Hannah Bantry...or where do YOU hide the wrappers?

Kids love conga drumming. Good music teachers know that the best way to make them successful is through familiar (or not so familiar) nursery rhymes. This nursery rhyme is the verse of choice in this week's drumming.

Hannah Bantry in the Pantry
Gnawing on a mutton bone.
How she Gnawed it, How she Clawed it,
when She found Herself Alone.

Getting the kids past the unfamiliar words and ideas so that they are comfortable using them to drum was once a challenge for me. Challenge no more.

I tell the story of the giant bag of mini-snicker bars in the refrigerator crisper. When it was a new bag, I could take as many as 3 or 4, devour them in a hiding place and believe that I went unnoticed. When there were fewer left, I could only take one. I used to tell this and it was the end of the story and all 3rd and 4th graders would grin and smile knowing that I was on to one of their secrets.

Today I took it a step further, pointing out the problem with my thievery. Where do you put the wrappers without getting caught? I don't really remember what I did- I'm going to guess they ended up in the corner of a ne'er cleaned closet.

They offered their solutions (which were much more interesting than what they were sneaking.)

1. Put the wrappers in Dad's lunch bucket so it looks like they are just leftover from his lunch.
2. Put the wrappers in Dad's clothing pockets so that Mom yells at him for sneaking lunch treats.
3. Put the wrappers in a sibling's garbage can and watch them cry when they get blamed for swiping candy.
4. Put the wrappers in the garbage can and then purposely spill a little Kool-Aid so you have to clean it up with paper towels to cover the evidence.
5. Put the wrappers in the school backpack and throw them away at school.

It's funny that in the past when I've asked, few have wanted to fess up to their act of sneaking. Once you ask about the cleverness of disposing of the evidence, they can't wait to tell you. 1830 or 2012, kids are kids are kids.