Drop the Hammer

Yesterday was Open House. 

Today was "extremely tired but exceedingly talkative students" day. 

At one point, after fruitlessly fighting the talking, I just sat down at my desk to cool off before I blew my stack. 

Always observant Izzy sees me do this, folds her hands, shuts her mouth and sits quietly for about 30 seconds. Every 2.4 seconds, she glances over her shoulder to make sure I notice her good behavior. 

Finally, she turns to me and says, "Have you noticed how chatty this class is today?" as she rolls her eyes dramatically. "I think you should give them aaaaall <insert arm sweep across the room> marks for this. Well, everyone except me, of course."

Marks are negative points for the week. 

I assured her I would seriously consider her advice. 

It was just what I needed to regain my perspective on how tired, but excited, ten year olds might act on the morning after an eventful evening.