Thanksgiving is creeping closer on the calendar, but there are still school and work days to get through before then. Teachers say a short holiday week can mean less productivity and more daydreaming.
Staying in the lines and keeping a focused mind are two things that won't be happening this week in Mrs. Madison Lowry's first grade class.
"Just a couple more days if we can keep them on track," Lowry laughed.
Hers isn't the only classroom with kids thinking about that Thanksgiving feast at the end of the week.
This Dandridge Elementary School teacher says student productivity goes down during a shorter holiday week.
"It's difficult sometimes because a lot of the times the kids know a break is coming up, so their minds are not on school as well," Lowry explained.
That reason, and the increase in absentees are why Anderson County Schools decided to call off class for the whole week leading up to Thanksgiving, according to Anderson County Director of Schools Dr. Tim Parrott.
"What we saw was teachers would have to come back and teach a lot of those two days of lessons on Monday and Tuesday because there weren't a lot of students there," Parrott said.
This is the first year for the switch, and Parrott said no one is complaining about the extra time off-- not even him-- and he still has to work.
"It allows us time to get things caught up. We still work Monday and Tuesday," Parrott admitted.
In the meantime in Dandridge, teachers are using interactive activities to keep young minds inside the lines.
“We’re gonna make it fun but we are gonna learn and I think that that’s the best we can do for a short week,” Lowry said.
Anderson County Schools said its decision to call off school the whole week of Thanksgiving doesn't add any more time to the rest of the school year. It has been so well-received that the school district is going to do the same thing next year too.
You can view the full school schedule for Anderson County here.