earth could ever hope for.  I left "my mark" on the beach in the Puget Sound in March of 2014.  A message for my granddaughter and a message for the world.