racking them up

At lunch, which teachers are required to supervise, things get a little crazy at the end (which makes sense because as we collect trays, the kids have nothing to do). We quickly realized that we needed some kind of attention-getter. At the end of lunch we start chanting "One time, one time, two times, one time," etc. They rhymically clap to sound off that they heard us. This is an attention getter that was used a lot last year so kids are familiar with it, and it's catchy. Then, as the kids line up, we do it again so that they are focused on us instead of each other.

Friday, I was chanting. The kids were lining up, all 100 or so of them. Things were going smoothly, although not perfectly. Then, an administrator came in and began yelling "Hands up!" This is another quiet-down strategy we use. After yelling "Hands up!" a few times, children started clapping back at me with their hands in the air, in an attempt to listen to both adults. Comedy.

Finally, exasperated, she turned to me and said, "Ms. Haley. Stop." I was bewildered. I stopped. Chaos ensued. Children began talking and play fighting. She immediately started taking recess away from those children.