sticky tac facial hair

I think I am quite a bit more permissive than other teachers at my school - and my school is pretty loose. Perhaps it's because I teach 5th and 6th grade, which is at the upper end of our K-8 school, and I work with mostly teachers of younger kids, who, I'm told, need more boundaries. (What kind of run-on sentence is that for a middle school teacher, then, huh?) I mean, I keep "order" in the room, if by order you mean lots of kids moving around, talking, laughing, and having fun. There are certainly times for quiet, and I can get the crazy monkeys to settle down for those. But overall, unless they're hurting someone, I usually let them do what they feel inspired to do. In the past, that has meant playing dodgeball rather rambunctiously, lying all over the floor with pillows and blankets for read-aloud, or running around out back at the end of the day (even though we're technically not supposed to let them do it because of the ticks in the woods just beyond. I tell them to run fast and the ticks won't be able to catch them.) Today it came in the form of allowing them to use an entire package of gray sticky tac to make creative facial hair designs on themselves. I taught most of the afternoon to a group of 10 and 11 year olds with gummy handlebar moustaches and mutton chops - including several girls. Walking down the hall at the end of the day garnered some rather interesting glances from the other teachers, but I didn't care. I think it's a much better use for the stuff than hanging silly posters that will fall down in a few days anyway.