That sound you hear? It's the rubber hitting the road.

My submersion in the FFFF is now complete. Kids are MAKING FILMS now, and it is UTTER PANDEMONIUM. Redcoats and wigs flying, patriots emoting in front of green screens, bonnet negotiations - I'm just going to say it:  if you haven't seen 70 fifth graders in the process of making short films you basically haven't really lived. And you may still have a shred of your sanity left. I think the teaching team and I are wading into trickier waters, because logistically, this is navigation of the nimblest order.

That said, this feels exactly like what Michael Jordan calls "flow." Time whips by relentlessly. There are not enough hours. Not. Enough. Hours. The messiness of this final piece of the project, for me, is tempered by how amazing this process has been for the kids. They've taken a piece of history from seed story to film, and it's used every part of their brains. They've become experienced problem solvers and are learning to work smart. Because there's never enough time to get it all done, and artistic visions, while not something you want to compromise, sometimes need tweaking in order to get it done. I'm proud of the kids, and ever grateful to the teaching team and others who are stepping in to make this a reality. We're collectively learning all kinds of important lessons!