The coverage email comes out. I checked my schedule against the yellow squares indicating an uncovered duty.
Fourth-grade lunch would fit.
As I entered the lunch room, I glanced down at my watch and noted how many steps I had. I wonder how many steps one can take during lunch duty.
Next, I did what I always do when in the lunchroom. I walked around to scope out the lunchboxes, looking for inspiration for my own kids’ lunches. As I peeked over shoulders, I listened into conversations and chatted with kids.
“Why does growing have to hurt so much?” I heard one student exclaim.
That got me wondering if I could collect lines from lunch and turn them into a found poem.
I scanned the cafeteria for something to write with. It didn’t look like I’d be able to execute that idea. No writing utensils.
I did one last sweep, listening into conversations as I moved. Found one!
I grabbed an abandoned book to lean against as I wrote:
Back in my day…in preschool
Cockadoodledo
Five Minute Warning
Wait. What happened?
Why am I hearing voices?
The fuel isn’t full yet…
Ms. Carey, is that the One Book, Two Schools book?
What is the book?
What are you doing?
Are you writing down my name…
Ok, so the poem wasn’t going to happen the way I imagined.
Lunch duty was over.
Half a mile. That’s how far one might walk lunch duty.
Where There Is Joy 
I love that your multi-tasking includes writing. 🙂
LikeLike
your title attracted me to read this post and guess what I recently tried something similar.
LikeLike
This is a great idea for a post! I saw our fourth grade “journalists” walking the halls yesterday looking for inspiration. I thought that could be a great post as well! Here’s to studying our environments!
LikeLike
This is both rational and crazy at the same time, maximizing your time, digging for ideas, taking steps. I love the line, “Why am I hearing voices?” I know why it was said in the cafeteria (after the chime), but it has a great other meaning.
LikeLike
I love how your last line, “half a mile”, portrays how much work you did during that lunch duty, how many laps you did, leaning in to listen.
LikeLike
That’s a lot of ground covered but how cool for your students to see you, writing ‘in action’! Loved this!
LikeLike
Oh, every part of this – from checking out lunches for your own children, to writing a poem, to walking half a mile. Lunch duty. This is it.
LikeLike
You tried, and it worked. I literally said to Maura today, “Maybe I’ll come with you to find a slice!”
LikeLike
Desperate times!
LikeLike
Wow! That’s a lot of steps around a cafeteria! And Wow! Love your idea for a poem too and what you overheard!
LikeLike
Oh my goodness, I hope you tell the students what you were doing and share this post with them– it’s hilarious! I bet you can harvest more lines (as well as lunch inspiration) and create quite an ode to the lunchroom conversations.
LikeLike
Lunch snippets- what a cool idea! Love your ending which circles back to your original curiosity. My curious mind wants to know the title of the book you were using.
LikeLike
Wow such a great use of your lunch time duty!
LikeLike