Valentine's Party Post Mortem

The Third Grade Valentine's Party can be summed up in one word.  CHAOS.  Of course, I'd do it all over again, but I'm still glad it's over. 

First, thank you so much for the tips and ideas.  So many of you sent me websites, games, and craft projects to get me started.  As it turns out, I stressed out over the craft for nothing.  Another willing parent actually wanted to bring in the craft.  Another parent donated homemade Valentine's cookies.  So I was left with music and games.  Delegation is a beautiful thing. 

The night before, Nick and I had a blast picking out the party music and making our own Valentine's CD.   Love Shack.  Love Stinks.  I Need A Lover That Won't Drive Me Crazy.   Hot Girls In Love.  I'm All Out Of Love.  Ok, maybe I had more fun than Nick, but this was my chance to re-live some of the great love songs of the 80's.  Maybe some of these tunes are too heavy for third graders (most of them haven't had their hearts broken yet).  But they might as well learn early that love is much more than a warm fuzzy feeling.  Besides, this could be my only chance to jam to Loverboy without people making fun of me. 

I left work around 1:00 p.m. and blasted our new CD in the car to get me in the party mood.  The plan?  We'd start with musical chairs, and the kids would all march to Love Shack in a single file line.  Then, we'd move on to the craft, treats, and games (including Bingo with the candy heart messages) and then we'd limbo out the door.  What could go wrong?

To start, these kids were pretty juiced up and sugared up when I arrived.  (Note to self:  when you combine lots of sugar with loud 80's music, 24 third graders turn into wild animals.)  We had to turn the classroom upside down, move desks, and jump over shoes and boots just to set up the musical chairs.  The single file line turned into body slamming, and the kids who got out first had nothing to do but load up with more sugar until we finished.  Then, we had to rearrange the classroom again, just to get everyone back in their seats.  I looked at the clock -- fifteen minutes had passed, and I was exhausted.

All I can say is, God bless teachers.  It's times like this when I'm thankful to be a lawyer.  Sure, we still had a fun time putting the craft together and playing a few games, but after an hour I was completely out of steam.  In the end, Nick was satisfied, which is all that mattered to me.  When we got home, Anna said to me, Can you please be in charge of my Valentine's Party next year?

At least we have a whole year to plan for it.  I might skip musical chairs, but I'll have the party CD ready to go.  Besides, I can't think of a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Can you?