Holiday Obligations

I don't think you can work in an elementary school and not participate in Halloween.  I mean, there are those who did, but even those of us who loathe the holiday and have avoided any celebration thereof for years feel a sort of sense of obligation to indulge in this environment.  I did not follow the tradition of most of the staff and dress as a witch, however.  I did stick to my morals and choose a storybook character as my inspiration.

I had been leaning towards Pippi Longstocking if you recall, but very few of the students would even know who that is (our building is K-2).  I decided instead to be Ms. Frizzle, the teacher from the Magic School Bus books and movies.

The idea seemed simple enough.  Last Saturday I headed out to get fabric to make a skirt.  (I should note here that my sister, ever the eldest, was shopping with me and commented that I kind of left this until the last minute.  Ever the middle child, I thought 6 days was FAR from the last minute and that I had PLENTY of time.  I hate to think what my brother, the youngest might have said!)  The skirt was key to the costume.  Ms. Frizzle always has a dress on that is related to the topic and so it's usually crazy and wild.  Jules and I weren't in the fabric department 30 seconds when we found the right material.  Bright yellow with cute insects all over it.  Perfect, indeed.  When asked at the fabric counter what I was going to use it for, the reply of a Ms. Frizzle costume was met with a nod of understanding.  Yes, perfect.

Jules helped me sew the skirt.  Neither of us sew, really.  Curtains, yes.  But following a pattern?  Not something either of us have done for a number of years.  Perhaps a decade or more.  But we were successful.  We didn't even argue or kill each other.  Mom was smiling down on us, we're certain.  (Jules wanted to call Dad and bet him $100 he couldn't guess what we were doing at the moment.  She could have offered $10,000, no one would guess we would ever SEW together!)

The early part of this week was then spent transforming two cardboard boxes and a wagon into a school bus.  LM was skeptical but then amazed with the results.  Apparently it's been awhile since he has seen his mother's creativity in action.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent on the little pieces that perfected the costume.  Ladybugs on my shoes. 

The right tights, the right hair style.  We asked LM's dad to ship his Liz stuffed animal from PA for the occasion and Birdy lent me ladybug earrings.  

And Friday, when I arrived at school, I was an instant hit.  The students at breakfast were delighted with a visit from Ms. Frizzle.  They all knew immediately who I was.  By mid-morning, teachers were stopping by my classroom to see if the rumors were true.  It wasn't just the costume, it was the completeness of it, they said.  The fact that I even had the BUS.  

The parade was at 2 and as I walked around with my favorite second grade class (which just happens to be George's class) the older elementary kids were singing the Magic School Bus theme song.  It was cute.

I wouldn't say the experience has changed my mind any about the holiday.  I still don't like children dressing up as witches and skeletons and vampires.  And I certainly don't like the idea of our children going door to door to get candy from strangers.  But I loved the enthusiasm of the students.  I loved how tickled they were that I had a lizard on my shoulder.  Or the questions that came from the Kinders, "But what is IN the bus, Miss Wilson?"  

The bus will be wrapped and stored in my sister's barn.  I'll be Ms. Frizzle for a number of years now, I'm certain.  There's no reason to try to outdo the effort we accomplished this year.  Thanks, Jules, for your help.  For making sure I had the fabric facing the right direction, for keeping me from sewing the wrong seams first and for helping me fix my errors when my brain just didn't focus.  Thanks, also, for letting me borrow your wagon.  It made the bus possible.

And a special thanks to LM.  My Magic School Bus expert.  He read the books over and over when he was younger and was the first one to tell me things about my costume that needed revision or elimination.  He was the first one, too, to tell me how awesome it all was.