So cute.

I have found the most effective classroom management tool ever: The Witches by Roald Dahl. I started reading it aloud to my kids on Tuesday and they are obsessed with it. Obsessed. Anytime they get rowdy, I hold up the book and shake my head from side to side. Apparently the possibility that they might not get to hear the story is painful enough to shock them back into normalcy. Or out of normalcy and into perfection. I’ll take either one.

I discovered a way to make them love it even more. They all sit on the carpet and I switch off the overhead lights. For some reason, having a book read by a “real” light makes them so happy. They got out of music early today, so we had an extra 15 minutes to kill before dismissal. The noise level was getting a little crazy, so I just pulled my chair onto the carpet, sat down, and opened the book. They immediately (and silently) flocked to the carpet as Travis adjusted our lighting and Michael shut the door. Then they sat in complete silence, listening to me read until the bell rang. As I shut the book, they begged for me to keep going, with one of them even saying, “Can’t we just all call our parents and get permission to stay until you finish the book?”

Thanks, Mr. Dahl.