Photo #304/365: Trick or Treaters

These pretty girls were just two of the Trick or Treaters that came to my mom's door on Beggars' Night.

Photo #283/365: Halloween Decorations

This is the whole Halloween collection.  It really brightens up my living room.

Photo #248/365: Happy Jack o' Lanterns

I made a trip to learning post today to pick up my new magnetic hall passes.  They are already displaying books and decorations for Halloween.  I liked this little basket of erasers.

Photo #303: Beggar's Night

Tonight was Beggar's Night in Des Moines. I'm not sure why we have Trick or Treating the night before Halloween, but we always do. The other thing that happens in Des Moines is the kids have to tell a joke to get their treat. I have not seen these traditions anyplace else that I have lived.

Sometimes I stay home and give out candy, but lots of years like this year, I go over to my Mom's house and help her hand out the treats. This year one of the kids from my class came by with his family. That photo didn't come out very well, though. I like this picture of the Pumpkin Head costume. I especially like the way you can see this boy's eyes through the mouth of the mask. With the exception of a very grouchy gorilla who came by, I'm sure the kids had lots of fun. We had beautiful weather.

Photo #288: Graveyard

This graveyard is located in my next door neighbor's front yard.

Photo #281: Halloween Lights

Today was a really crazy end to a very crazy week. Now that my school district is requiring six week assessments in both reading and math, we are doing lots and lots of testing. Next week is parent/teacher conferences, so I'm also preparing for that. To encourage and reinforce positive behavior, we held a movie night for all students who had no detentions or buddy rooms notes during the 6 week period. Turns out that was most of the school. So several teachers, including me, remained at school until 5:00, with the more than 300 kids who stayed to watch "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" The kids had a lot of fun, and we'll do it all again six weeks from now. Afterwards, I met a friend for dinner.

Since I didn't get home until almost 8:30, I needed to come up with a photo for today. Decorating homes for Halloween seems to be a growing trend. This house is located just 3 blocks from my home. I'm lucky to get my lights up at Christmas time, but these people must really get into Halloween.