Tricks...or treats?

Today we had our Fall party. Students are allowed to dress up as their favorite book character....actually what always ends up happening is that the kids buy their Halloween costumes ...and we, in turn, help them find a book that matches their costume.

In the classroom next door, a little girl dressed as a witch. Eh. That's pretty normal, right? sure. Her book, however... not so much. Her book was Witchcraft Spells...an actual book of spells! Her grandfather (who had recently passed away) passed it down to her before he died.

This reminded me of a student that I had about four or five years ago. His grandmother (who was his guardian) was a wiccan. She was well know throughout the town for the ceremonies that she performed and for the late night show she had on the local cable channel.
The day after Halloween this student of mine was so tired he couldn't stay awake. When I questioned him on whether or not he was up too late from eating too much Halloween candy, he told me, "No, I was aiding my grandma in her ceremonies." Alrighty then! No more questions from me.

At the end of the year, his present to me was a dinosaur plant. The box read as follows:

"Watch me spring to life and grow right before your eyes! If you look closely, you may even be able to see me move! Listen, and you might hear my fibers expanding. I’ll be fully awake in just three hours. "

I don't know why, but it freaked me out! I'm sure it was just an innocent gift. But knowing that curses or spells could have been put on it...I wasn't taking my chance. Still haven't, in fact. I can't seem to bring myself to throw it out, however. Maybe one day I won't believe in all that mumbo-jumbo...but until then, I won't be causing any dinosaur plant to come alive so I can watch it move.

Man...Now I'm gonna have man-eating plant nightmares. I'll let you know how those go as well...