I heard my own name so many times today I wanted to change names. My aide started giggling because it was happening so often. Only 2 days left in this week. I can do it! Yes I can!! I spent the last to days of my long weekend out at the ranch of one of my students. It was so peaceful and quiet. The landlords opened the Saloon for their family and they kept me up till 2:30 a.m. Then the old folks and youngest folks came early the next morning to make breakfast for everyone. I pulled pillows over my head, turned on my fan, and wanted to cry. Perpetual noise is very wearing to a person. I was so glad when they invited me out. The loudest noise was the kids playing outside and the wind blowing through. ahhhhh
I have been working on supplemental work for students to take home over the summer. I don't expect all of the parents will do it. The ones who do will make my job easier in the fall. It isn't much but doing a little practice now and then makes all the difference. I did finally open my new box of curriculum. I didn't have time to dive into it but I drooled a little over the books.
I had my proposal approved that I sent to the Superintendent. So that means I will be teaching preschool this summer. (What was I thinking?) I won't be doing it every week my aide and I are going through our summer schedules together. We will trade on and off depending on what we each have going and when. I also found a location to have it. The school has so much going on this summer for maintenance it can't happen there. So we were brainstorming ideas...and finally thought of the most obvious choice. The youth center! It just happens to be about 2 doors down from me on the same block. Nice and convenient. It is in town so everyone can get there easily, it has a bathroom, running water, and plenty of SPACE! Yay!
I am thrilled. I talked to the president of the youth center board and she unofficially approved it but was going to talk with the other board members. I know I am a nut for taking this on but the community really, really, needs it. If I don't make it happen...it won't happen. So as if I didn't have enough going this summer I add to it.
A warning light came on, on my car. Soooo I reset the computer according to my brothers instructions. It sounds very impressive but was super easy. (once I figured out how to put an attachment on my ratcheting wrench). Anyhow, then It came back on so I was figuring out where to take it. Then I found out my from my favorite trooper that he has a chip reader. So he's going to check out what codes are being triggered. Then hopefully I will know what the problem is before taking it to get fixed. Hopefully it is a cheap fix.
I almost dozed off there so I'm signing out....
May 29, 2012
May 26, 2012
Memorial Day
I was thinking about all of the men who served in the Military in my own family and close friends. There were sacrifices they made that I do not know of and probably can't comprehend.
I expect snow on Memorial Day weekend at this point. I wasn't expecting 8-9 inches of snow with it still falling. On one half of main street the power is out which includes the only decent cafe and our 2 gas stations. So it has been a little entertaining watching travelers come through dazed and confused. The motorcyclists are freezing their patooties off. I made some hot cocoa to take to my favorite ladies at the closed cafe. They had just left but I found them. So for their 30-45 minute drive home they can have a hot drink. I have a little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit. I was thinking I could have made a lot of money selling hot cocoa at the closed gas station. I would've needed a helper to heat water, and bring it down. Oh well maybe on the next snow storm in May.
My landlords came out for the weekend and opened up the saloon for their family and friends. So I was woken up to ABBA this morning. No one should EVER have to wake up to ABBA. Well maybe inmates. ABBA morning,noon, and night for them. Yep, great punishment. So I am not exactly having a quiet weekend. I may have to run down to school for that. I don't know if the power is on at the school though. So, the weather has definitely dictated me doing laundry, dishes, and getting ready for the end of year.
I expect snow on Memorial Day weekend at this point. I wasn't expecting 8-9 inches of snow with it still falling. On one half of main street the power is out which includes the only decent cafe and our 2 gas stations. So it has been a little entertaining watching travelers come through dazed and confused. The motorcyclists are freezing their patooties off. I made some hot cocoa to take to my favorite ladies at the closed cafe. They had just left but I found them. So for their 30-45 minute drive home they can have a hot drink. I have a little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit. I was thinking I could have made a lot of money selling hot cocoa at the closed gas station. I would've needed a helper to heat water, and bring it down. Oh well maybe on the next snow storm in May.
My landlords came out for the weekend and opened up the saloon for their family and friends. So I was woken up to ABBA this morning. No one should EVER have to wake up to ABBA. Well maybe inmates. ABBA morning,noon, and night for them. Yep, great punishment. So I am not exactly having a quiet weekend. I may have to run down to school for that. I don't know if the power is on at the school though. So, the weather has definitely dictated me doing laundry, dishes, and getting ready for the end of year.
May 25, 2012
"I'll never understand teachers"
So I stopped at the post office to pick up some much anticipated packages like "Hank the Cowdog's Greatest Hits", a couple of cookbooks, NRA stickers, and curriculum! The curriculum box was quite heavy with books! I was pretty excited and said "Yay, new curriculum." The postmaster said "I'll never understand teachers" and shook his head with a dash of perplexity and much disgust. I smiled and went on my way. I started listening to "Hank the Cowdog's Greatest Hits Volume I & II" and realized this joy was best shared with my students and an aspirin. I've shared "Horse Tunes For Kids" with my students and I really love that one. I don't think ol' Hank's tunes are quite as melodious. The kid's will LOVE IT! uggh! Our new "Traveling Bus" comes with a CD player... so we may be listening to some tunes on the road. We will test it on our next trip. I have no idea if it actually works.
So my new box of curriculum. I ordered it based on my cousins recommendation. It is a Social Studies Curriculum from Sonlight. I am very excited to open the box. I promised myself as soon as I cleaned house and did laundry that would be my reward. I am soooo lucky to work in a place that I have some freedom to choose curriculum. It makes me feel like I am giving my students some quality options. I also received this last week the spelling curriculum I will begin to use next year. I am going to learn many new things from this curriculum so that is wonderful as well. I have a lot of reading to do this summer to prepare myself for teaching it. I feel better about this coming school year because I DO have time to prepare. YAY!
What else do I know?? Well my engine had a warning light come on. All my manual says is to go to your dealer. So now it is a Holiday weekend... I have to figure out how serious this is and if I can drive 111 miles to the nearest place that can work on it. The joys of living in the boonies.
So my new box of curriculum. I ordered it based on my cousins recommendation. It is a Social Studies Curriculum from Sonlight. I am very excited to open the box. I promised myself as soon as I cleaned house and did laundry that would be my reward. I am soooo lucky to work in a place that I have some freedom to choose curriculum. It makes me feel like I am giving my students some quality options. I also received this last week the spelling curriculum I will begin to use next year. I am going to learn many new things from this curriculum so that is wonderful as well. I have a lot of reading to do this summer to prepare myself for teaching it. I feel better about this coming school year because I DO have time to prepare. YAY!
What else do I know?? Well my engine had a warning light come on. All my manual says is to go to your dealer. So now it is a Holiday weekend... I have to figure out how serious this is and if I can drive 111 miles to the nearest place that can work on it. The joys of living in the boonies.
May 24, 2012
Baseball
Well we went to the Big City to watch the Baseball game. It was a long ride there. We have a new travel bus! The seats are much more comfortable in this one! There are even overhead racks. It came with a bathroom but the School District tore it out! Maybe they didn't want to deal with emptying the tank. I don't know but what a bummer! The seats are higher than the old bus so the little guys were constantly wanting to stand in their seats to see what was going on. The Baseball game was billed "Education Day" with baseball related instructional activities. The activity was a worksheet. A WORKSHEET! Seriously? I didn't have my kids do the multi-page worksheet. They were just excited to be at the park. So we checked it out and found our seats. A couple of the players came to chat with the schools visiting and even that was lack-luster. They were definitely told you will do this! So that wasn't very interesting! Then the game finally started and sno-cones and cotton candy started rolling around. Yeah....not happening Kiddos! They whined, begged, pleaded, negotiated....and their mean teacher never stopped saying "NO".
My students don't really know even the basic rules of baseball. So I pointed things out and asked them questions. That lasted for awhile and they were very bored. Luckily the park had a "Bouncy House" and a playground. We visited that twice and then it was time to go. My colleague bought her daughters cotton candy in front of all the other kids after I had told my class nope! Of course the other kids were very upset. All I could say was "Wow, that really isn't fair is it?" I was pretty ticked off. I am so lucky with my students. They really accept the boundaries I lay down. I thought that was very rude. The day was a hot one so I constantly applied sunscreen and made sure they drank often.
When we arrived home I was hot, stinky, sweaty, dirty, and tired. My shower felt fabulous! When possible I will be avoiding field trips with my colleague. It is just a headache I really do not need! The kids were very tired the next day and so was I! It is a very good thing that we have a four day weekend. I can catch up on everything from laundry to school stuff.
My proposal was submitted to the Superintendent so hopefully I will find out something very soon. I will keep you posted. A large local business donated some funds to help purchase curriculum. The lady who works in the donations department asked me to let her know the next time we had an event at school. I asked her to come to our final awards assembly. She said she would come so I am really looking forward to meeting her. Our principal will not be joining us that day. Hopefully, the other teachers make some kind of effort. We hired a new math teacher who will be joining us at our last PLC. I am really relieved he can attend. I was worried we would be making scheduling decisions on his behalf, and I really didn't think that was right. I am trying not to be stressed about the last meeting but it will be interesting. My colleague wants to change the whole plan so she doesn't have as many students to teach. Which would add more to my schedule and the high school schedule. All of us have a lot and find it difficult at times. She isn't unique or alone in that regard. I don't know....what it will look like...or what will happen. I want to say "quit whining and do your job". We'll see.
I have made a few of my own decisions about next year. I decided to do math first thing in the morning and then after our a.m. recess doing reading. I am also changing the time of our recess. I didn't really ever like the time but I changed it to be flexible for others. The problem is it isn't working for me or my students. So that is going out the window! Afternoons will be writing, social studies, and science.
We also worked on planning our "Field Day" on the last day of school. Hopefully the weather co-operates and is nice. You never know. The teacher who is on his way out promised to pick up some things for field day. We are nervously trusting he will follow through and show up. Well at least follow through with what he is bringing even if he decides not to show up! Anyhow, I'd better go
My students don't really know even the basic rules of baseball. So I pointed things out and asked them questions. That lasted for awhile and they were very bored. Luckily the park had a "Bouncy House" and a playground. We visited that twice and then it was time to go. My colleague bought her daughters cotton candy in front of all the other kids after I had told my class nope! Of course the other kids were very upset. All I could say was "Wow, that really isn't fair is it?" I was pretty ticked off. I am so lucky with my students. They really accept the boundaries I lay down. I thought that was very rude. The day was a hot one so I constantly applied sunscreen and made sure they drank often.
When we arrived home I was hot, stinky, sweaty, dirty, and tired. My shower felt fabulous! When possible I will be avoiding field trips with my colleague. It is just a headache I really do not need! The kids were very tired the next day and so was I! It is a very good thing that we have a four day weekend. I can catch up on everything from laundry to school stuff.
My proposal was submitted to the Superintendent so hopefully I will find out something very soon. I will keep you posted. A large local business donated some funds to help purchase curriculum. The lady who works in the donations department asked me to let her know the next time we had an event at school. I asked her to come to our final awards assembly. She said she would come so I am really looking forward to meeting her. Our principal will not be joining us that day. Hopefully, the other teachers make some kind of effort. We hired a new math teacher who will be joining us at our last PLC. I am really relieved he can attend. I was worried we would be making scheduling decisions on his behalf, and I really didn't think that was right. I am trying not to be stressed about the last meeting but it will be interesting. My colleague wants to change the whole plan so she doesn't have as many students to teach. Which would add more to my schedule and the high school schedule. All of us have a lot and find it difficult at times. She isn't unique or alone in that regard. I don't know....what it will look like...or what will happen. I want to say "quit whining and do your job". We'll see.
I have made a few of my own decisions about next year. I decided to do math first thing in the morning and then after our a.m. recess doing reading. I am also changing the time of our recess. I didn't really ever like the time but I changed it to be flexible for others. The problem is it isn't working for me or my students. So that is going out the window! Afternoons will be writing, social studies, and science.
We also worked on planning our "Field Day" on the last day of school. Hopefully the weather co-operates and is nice. You never know. The teacher who is on his way out promised to pick up some things for field day. We are nervously trusting he will follow through and show up. Well at least follow through with what he is bringing even if he decides not to show up! Anyhow, I'd better go
May 20, 2012
Solar Eclipse
It was a success we sold out on our glasses. Some people came with their welding helmets or even welding glass. That would've been handy! One gentleman had his camera rigged up to take photos safely. We had the fire pit going and s'mores were cooked. I was happy to see how many people in the community showed up. One of our school board members drove down for it. That was very nice. It is quite a ways to come to show your support. What was pathetic... I was the only teacher who came for it. Not good! Everyone seemed to have a very good time! It was a nice way to spend a Sunday Evening. It was very cool to see the ring of fire around the sun. It is always good to have a WOW from mother nature. I was pestered all day long for glasses. We decided not to do any pre-sales. I was pretty sure we would sell out and not have enough. We did! I did sale a couple to the folks at the gas station who were working and could not make it!
There is a local couple new to the area. So far they haven't made a lot of friends because of their very aggressive dogs. They always get them out let them loose at every event. I asked them to please keep the dogs away from the s'mores table. They didn't and the dogs were stealing s'mores out of the kids hands. They also let them into the lobby of the post office when they check their mail. I've had them growling at me when I am trying to check my box. This isn't okay! They leave them on the sidewalk in front of the gas station. (Because they were told NO DOGS IN THE GAS STATION). So you have to get by them without letting them in the door. I don't see the locals letting this go on for too much longer. The locals are dog crazy but they know the boundaries for what is acceptable. Chocolate is really bad for dogs so I'm not sure why that wasn't a concern as they were gulping down 3 year old children's s'mores. Uggh.
I am pretty sure with my day out in the sun yesterday I didn't drink enough water. I fought a headache all day today. I have been guzzling water and must remember to do better! Well I am going to throw a roast in the crock-pot. G'nite
There is a local couple new to the area. So far they haven't made a lot of friends because of their very aggressive dogs. They always get them out let them loose at every event. I asked them to please keep the dogs away from the s'mores table. They didn't and the dogs were stealing s'mores out of the kids hands. They also let them into the lobby of the post office when they check their mail. I've had them growling at me when I am trying to check my box. This isn't okay! They leave them on the sidewalk in front of the gas station. (Because they were told NO DOGS IN THE GAS STATION). So you have to get by them without letting them in the door. I don't see the locals letting this go on for too much longer. The locals are dog crazy but they know the boundaries for what is acceptable. Chocolate is really bad for dogs so I'm not sure why that wasn't a concern as they were gulping down 3 year old children's s'mores. Uggh.
I am pretty sure with my day out in the sun yesterday I didn't drink enough water. I fought a headache all day today. I have been guzzling water and must remember to do better! Well I am going to throw a roast in the crock-pot. G'nite
Sunny Day
It was a nice sunny day at the barrel race! It was really fun to watch my student. She was very confident and did very well. It was a bit shocking for me how many people put their inexperienced kids in the race. You could really tell the race was their practice ground. They will definitely need to find some other practice grounds before competition. Yikes. My student made it look easy. It was fun.
I then went into the small grocery store in this small town. I couldn't believe how much they packed into that space. They are definitely serving a need for that community. Making sure that it is all there! It was a little claustrophobic but I found everything I needed.
I got to spend the rest of my day/evening with some friends. It is always very relaxed at their house. We had a lot of laughs and a great time together.
A glider crashed in the mountains this weekend and the pilot was killed on impact.
Today is our Solar eclipse viewing event. Everyone in town is bugging my co-planner and I for the glasses. So I've been hiding out. I am not carrying them around with me sorry people! I guess we will have no problem selling them all. Sheesh. So I was gone all day yesterday and today I'll be hiding out and avoiding the locals. That is good though because I seriously need to catch up on laundry. Another busy week ahead.
I then went into the small grocery store in this small town. I couldn't believe how much they packed into that space. They are definitely serving a need for that community. Making sure that it is all there! It was a little claustrophobic but I found everything I needed.
I got to spend the rest of my day/evening with some friends. It is always very relaxed at their house. We had a lot of laughs and a great time together.
A glider crashed in the mountains this weekend and the pilot was killed on impact.
Today is our Solar eclipse viewing event. Everyone in town is bugging my co-planner and I for the glasses. So I've been hiding out. I am not carrying them around with me sorry people! I guess we will have no problem selling them all. Sheesh. So I was gone all day yesterday and today I'll be hiding out and avoiding the locals. That is good though because I seriously need to catch up on laundry. Another busy week ahead.
May 17, 2012
Don't Shoot!
Well... when you live over a saloon, and your neighbors are saloons, and the weather is nice enough to hang out on the street and drink....things get exciting. A little too exciting! I started hearing the yelling, and it continued for awhile. Threats were issued and discussion of killing and guns were brought up. Yippee. It didn't appear to be chilling out...so I dialed the emergency number. The problem with this is the authorities that came I know very well. I had to get my buddies away from their pillows to go arrest someone for threatening someone else with a loaded weapon. :) I apologized for that! One of their significant others suggested I let the shooter shoot before I dialed next time! With my luck I'd have a dead car! Anyhow, hopefully the arrest will keep things quiet for awhile.
Another entertaining fact is we have a local running for the local Justice of the Peace position. The problem with this individual is that he keeps getting arrested. Then he had to go and taunt the Sheriff's office by driving by at the beginning of their shift change with a revoked license! Isn't that fun stuff.
I keep having flashbacks to the meeting I went to at our local library. The request for Encyclopedia Britannica's still has me giggling. One individual suggested we have readings of "Shakespeare". Hmmmm, well I get some Shakespeare out on the street in front of my apartment. I really don't have to go listen to it being read.
Another less than exciting thing happened. My students were very naughty at recess with one of our aides today. They had to come in and put their heads on the desk. Then I made them write the aide an apology note. One student was still feeling a little hot under the collar over perceived injustices. The instructions I gave were to write the aide an apology letter for what you did wrong. They were told they couldn't write about what anyone else had done, only about themselves. Then they were to write what they could do better next time. This is a direct quote from a first draft of a letter that I rejected " I am sorry that you gave me attitude"! Yep... they missed the point. When they asked me how to spell attitude I mistakenly believed they were apologizing for their own attitude. One of the notes said "I'm sorry I mist behaved." Yep we need to work on spelling.
A new math teacher was hired! WOOT WOOT! I am sooo happy! I think it will be a good fit. I am just happy to have another person with some grasp of reality. YAY!
My aide and I grabbed 4 garbage bags and went to do some cleaning. I told her we would work for 15 minutes then stop. Well we'd filled the bags before our time was up. I found some reading books from the early 60's. I got a kick out of looking at them. I think they probably need to be at our local museum :)! That's all I know for now...
Update: The local authorities personally thanked me for the lack of sleep, 7 hours of overtime, and 15 hours of paperwork. Not sure if they were whining or complaining... :)
Another entertaining fact is we have a local running for the local Justice of the Peace position. The problem with this individual is that he keeps getting arrested. Then he had to go and taunt the Sheriff's office by driving by at the beginning of their shift change with a revoked license! Isn't that fun stuff.
I keep having flashbacks to the meeting I went to at our local library. The request for Encyclopedia Britannica's still has me giggling. One individual suggested we have readings of "Shakespeare". Hmmmm, well I get some Shakespeare out on the street in front of my apartment. I really don't have to go listen to it being read.
Another less than exciting thing happened. My students were very naughty at recess with one of our aides today. They had to come in and put their heads on the desk. Then I made them write the aide an apology note. One student was still feeling a little hot under the collar over perceived injustices. The instructions I gave were to write the aide an apology letter for what you did wrong. They were told they couldn't write about what anyone else had done, only about themselves. Then they were to write what they could do better next time. This is a direct quote from a first draft of a letter that I rejected " I am sorry that you gave me attitude"! Yep... they missed the point. When they asked me how to spell attitude I mistakenly believed they were apologizing for their own attitude. One of the notes said "I'm sorry I mist behaved." Yep we need to work on spelling.
A new math teacher was hired! WOOT WOOT! I am sooo happy! I think it will be a good fit. I am just happy to have another person with some grasp of reality. YAY!
My aide and I grabbed 4 garbage bags and went to do some cleaning. I told her we would work for 15 minutes then stop. Well we'd filled the bags before our time was up. I found some reading books from the early 60's. I got a kick out of looking at them. I think they probably need to be at our local museum :)! That's all I know for now...
Update: The local authorities personally thanked me for the lack of sleep, 7 hours of overtime, and 15 hours of paperwork. Not sure if they were whining or complaining... :)
May 16, 2012
42 Years
In human years 42 doesn't sound like too long. In textbook years 42 is ridiculous! I went on a cleaning spree in the school again. I found a set of Journalism textbooks published in 1970! Seriously! I don't know... Has Journalism changed much since then?? Hmmmmm nawwww probably not. I was irritated. The aide said "can't we sell them?". I said "These are so old 3rd world countries won't even accept them." Anyhow, it is annoying and unbelievable what they have kept but we are making some progress. I found some GREGG Keyboarding books from 1987. Nice eh? Do you remember learning to type via a textbook. Sounds insane doesn't it?
We have a gum issue at school. The problem with gum is... you give it to kids and it ends up everywhere. On the floor, under chairs, next to the trash can, in their hair, under tables, etc etc. The problem with the gum is the bus driver who gives them the gum. It is "his" thing he does for the kids. He won't give them a piece of candy. Nope has to be gum. Any other suggestions are impossible. "His kids wouldn't put gum anywhere but the trash can". Riiiiighhhtttt!
I was asked to write up a proposal to send to our Superintendent. I've never written something like this and I am not sure what to include. I need to get it done A.S.A.P. as usual. The deadlines I have do me in. I always seem to be 5 steps behind. I looked around today and there were only 2 teachers without subs today. It is usually down to the two of us. Plugging away at it trying to do our best. Feeling like we're paddling alone! I could feel my shoulders creeping up to my ears today. So I took a couple of steps back and let it go!
I am going to watch one of my students Barrel Race this weekend. It should be entertaining. She has been teaching another student how to Barrel Race on the playground. This other student loves horses! I can barely get her to read a book if it doesn't have a horse on the cover. It is tough to watch sometimes because of their beliefs she is being trained for home and hearth. I hope it doesn't crush her spirit. She just breathes horses. Anyhow I will let you know how the Barrel Race goes. It should be pretty entertaining.
Next week is our field trip to the Big City for a Baseball Game. That will be a hectic week. The students are already driving their teacher nutso asking field trip questions. Well, I'd better boogie my pillow is calling me.
We have a gum issue at school. The problem with gum is... you give it to kids and it ends up everywhere. On the floor, under chairs, next to the trash can, in their hair, under tables, etc etc. The problem with the gum is the bus driver who gives them the gum. It is "his" thing he does for the kids. He won't give them a piece of candy. Nope has to be gum. Any other suggestions are impossible. "His kids wouldn't put gum anywhere but the trash can". Riiiiighhhtttt!
I was asked to write up a proposal to send to our Superintendent. I've never written something like this and I am not sure what to include. I need to get it done A.S.A.P. as usual. The deadlines I have do me in. I always seem to be 5 steps behind. I looked around today and there were only 2 teachers without subs today. It is usually down to the two of us. Plugging away at it trying to do our best. Feeling like we're paddling alone! I could feel my shoulders creeping up to my ears today. So I took a couple of steps back and let it go!
I am going to watch one of my students Barrel Race this weekend. It should be entertaining. She has been teaching another student how to Barrel Race on the playground. This other student loves horses! I can barely get her to read a book if it doesn't have a horse on the cover. It is tough to watch sometimes because of their beliefs she is being trained for home and hearth. I hope it doesn't crush her spirit. She just breathes horses. Anyhow I will let you know how the Barrel Race goes. It should be pretty entertaining.
Next week is our field trip to the Big City for a Baseball Game. That will be a hectic week. The students are already driving their teacher nutso asking field trip questions. Well, I'd better boogie my pillow is calling me.
May 13, 2012
Happy Mother's Day!
It has been a somewhat eventful weekend. I hung up flyers throughout town about our Eclipse viewing party. I have been getting a positive response about it so that is a good thing. I have discovered that most of the locals will come if you plan something, but refuse to plan something for themselves. That way they can reserve the right to whine if it doesn't go the way they think it should I suppose.
Then I went to see Sourdough Slim and his friend Mr. Armstrong. I am not sure what was more entertaining his silly jokes or the enjoyment the 70+ year olds got out of his goofiness. If you enjoy the accordion, the saw, the ukelele, the guitar, the steel guitar, the banjo, the mouth harp, and the accordion well go see him. He is going to my Granny's home town soon. He would introduce a song as being out in 1926 and I am thinking a bit before my time. I do know songs from that era...but there were many I'd never heard. The few I had heard were performed by request.. Yellow Rose of Texas, Don't Fence Me In, Ghost Rider in the Sky, and Happy Trails. So there ya go..I'd never heard "Barnacle Bill the Sailor". Apparently my musical education has been lacking. It was worth the 7$ I paid to see him. Luckily I rode with some other people so I didn't have gas money on top of it. Yep... I went, I saw, I heard... and didn't buy a cd. I have been trying to upload video of this magnificent show...but It has only let me put one up so far. Probably has something to do with the painfully slow internet.
I drove into town yesterday for some shopping and prom avoidance. I hadn't been grocery shopping since spring break so I was due. I wanted to put it off for another week but now I am glad I did not. Once I started making a list I realized how much I needed to go shopping. I can probably make it now until I have to go to town in June for a class. Prom was this weekend. I decided to NOT be involved. It has been busy enough lately. It was also a community prom which can sometimes get a little out of hand from my understanding. It was very warm in town and felt like summer was here. I am sure we will have at least one or two more snows.
If you don't know what a "Mormon Cricket" is check them out. Apparently every 5 years or so they get really bad. They are actually a katy-did not a cricket. They are also carnivores and eat roadkill and each other. Apparently they march like the ants in the jungle. When they get really bad the roadways become as slick as ice with dead ones. They have to sand the roads. All I can say is .... NOOOOOOOOO THANKKKK YOUUUUUU!!!
Then I went to see Sourdough Slim and his friend Mr. Armstrong. I am not sure what was more entertaining his silly jokes or the enjoyment the 70+ year olds got out of his goofiness. If you enjoy the accordion, the saw, the ukelele, the guitar, the steel guitar, the banjo, the mouth harp, and the accordion well go see him. He is going to my Granny's home town soon. He would introduce a song as being out in 1926 and I am thinking a bit before my time. I do know songs from that era...but there were many I'd never heard. The few I had heard were performed by request.. Yellow Rose of Texas, Don't Fence Me In, Ghost Rider in the Sky, and Happy Trails. So there ya go..I'd never heard "Barnacle Bill the Sailor". Apparently my musical education has been lacking. It was worth the 7$ I paid to see him. Luckily I rode with some other people so I didn't have gas money on top of it. Yep... I went, I saw, I heard... and didn't buy a cd. I have been trying to upload video of this magnificent show...but It has only let me put one up so far. Probably has something to do with the painfully slow internet.
I drove into town yesterday for some shopping and prom avoidance. I hadn't been grocery shopping since spring break so I was due. I wanted to put it off for another week but now I am glad I did not. Once I started making a list I realized how much I needed to go shopping. I can probably make it now until I have to go to town in June for a class. Prom was this weekend. I decided to NOT be involved. It has been busy enough lately. It was also a community prom which can sometimes get a little out of hand from my understanding. It was very warm in town and felt like summer was here. I am sure we will have at least one or two more snows.
If you don't know what a "Mormon Cricket" is check them out. Apparently every 5 years or so they get really bad. They are actually a katy-did not a cricket. They are also carnivores and eat roadkill and each other. Apparently they march like the ants in the jungle. When they get really bad the roadways become as slick as ice with dead ones. They have to sand the roads. All I can say is .... NOOOOOOOOO THANKKKK YOUUUUUU!!!
May 10, 2012
Soup
My brain feels like some mushy soup tonight. It was a busy week. I had the meeting, and the meeting, and the school board meeting. It was a long day. It was interesting...and painfully boring. That's the way it is. I can't imagine ever volunteering to be on the school board. What a time consuming job on top of a job.The first meeting gave me a painful taste of how local meetings go. They all had the same comments and requests. They just all needed the opportunity to voice them at least twice. The school board meeting was loooonnng. I wish I could remember something memorable about it. We did our presentation. We lived through it.
Anyhow, one of my student's parents brought in a flyer about an Education Day at our state baseball team headquarters. I checked it out and thought hey why not?? Learn about some math through baseball! SURE!!! So in one day I planned a field trip, contacted the right people, sent flyers home, found out if other classes wanted to attend, and taught school. Brain hurting sure! Yep! ya! You Betcha! Planning a field trip is a little different for us because: 1. Nothing is nearby, 2. Parents have a long way to drive their kids to school, 3. They need a lot of snacks, supplies, and materials, 4. You have to include bathroom stops, and dinner stops. 5. The students have to pack a bag for a field trip, 6. The students need guidelines for what they can bring, ... I am sure there is more but I can't think of it right now. Oh yes... The teacher has to pack a cooler, a first aide kit, trash bags, baby wipes, snacks for all, a change of clothes ( yep I learned my lesson), lunch, and more.
Mosquito season has come. I haven't noticed them too much but my students have been discovered by them! I am the anti-itch dispenser. I think my secretary thinks they should tough it out. The problem with that is they can't focus because all they are doing is scratching. A few of my students are very allergic to mosquito bites so they swell up like tomatoes. Tomorrow I am heading to see old "Sourdough Slim". I also had an invite to drive 3 1/2 hours for a movie. I am debating doing it just because it might be a nice change of scenery with some fun, positive, people! We'll see... the only reasons I'm thinking no is because of the drive, and I'm tired. A good night of sleep may change my opinion!
Anyhow, one of my student's parents brought in a flyer about an Education Day at our state baseball team headquarters. I checked it out and thought hey why not?? Learn about some math through baseball! SURE!!! So in one day I planned a field trip, contacted the right people, sent flyers home, found out if other classes wanted to attend, and taught school. Brain hurting sure! Yep! ya! You Betcha! Planning a field trip is a little different for us because: 1. Nothing is nearby, 2. Parents have a long way to drive their kids to school, 3. They need a lot of snacks, supplies, and materials, 4. You have to include bathroom stops, and dinner stops. 5. The students have to pack a bag for a field trip, 6. The students need guidelines for what they can bring, ... I am sure there is more but I can't think of it right now. Oh yes... The teacher has to pack a cooler, a first aide kit, trash bags, baby wipes, snacks for all, a change of clothes ( yep I learned my lesson), lunch, and more.
Mosquito season has come. I haven't noticed them too much but my students have been discovered by them! I am the anti-itch dispenser. I think my secretary thinks they should tough it out. The problem with that is they can't focus because all they are doing is scratching. A few of my students are very allergic to mosquito bites so they swell up like tomatoes. Tomorrow I am heading to see old "Sourdough Slim". I also had an invite to drive 3 1/2 hours for a movie. I am debating doing it just because it might be a nice change of scenery with some fun, positive, people! We'll see... the only reasons I'm thinking no is because of the drive, and I'm tired. A good night of sleep may change my opinion!
May 8, 2012
Meetings
One never knows what a week or day will bring, but meetings are pretty much a guarantee. I started making "Special K" bars for our school board meeting tomorrow evening. I can hardly make them without shedding a tear or two. They make me think of that amazing lady who taught me how to make them and many other delicious recipes. The only thing I never learned to get right was her fried chicken. Not sure how she did it but it was awesome. Anyhow, the super asked me to attend the Maintenance/Finance Meeting before the school board meeting. So I will go to that and I am hopeful we will get some much needed maintenance issues resolved. Following that we will have the School Board meeting.
We met as a staff and discussed what we wanted to present. Luckily our English teacher volunteered to be our speech delivery person. He uses some lovely big words in the right context and makes everything sound sparkly, glittery, and brand new! :) Thank goodness he is talking. I can talk in front of my students all day long but I still get nervous in front of adults. Our local school board member asked me if I could possibly attend a morning meeting put on by our Regional Library Board regarding funding a preschool. There is a HUGE need for a preschool here. If they came in with some letter and number awareness it would be very beneficial. Most of the local parents do not work with their students. So, that will be an interesting experience. I have no idea what to expect. Not knowing what to expect is the norm.
On Monday a choir from about 2 1/2 hours away came and performed for our school. It was a lot of fun. They sang a medley of 50's hits, a medley of popular country tunes, and other songs. I knew most of them very well. One of the girls in the choir pulled one of my students "the class ham" out and sang to him. My whole class found this hysterically funny and they were laughing so hard they were crying. Their reaction was sooo much funnier than his reaction. That was a treat for our student body. When on break I bought my students a couple of Cd's to play in the classroom. These have become HITS! I am going to share soon with some of my little cousins. They will love it their parents will probably donate my class a drum set. :) HEE HEE! I told my teacher aide some of my musical plans for next year. I let her know she would be hearing songs so often she will want to use the cd as target practice. I also told her sleep would be interrupted by the music playing through her head. It is something to look forward to!
Back to the "Special K" Bars... I started thinking...what school board arrives to homemade rolls, pulled roast beef, salad, lemonade, coffee, and a homemade desert medley. Seriously it almost makes it worthwhile to attend a school board meeting...Right?? They are making a drive for it. My principal will not be attending as she has a training elsewhere. I will get to see another friend from the district that I do not get to see very often. So even though it involves a boring meeting at least I get to see a friend.
We met as a staff and discussed what we wanted to present. Luckily our English teacher volunteered to be our speech delivery person. He uses some lovely big words in the right context and makes everything sound sparkly, glittery, and brand new! :) Thank goodness he is talking. I can talk in front of my students all day long but I still get nervous in front of adults. Our local school board member asked me if I could possibly attend a morning meeting put on by our Regional Library Board regarding funding a preschool. There is a HUGE need for a preschool here. If they came in with some letter and number awareness it would be very beneficial. Most of the local parents do not work with their students. So, that will be an interesting experience. I have no idea what to expect. Not knowing what to expect is the norm.
On Monday a choir from about 2 1/2 hours away came and performed for our school. It was a lot of fun. They sang a medley of 50's hits, a medley of popular country tunes, and other songs. I knew most of them very well. One of the girls in the choir pulled one of my students "the class ham" out and sang to him. My whole class found this hysterically funny and they were laughing so hard they were crying. Their reaction was sooo much funnier than his reaction. That was a treat for our student body. When on break I bought my students a couple of Cd's to play in the classroom. These have become HITS! I am going to share soon with some of my little cousins. They will love it their parents will probably donate my class a drum set. :) HEE HEE! I told my teacher aide some of my musical plans for next year. I let her know she would be hearing songs so often she will want to use the cd as target practice. I also told her sleep would be interrupted by the music playing through her head. It is something to look forward to!
Back to the "Special K" Bars... I started thinking...what school board arrives to homemade rolls, pulled roast beef, salad, lemonade, coffee, and a homemade desert medley. Seriously it almost makes it worthwhile to attend a school board meeting...Right?? They are making a drive for it. My principal will not be attending as she has a training elsewhere. I will get to see another friend from the district that I do not get to see very often. So even though it involves a boring meeting at least I get to see a friend.
May 3, 2012
Jealous of Sourdough!
I am trying to remember everything that happened this week. I can't. I feel like my head is still spinning. I was pretty ticked off at seeing something this week that just should not happen. I let everybody know I wasn't happy about it. I just want people to do their jobs!!!!! GRRRR. Anyhow we also had testing this week so this makes for some tired kids by the end of the week. Of course that never goes as smoothly as planned because the tests for Kindergarten weren't on the server, new students hadn't been added, and other delights. I have to take care of those types of things because they loaded the test administrator application on my computer. They did that because in the fall I was the only one who stayed at school to resolve some issues with testing then. So we got many of those kinks worked out.
On Monday we had a famous former NASCAR Driver, a NFL Hall-of-famer, and a Host of American Top Gear drive through town. My students didn't know who they were or why it was exciting but it was! They got autographs, the NFL player gave them all hats, there was a pace car, a coca-cola motorcycle, and about 70 motorcycles in all. Pretty exciting.
I don't know how long it will take my students scores to get uploaded...but not too long. They must have decided to immediately get on board with some much needed maintenance on our school starting with the parking lot. They came and killed the weeds and swept and blew off the whole lot. Tonight we are having a wind storm so that may not help. Tomorrow they are supposed to tar the cracks and seal the lot. I don't know if this means a fresh layer of pavement but I am hoping.
I did some much needed purging at the school today. I sought permission from the boss first. Then I went to town. The stuff they saved, is ridiculous. It was a great day to do it because my secretary the hoarder was chaperoning another class on a field trip. We got rid of about 4 large bags of trash. WHOOO HOOO. Now hopefully our trash guy doesn't break or pull anything on trash day. What was really scary after purging all of that is....the room didn't look like we'd thrown out anything at all. Really and Truly! You know there is a LOT of stuff when it doesn't look like anything was removed. My students were pretty tired today after a busy week of testing etc.
We had a session of P.E. up on our grassy field. We finished this afternoon quietly with a movie about the journey a sea turtle takes. They loved it! I called my Father this evening to share the wonderful news that next weekend I would be going to see Sourdough Slim. I knew nothing about him other than he wore a tall hat and played an accordion. Well Father immediately looked him up on the internet and played a couple of clips over the phone. I could tell my Father's envy was barely contained. I don't know what you'll be doing next Friday but I doubt it will involve an accordion, a banjo, and yodeling. It's okay I know you're envious... try to contain it.
On Monday we had a famous former NASCAR Driver, a NFL Hall-of-famer, and a Host of American Top Gear drive through town. My students didn't know who they were or why it was exciting but it was! They got autographs, the NFL player gave them all hats, there was a pace car, a coca-cola motorcycle, and about 70 motorcycles in all. Pretty exciting.
I don't know how long it will take my students scores to get uploaded...but not too long. They must have decided to immediately get on board with some much needed maintenance on our school starting with the parking lot. They came and killed the weeds and swept and blew off the whole lot. Tonight we are having a wind storm so that may not help. Tomorrow they are supposed to tar the cracks and seal the lot. I don't know if this means a fresh layer of pavement but I am hoping.
I did some much needed purging at the school today. I sought permission from the boss first. Then I went to town. The stuff they saved, is ridiculous. It was a great day to do it because my secretary the hoarder was chaperoning another class on a field trip. We got rid of about 4 large bags of trash. WHOOO HOOO. Now hopefully our trash guy doesn't break or pull anything on trash day. What was really scary after purging all of that is....the room didn't look like we'd thrown out anything at all. Really and Truly! You know there is a LOT of stuff when it doesn't look like anything was removed. My students were pretty tired today after a busy week of testing etc.
We had a session of P.E. up on our grassy field. We finished this afternoon quietly with a movie about the journey a sea turtle takes. They loved it! I called my Father this evening to share the wonderful news that next weekend I would be going to see Sourdough Slim. I knew nothing about him other than he wore a tall hat and played an accordion. Well Father immediately looked him up on the internet and played a couple of clips over the phone. I could tell my Father's envy was barely contained. I don't know what you'll be doing next Friday but I doubt it will involve an accordion, a banjo, and yodeling. It's okay I know you're envious... try to contain it.
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