Sub

There is nothing like having a cranky, old, sub make your students love you! I had more hugs this afternoon than I've received all year. :)

Saturday Cooking

I went and picked up my Bountiful Basket today. It was full of interesting things and so of course I had to decide what I wanted to cook up this weekend. I found this Gluten Free  Crock-pot Beef Stew and decided to give it a try. I am just not sure about the Worcestershire Sauce. It has some less than desirable ingredients in it. When I decided I was cooking today every recipe called for an ingredient I did not have so I ran to the grocery store. What a privilege to have one so near by. I also picked up some ingredients for a different lentil soup recipe than I usually make and this Gluten Free Banana Bread. I'll let you know how these cooking experiments turn out.  The first one I started cooking today was the beef stew. I've been cutting, chopping, and tossing into the crock-pot. It had better not disappoint.

The grocery store is always an adventure as a teacher in a small town. You know you are going to run into a student or two, a parent, etc. There are days when you would rather be anonymous and just run in and out. I am trying to get some laundry done and PUT AWAY. It is the second part of that equation I've been struggling with lately. It seems as though I am feeling perkier today. I am hoping this means I am on the down-side of the cold/allergy whatever it is making me tired.  The last two nights I slept and last night without Nyquil.

I also got to hang out with an old friend for awhile today which is always fun. I need to get to work on my online class. G'day to ya

P/T Conferences and more!

There hasn't been much time to write lately. I am still fighting my cold/allergy/sinus thing which is just great (uggh)!  This week was parent teacher conferences which involved a couple of 14 + hour days. Every time I have parent teacher conferences it strikes me again how important it is parents place value on their students education. If parents don't care neither do their children. Children are eager to please their parents and if they see education as having value they will work hard to be successful even if they have challenges. I see so much potential with some students but their parents don't place value on learning. I'm not saying they don't care, I'm saying the value they place on school is very, very, low.   This is another attitude a teacher must fight when working with students in the classroom. It is frustrating.

I am taking a vocabulary class. It so far has been absolutely wonderful!  As a teacher of COURSE I know vocabulary is important, and all of the reasons why. What I feel like I was missing was some well researched and FUN strategies to teach vocabulary.  I am excited about the potential of what I can do with my students. I hope I can make it engaging enough to get all of my students excited about words! 

My not so fun political science class I have to take for licensure  well this is the message I got from my professor today:

It’s What the Doctor (a.k.a. Mad Political Scientist) Ordered: Fa13PSC101_1009_WB, Intro American Politics

PSC 101,

Good morning!

I have received several emails regarding the news challenge that
I presented to you last week, and it does not surprise me how
protective some of you are about your source of news, including
your friends of family. I appreciate that many of you have
emailed me your early observations.

If you or your friends and family members believe that by
watching CNN or MSNBC you will turn into a liberal or that by
watching FOX or reading The Wall Street Journal that you will
turn into a conservative, I can assure you that this conversion
is not life threatening. However, you may want to have some
Rolaids and aspirin on hand.

In fact, there are several support groups for these types of
groups of individuals that display liberal and conservative
tendencies. The support groups are called political parties. JOIN
ONE! Check them out:

Republican National Committee
http://www.gop.com/ ( http://www.gop.com/ )

Democratic National Committee
http://www.democrats.org/ ( http://www.democrats.org/ )

Directory of U.S. Political Parties
http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm ( http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm )

I still stand by my news challenge to you. This prescription will
stay in place for the remainder of the semester. It's what the
doctor ordered.

With the focus of the news recently on global events and affairs,
the BBC World Services offers an international perspective that
other classes have enjoyed. Check out the following website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/ )

Keep me posted on any developments. Are there any questions?
Anyone in the house need a refill? 

 

Anyhow,  I think this guy is trying to persuade some people to look in alternative directions. I can't fault him that. I am not an impressionable 18 year old just beginning the college experience.  So I haven't changed my news sources. Although to be honest when school is in session I rarely have time to catch up on the news. I am invited to my neighbors for a belated birthday dinner tonight. Their son was born on my birthday but he was sick and then I was sick. So now we can enjoy it! FYI if you don't drink even 1/2 a Nyquil dose will kick your heiney! I still felt a little loopy this afternoon. It was worth the wonderful sleep that I finally had. I needed the rest.  

On Monday I will be missing a 1/2 day of teaching to go for a training on a foreign language program the district has purchased. I did a little research on it I think the program they chose is great for upper grades I don't see it working well for the younger students. That frustrates me because what I know about language and development is that small children will learn it more quickly and be able to immerse themselves in a new language more easily. Sigh.  I am hoping once I see what it is I won't be disappointed. 

Anyhow I'm off to the neighbors for supper have a lovely evening!

 

Whine Alert

Whine Alert! Feel free to move on if you don't want to read it!   I don't feel well. (feel free to add annoying whiny voice to that comment.)   Yesterday afternoon my throat started getting sore. This morning I woke up to crying eyes, running nose, and swollen glands. It is one of those runny noses where   ummm YUCKY ALERT....  you stick a Kleenex in your nostril to stem the flow. Yea so fun. I'm taking all my extra vitamins.

I did get to sleep in a little this morning before heading to class. I am getting so much out of this class. I thought about taking a decongestant before going to class but those make me feel fuzzy and wonky. Sometimes it is hard to decide what is worse the symptoms you are experiencing or the symptoms from the drug. If the swelling in my ears doesn't reduce soon I'm going to have to give in and take something. They hurt.  Okay moving on...(at least I'll try)

So the class I am taking is awesome! Every time I take some really great strategies away from it.  Okay to be honest... I almost fell asleep sitting up typing this .... so I'll try again later.

Volun....

Sometimes you don't volunteer sometimes you're "volunTOLD." That happened to me this morning. You're going to the school board meeting tonight. Okay I guess I am.  I am going so my neighbor can present something to the school board and I will watch her kids. Then the principal walks by... "So you're going to the school board meeting tonight."   I said " Yep, I was already notified." Now truthfully I could refuse but sometimes if you are willing to do what you are "volunTOLD" it is worth it  in the long run. So as tired as I may be tonight I am going to the school board meeting.

I came home after school and made my lunch for tomorrow.   I forgot it today and that was a bummer. I had some nice colleagues who shared their stashes with me. I need to get a better stash.  I do have chocolate and jerky :)!   I warmed up some of my freezer stash for dinner. My new favorite thing is my rice cooker. I can put the rice and water in ignore it and do a thousand other things and come back to cooked rice. It is great!  My gluten free beef stroganoff freezed nicely and tastes wonderful over rice. I will have to make some more of that!

I have been driving a colleague to work because her car broke down. Over the weekend she bought a new car and so she has been driving me to school for a change. It is nice to have a chauffeur! I will enjoy it for this next little bit. We talk about what we are going to do to prepare for the day on the way to school. On the way home we do a review and a quick plan for the following day. It is amazing how that can focus you on your way to or from work. I also came up with a plan for my weekend. I will probably do some cooking over the weekend just because I enjoy it. I really need to spend some quality time at school. So that is part of why I need a better stash!

 My salad-in-a-jar has been working out well. I had some chicken marinating and then realized I was out of propane for my grill. That was a bummer. So I threw it in the frying pan. It had oil from the marinade so I didn't add any to the pan. It came out tasting fine. It will work.  My fruit smoothie breakfast continues to work for me as well.  I am hoping it will work for me when the weather gets cold. I may have to have a cup of tea after the smoothie.  Speaking of cold weather my new winter coat arrived.  I think it will work great! This year I don't have morning outside duty. That is the really chilling part of the day so I should do okay.   Well I am off to figure out a little more about the three states of matter then to sleep I go...
G'nite

Webs, Nerds, Class, Chocolate... and more

It was a nice working birthday! If only birthdays only fell on the weekend right?? My colleague brought me some nice Gluten Free Cupcakes. Apparently I need to go check out the other little grocery store in town because she is always finding interesting things there. Maybe this weekend. I always say maybe on the weekend...then by the weekend I am soo pooped I say ... maybe next weekend lol! We'll see.

My class schedule continues to make me a little nutty. I need to use my old college plan with a binder for every class. I also need to post them  on my Google Calendar so I remember where to go, when to go, what to bring, who I am riding with, who I'm picking up,  and what else? I don't know it is getting a little crazy. My online class I generally do the work for on a Friday or Saturday evening because my work is due Sunday. Just in case I lose internet or something horrible I have a couple of days to figure it out. This class ends in November (not soon enough), my Monday Book Club (through February), My every other Friday Class (have no idea when it ends), and  another online class the district is paying for. ( I feel like I'm forgetting one acck) Anyhow the online class the district is generously paying for I feel like it will be very beneficial to me so I hope it will be. The principal came today and asked us again who wanted to take it. She was submitting the names to the district and they will register us and pay for the class at the same time. How crazy is that? So efficient and well generous. If you want your people to do better you give them opportunities for growth. I really forgot how amazing this district was in the area of professional development.

I did some re-organization of my classroom this weekend. It is interesting to see how students respond to change. Some took half of the day before they noticed the difference. We'll keep working on that. I have a runner this year.  It is a fast kid. BAM where did he/she go? Sigh. I am hoping we can get this under control.  For students who finished their work I've been coming up with different activities because they are being held back by those who need extra help.  I keep wondering when I am going to have time to grade papers, will I ever get caught up, and what can I do better to help them do better?

Thank goodness for M & M's and chocolate in general! Seriously!

In other news my online class latest message from our professor, I cut out the top part that reminds us when our next discussion is and that an exam is coming up. Here is the ending to our message...

"Third, does anyone watch Glee, The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy,
or Pawn Stars? My family mocks me for watching these shows. I
also watch professional racquetball. Oh, and I watched King of
Nerds earlier in the year. At Las Vegas Comic Con, I kind of got
into a fight with Hawk Man. Who would win the battle? Am I a
little nerdy and geeky?

Are there any questions?"

I have questions, I do.... I just don't think he'd appreciate them. I choose to remain silent :)

Oh yes... I walked into a spider web this afternoon. I still feel like I am removing web. It is so sticky. It gives me the chills. I did quite the irrational little dance. The last spider I found I asked my neighbor to dispose of it in the time honored way of dealing with large spiders. KILL IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE!  Okay anyhow, it was strongly suggested to me that I let this particular type of spider live because they eat black widows. So now I am paranoid about black widows. Does the existence of this spider mean I have black widows, or does it mean I have other delicious food sources?  So despite it trying to trap me in its web, I let it live. It is HUGE, UGLY, HUGE, you get the idea. I know where it is and it better stay there! I better not have any black widows or my irrational spider phobia is going to kick up several notches. Siggh...

Saturday

Ahh the adventures of Bountiful Baskets and Gluten Free Cooking. So I got mushrooms in my bountiful basket. I'm not so fond of mushrooms and I never have been. I also know all to well how they grow mushrooms. I even watched a documentary on it. Why I watched it I'm not sure but it was fascinating. Okay so mushrooms. What is the one edible thing that has mushrooms in it?  Beef Stroganoff. It truly is the only edible thing that has mushrooms in it. Of course this is my humble but highly qualified opinion (ahem).  So I made it tonight and just did a taste test and it was quite good. I am supposed to be getting more dairy in my diet so I thought that might help as well.  So I am now waiting for the rice to cook to eat it with instead of noodles.  Here is the Stroganoff recipe I used. 

Bountiful Baskets gave me a variety of fruits and veggies this week. I was happy to see some leaf  lettuce because I was out. I received  mushrooms, lettuce, a melon, pineapple, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, bananas, green beans, celery,  cauliflower, and yellow squash. A couple of those items I can't eat for religious reasons! HA not really! I just can't stand them and may be allergic to one or two. Anyhow, I shared with my neighbor. What else are neighbors for other than to share your inedible vegetables with?? It is good to have a neighbor or two who finds most things to be edible. 

During my trip south I visited Costco. I managed to stock up on a significant amount of frozen fruit. This is great because my stock pile was getting quite low. So that is wonderful. Costco also has such reasonable prices so you feel good about it in general. I also got some practical things like laundry soap and dish detergent. I was getting pretty low on laundry soap. One of the small bottles here costs the same as a huge bottle at Costco. So I'm ready for the laundry to continue. Speaking of laundry my couch is covered right now in clean clothes. 

My continuing education. It is a good thing I bought all that fruit. I am going to need the energy boost to keep pushing me through. I hadn't been getting the e-mails for my STEM class because of my move and change of work e-mail. A colleague forwarded one on. So in a couple of weeks I will be attending a STEM class along with all the other classes I am taking this fall. And when do I write lesson plans? In my sleep... In my sleep.    I have probably over extended myself. I just get so motivated because I feel like I get so much good stuff out of the classes they offer. I noticed one of my colleagues has a binder just for Professional Development this year. I am thinking I'd better do the same to keep all of my ducks in a row.  I feel like some of these classes I take should have been part of my college education. That is another story though. At least I am getting them now. It is never to late to expand your learning. 

My online class came with this message today. My cousin finds it hysterical. I find this professor sooo annoying... read and let me know your thoughts:

"Good afternoon!

I just want to remind the class that your response to BBD#3 is
due Sunday, September 15 by 11:55 p.m.

Also, did anyone attend the Las Vegas Comic Con event this past
summer? I attended the event with my son and friends. We
listened to Stan Lee, watched Jim Lee sketch Batman, Joker, and
Harley Quinn, and learned about Brony fans. Bro + Pony = Brony.
Are there any Bronies in the house? I also got into a fight with
Hawkman. It's a long story.

Are there any questions?"

 Is it bad that I wanted to ask if I did attend Comic Con will I get a bonus point or two?? HA!

Southward bound

I've said many times the past couple of weeks  Please turn off your imaginary motor, put away your imaginary bow and arrow, guitar, trumpet, and a variety of other instruments and tools. The imaginary bow and arrow has been killing a lot of imaginary flying things in the sky. He must be quite the marksman. I just asked that he leave it in his backpack until recess. We'll see how that goes. I've really had to crack down hard on procedures in my class. I finally got a little help from a colleague and a sent a couple students next door when they couldn't get it together. I am hoping this will get boring enough it will reduce occurrences.  You never know what challenges students are going through. I do know that they are making me tired.

I have continued with my daily fruit smoothies with pea protein powder. This usually takes me through to lunch without any cravings other than water or some more tea for that caffeine boost. Several of us teachers volunteered to be "secret-pals" for the year. My secret pal left me a "welcome back" gift, and another day a bar of dark chocolate. I'm feeling pretty guilty about my secret pal abilities . So I ran to the store and left a little something in their box. It felt pretty pathetic and lacked creativity. I need to work on this!

I remembered this week about a class I had taken over a year ago that I forgot to submit. Then I realized that after that I only need two more credits to move on the pay scale. I am taking a Friday class that will make up another credit. Then they offered a once a month "book club" plus some extended application of learning for a credit. I think I signed up for the book club in time. So I should be good. What made me decide to take them though... had NOTHING to do with the credit. That is a bonus. Why I decided to take them is that I have had this instructor for many classes. She is amazing. She does a ton of research about whatever resource she brings to us before she even thinks of introducing it. She makes sure it is backed up by quality research as well. I always know whatever she is going to introduce will make me a better teacher. I just don't always have enough time.  So I continue to add to my class load this fall.  Which is okay maybe I'll take a break in February... or June definitely June :)!

Tomorrow I am heading south to the big city. My neighbor and I are riding together. Their child has been sick and isn't getting well. They tried local medical care and decided to head to a pediatrician down south. We don't have a pediatrician here just general practitioners. I think some of them are good but sometimes you need a little more. Anyhow so we will do a Costco run. I'm so excited I've been making a list in my head.  I need to get my cooler ready to go. I still get to sleep in a little in the morning before we head that way. It probably won't be a fun drive 3 1/2 hours with a sick kid. We are hoping he falls asleep.

My principal has more confidence in me than I have in myself. What is weird is I am not used to a principal having confidence in me. She sent some students from a lower grade up into my class for math because they were above level and bored.  I have the majority of huge behavior challenges because of her confidence in my ability to handle it. I am just saying a prayer for myself to handle these issues every day.  Oh my!  Teaching in a public school involves so much more than teaching. Sentences come out of your mouth that you could never imagine yourself saying.  Such as " is it appropriate to draw  private body parts on the back of our spelling test or anywhere at school?"  "no?"   Siggghhhh.  It was quite detailed and we do encourage adding details in drawing or writing to make them more interesting.  Be careful what you ask for be very careful.

So it goes. I managed to get a load of  laundry in the washer and a load of dishes in. I am feeling accomplished. Oh.. by the way Dad we hooked up the cold to the hot and the hot to the cold on the washer. For now I just turn it to Hot to wash it Cold!  That may need to be changed someday. 

Found

I found which box my text books were in for my online class. The sad part was I looked in that box several times. I didn't think they were in it because one text book I didn't remember and the other one was upside down. Pathetic! So now I am trying to get my assignments done for my online class. Then work on school "stuff".

I have a lot on my school list of "to-do" items. I am thinking that some I will put on to the Volunteer Mom list. I had some guidance yesterday on coming up with a plan because of my discombobulation.  I am thinking I am on the right track. I am going to call a teacher that isn't at our school but at the same grade level. She is very experienced and seems to have a more balanced curriculum than that of my colleagues at my own school. 

Anyhow I also found a recipe for grilled tomatoes. So I am going to try that. It also says you can freeze them after you grill them. I love the canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes. So I am going to experiment with this and see if they taste as delicious in soup.   You just baste them in Olive Oil sprinkle on some garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and grill.  If I have any luck I'll let you know. Off to online class I go!