Chase: Ms. G., when you're an adult, do you get paid when they put your poems in a book?
Me: Well, sometimes. It depends on the poem and how good of a writer you are.
Chase: I can't WAIT til I'm an adult.
This week was the final week of the extended day Remediation program-- I've been filling in for various people when they couldn't be there. I brought sugar cookies (uh, slice-n-bake, duh) and icing and sprinkles so we could at least have a little something fun. I even found a grade-level activity sheet about cookies and ratios. Hollah! (I'm shaking my head at my nerdiness there.)
Me: You need to get started on your warm-up problems because we won't have time to make cookies otherwise.
Rafael: (clearly math is not the area he needs help in) We're going to bake cookies? We're only here for 45 minutes, Ms. g. There's just not time.
Me: Uh, we're Making cookies, not Baking them. I should be more clear. We're decorating and eating cookies-- the good part.
Rafael: Well, alright.
And, PS, on the cookie situation-- I totally ate WAY to many of those and had a sugar coma as SOON as I got home.
It's Spring break next week and also April Fool's Day this week... so I've been asking the kids to write about possible pranks. My fav? "I'm going to get a cup of warm water and sneak up on my mean brother while he is sleeping. If he is completely sleeping, then I will put his hand in it and make it look like he peed on hisself."-- I wish I could put the picture she drew to go with it...it included a stick figure and a blob next to the legs, and a key describing the water, the "wet spot" and the brother.
In other, non-teaching, news...took Bella for a walk tonight and realized that Decaturites TOTALLY do not understand what is and is not supposed to go in recycling. Hello! Styrofoam, NOT it. Plastic bags of all varieties? NOT it. Dirty, dirty, dirty bottles not cleaned out in the least, NOT it. The nice thing about it being co-mingled recycling is that most of the households in my neighborhood participate. It majorly cuts out on garbage for the landfill. I like it; but, dude. Read the list of things.
Also, planted part of my garden before the tiller either, a. ran out of gas, or b. realized it has been sitting out since last summer and its fuel is old and rancid, so it quit working. Meheh. Planted some of the seedlings I've started indoors in peat pots-- including arugala, spinach, basil, parsley, bell peppers, carnival peppers, cucumbers, squash. I also planted the beans that I yanked out of over-zealous students' cups-- um, you can't put 8 lima beans in a 3 oz. cup of dirt. We shall see...I'm hoping for gentle rain, lots of sun, few insect problems, and that the dogs will chase all the rodents and birds who eat my produce away. :-)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
So glad they can't...
...hear what I'm thinking in my head.
Couple of things this week...it's been a funny week.
I've been teaching plant life cycles and so we've been planting seedlings and most of these kids are so used to watching tv, that they have absolutely no life experience. It's kinda sad, but enlightening to see the looks on their faces when they touch real DIRT for the first time.
--One little boy took what I said about planting seeds to save the earth to heart-- he stopped me in the hall way to give me orange seeds, apple seeds, and corn kernals he'd picked out of his food at lunch all week. (I'm saying, "Thank you, baby, you're a good earth citizen!" and thinking "omg, gross, gross, gross, when can I wash my hands!?")
--This little boy (approximately age 5) has recently lost the ability to say "L" sounds because he has lost his front teeth. He had a vocabulary word this week: piglet. When asked, he announces, "a piggwit is a yittel baby pig." I asked him multiple times just because it made me laugh too much inside.
--Since overcrowding is a fact and realization in most all of the classes I teach, I assign "captain" positions to the crowded classes mainly for my sanity and to get stuff cleaned back up. I made the really OCD prissy kids be the Soil Captain who had to make sure no one got too much soil in their cup for seedlings. Watching their faces as they HAD to touch something dirty was just too much.
--I've been going really green for both St. Patrick's Day and early Earth Day stuff and reading Dr. Seuss's The Lorax to most all of my classes. When giving advice on ways to save the earth, the most ridiculous one has been (age 8)..."it's important not to litter because littering is bad for the earth. when you throw gum on the ground it messes up the roads for the animals eating the gum and the cars might get stuck on the sticky gum. the gum might make accidents because cars have pollution smoke in the back and the cars would get stuck in the gum and not go very far." What's this kid's brain like???
-- We're charged with making these "Academic Galleries" or "Standards-based boards" and part of it is student work with both teacher and student comments. My favorite comment today? "I liked the way she rimed in her poem. I woulda drawed the picture better."
--Teaching transition words (first, then, next, last, etc.) always makes me want to say, "Step one, cut a hole in a box. Step two..."
And last, but certainly not least...
-- overheard this week "miss g is a slut. I saw her thong. girls who wear thongs are sluts." ...interesting since I never seem to have my pants off at work, and I'm not really sure how this child got this information and managed to draw this conclusion about me. Can a kid be sued for slander?
Oh, but maddddddd props go out to Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Kids in Need store. I got 141 pounds of stuff...donated to my class for my students to use. I've already put paper, pencils, new crayons, pencil bags, toothbrushes, chapstick, and gluesticks to work. Can't wait to use the Environment funbooks during Earth Week! If you have funds to donate and don't already have a favorite charity-- this is a good one and you can know that your money will be put to great use. :)
Couple of things this week...it's been a funny week.
I've been teaching plant life cycles and so we've been planting seedlings and most of these kids are so used to watching tv, that they have absolutely no life experience. It's kinda sad, but enlightening to see the looks on their faces when they touch real DIRT for the first time.
--One little boy took what I said about planting seeds to save the earth to heart-- he stopped me in the hall way to give me orange seeds, apple seeds, and corn kernals he'd picked out of his food at lunch all week. (I'm saying, "Thank you, baby, you're a good earth citizen!" and thinking "omg, gross, gross, gross, when can I wash my hands!?")
--This little boy (approximately age 5) has recently lost the ability to say "L" sounds because he has lost his front teeth. He had a vocabulary word this week: piglet. When asked, he announces, "a piggwit is a yittel baby pig." I asked him multiple times just because it made me laugh too much inside.
--Since overcrowding is a fact and realization in most all of the classes I teach, I assign "captain" positions to the crowded classes mainly for my sanity and to get stuff cleaned back up. I made the really OCD prissy kids be the Soil Captain who had to make sure no one got too much soil in their cup for seedlings. Watching their faces as they HAD to touch something dirty was just too much.
--I've been going really green for both St. Patrick's Day and early Earth Day stuff and reading Dr. Seuss's The Lorax to most all of my classes. When giving advice on ways to save the earth, the most ridiculous one has been (age 8)..."it's important not to litter because littering is bad for the earth. when you throw gum on the ground it messes up the roads for the animals eating the gum and the cars might get stuck on the sticky gum. the gum might make accidents because cars have pollution smoke in the back and the cars would get stuck in the gum and not go very far." What's this kid's brain like???
-- We're charged with making these "Academic Galleries" or "Standards-based boards" and part of it is student work with both teacher and student comments. My favorite comment today? "I liked the way she rimed in her poem. I woulda drawed the picture better."
--Teaching transition words (first, then, next, last, etc.) always makes me want to say, "Step one, cut a hole in a box. Step two..."
And last, but certainly not least...
-- overheard this week "miss g is a slut. I saw her thong. girls who wear thongs are sluts." ...interesting since I never seem to have my pants off at work, and I'm not really sure how this child got this information and managed to draw this conclusion about me. Can a kid be sued for slander?
Oh, but maddddddd props go out to Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Kids in Need store. I got 141 pounds of stuff...donated to my class for my students to use. I've already put paper, pencils, new crayons, pencil bags, toothbrushes, chapstick, and gluesticks to work. Can't wait to use the Environment funbooks during Earth Week! If you have funds to donate and don't already have a favorite charity-- this is a good one and you can know that your money will be put to great use. :)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
More on this later....but maybe this is true for me. If I've loved you, you've been in a part of my heart leaving little footprints that just won't go away. Sometimes that nostalgia is so beautiful and uplifting, and sometimes that pain is so strong and overwhelming. Different sides of us come out based on the company we keep...I hope I'm keeping the company that I'm proud of.
Thank you, post secret.com. You are awesome :https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim90vugm3QSI_BJ84MENDa-Q7VFZCcUAbHWsJy_uT2gdw4vNga4sn_oz-FuyLnxBfApVU_gY_I3iYYtRmb-KXINg61OoEFMPt2PLgtqej3rrkzVs527ezqgOVz8Od0XH-hl3bJcB_8_81h/s1600-h/partsofmyself.jpg
Happy valentine's day, people! :) <3
Sunday, January 10, 2010
No resolutions, I think
So, it's January and we got our first SNOW DAY! I can't say I did anything fabulous with it, other than marvel at the fact that Decatur/Atlanta resembled Chicago or DC in times when I've been there. It was lovely to watch the snow flutter as I was snuggled in bed, see snow on the ground for so many days, hear it crunch under my dog's paws, slide around on the snow and the ice (when I was on my feet-- the sliding in the car was unpleasant).
I rang in the new year with Annalise, Emily, Stumbles, and Kip in Big Canoe and at Amicalola Falls. The Blue moon was beautiful and the evening--it was COLD and fun. AL's house in the mountains is a fun place to go-- and the company was good. I think I resolve to have a low-key New Year's next year too.
I did a lot of housesitting over the holidays and that's always nice. I enjoy pretending like I live in these eclectic neighborhoods and well-dressed houses for a short amount of time. Then, like traveling, it gives you a stronger sense of home-- I'm always ready to clean up and go back home to my bed and my stuff.
The school year has started back off well enough (well, if we count this snow day, then this school year has started in a spectacularly awesome fashion). If I sound ungrateful for my job, I am not. I am incredibly happy with the work that I do and so happy that I've found this little niche at such a young age. I hope to use my time for more publication and conferences, because I really, really hate mornings. I could get used to a more flexible schedule in some way shape or form, and I hope I'm both brave enough and qualified enough to make that happen in my future. For right now, my present is pretty sweet. I have awesome kids, kind colleagues, and am using so much of my talents and knowledge of the field, I can't believe it.
I have to mention that there's been a pile of horsecrap landing on my plate in the form of a certain ex-boyfriend. Hopefully, with time, it will stop smelling as much and reeking steam lines in my face. Blah.
But on the other hand, I'm realizing what damn wonderful friends I have. A couple in particular-- Christy listened to me babble about this with a non-critical, but observant ear and texts me whenever I need to further babble. Emily has been getting me the hell outta bed and trying to give me the support I need-- even when it's a little mean. Shelley-- even though a million miles away, heard some of the details and gave me advice from a similar situation she'd lived through to tell the tale of. I cannot go without saying what an incredible woman and friend I have in Annalise. This girl is so young in body yet so old in spirit and wisdom-- even when she doesn't think she has business telling me her wisdom, she's helped me through soooooo much of this disgusting drama. I'm so thankful for her. She's awesome.
So, what are you resolving? I've got some goals for myself-- but I'm a little prideful to put them on teh intahwebs because I don't want to not succeed in them and have to answer that out loud. I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and hope for more positivity, more thankfulness, and more lovely lunas. We did just have that glorious blue moon!
I rang in the new year with Annalise, Emily, Stumbles, and Kip in Big Canoe and at Amicalola Falls. The Blue moon was beautiful and the evening--it was COLD and fun. AL's house in the mountains is a fun place to go-- and the company was good. I think I resolve to have a low-key New Year's next year too.
I did a lot of housesitting over the holidays and that's always nice. I enjoy pretending like I live in these eclectic neighborhoods and well-dressed houses for a short amount of time. Then, like traveling, it gives you a stronger sense of home-- I'm always ready to clean up and go back home to my bed and my stuff.
The school year has started back off well enough (well, if we count this snow day, then this school year has started in a spectacularly awesome fashion). If I sound ungrateful for my job, I am not. I am incredibly happy with the work that I do and so happy that I've found this little niche at such a young age. I hope to use my time for more publication and conferences, because I really, really hate mornings. I could get used to a more flexible schedule in some way shape or form, and I hope I'm both brave enough and qualified enough to make that happen in my future. For right now, my present is pretty sweet. I have awesome kids, kind colleagues, and am using so much of my talents and knowledge of the field, I can't believe it.
I have to mention that there's been a pile of horsecrap landing on my plate in the form of a certain ex-boyfriend. Hopefully, with time, it will stop smelling as much and reeking steam lines in my face. Blah.
But on the other hand, I'm realizing what damn wonderful friends I have. A couple in particular-- Christy listened to me babble about this with a non-critical, but observant ear and texts me whenever I need to further babble. Emily has been getting me the hell outta bed and trying to give me the support I need-- even when it's a little mean. Shelley-- even though a million miles away, heard some of the details and gave me advice from a similar situation she'd lived through to tell the tale of. I cannot go without saying what an incredible woman and friend I have in Annalise. This girl is so young in body yet so old in spirit and wisdom-- even when she doesn't think she has business telling me her wisdom, she's helped me through soooooo much of this disgusting drama. I'm so thankful for her. She's awesome.
So, what are you resolving? I've got some goals for myself-- but I'm a little prideful to put them on teh intahwebs because I don't want to not succeed in them and have to answer that out loud. I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and hope for more positivity, more thankfulness, and more lovely lunas. We did just have that glorious blue moon!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Post secret '10
From Postsecret this week:
The editor, Frank usually has one "secret" secret image-- like this one, where if you mouse over it, there are 2 images for one spot. I think it's funny and I might just start doing that too.
When I was 17 and in Europe, I took the door hangers from every hotel I stayed in and saved them in my scrapbook. I don't know why other than it was free and I liked how some places put only the language of the country we were in and others put multiple one. Good secrets, postsecret.com!
The editor, Frank usually has one "secret" secret image-- like this one, where if you mouse over it, there are 2 images for one spot. I think it's funny and I might just start doing that too.
When I was 17 and in Europe, I took the door hangers from every hotel I stayed in and saved them in my scrapbook. I don't know why other than it was free and I liked how some places put only the language of the country we were in and others put multiple one. Good secrets, postsecret.com!
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