Thursday, September 28

Loveland

I forgot that Campion is in Loveland, CO (or near it) . What a name of a town. I wonder how it got it's name. Was it named after a person? Or is it really a land of love? haha

Seriously though, it's reputed to be lovely, and this time of year fall colors are reputedly brilliant. Guess I'll be taking my camera not just for pics of the girls at Academy days, but the Rockies in the fall as well. Oh wow, NINE hours of driving on friday. Three Teenage girls, my mom and I all in one vehical. I do hope all our bags will fit. Hmm, we really need some guys in the 9th grade to balance out the craziness.

We do have some interesting topics discussed. Our new student is very talkative and full of questions, and the class is a lot more conversational now. I get a kick out of them. Of course I was a little shocked to hear that my ninth graders did not know what a holocost was, and one of them had only just heard a story (on Oprah no less) about what happened in the Nazi 'work camps' to the children and elderly. They are in ninth grade!

"We don't talk about the Holocost because it causes people to become racist, right Miss K?"

My jaw quite literally dropped when one of my students stated that. Where could that thought come from? I've got some work cut out for me here. I'm putting together some 'extra-curricular' lessons to broaden thier understandings.

I'm being called to come the the aid of a confused student. She's struggling with an assignment. I know she'll figure it out, just needs a little extra guidance. ;)

Wednesday, September 27

Looney Pups

Tipsy, the family boxer/airedale, has everyone shaking thier heads. She has evidence of intelligence at times and many others not so much. She loves people. No one can be a stranger long, even if they desire to be. Her foot fettish has startled more then one person. I'm not sure what is so great about feet (in shoes or not), but they are so fascinating and tasty. Lick lick lick . . . yuck yuck yuck!

Of course she also can't handle dog food with food coloring. She's wired enough at times already, once she eats food with artificial colors . . . The ceiling isn't safe. Well, maybe the ceiling isn't in danger, but everything else is. Talk about ADHD children, we've got a dog that is a classic case. She can be calm, but when there's something new, BOING! watch out! Tipsy's coming through.

Sunday, pips came to school with me. I told her "let's go to my room pip" and she trotted to the end of the hall and waited for me at my classroom door. When I was done, "to mom's room!" You could have pictured a small horse galloping down the hall, turn the corner and disapear. As I came around the corner, there she was, smiling her dopey smile at just inside mom's classroom door. Mom happened to be in one of the other teacher's room at the time, so, "lets go get mom!" As if just waiting for permission to go, Tipsy charged out of the room and around the corner and up the stairs, straight to mom. She's not stupid, yet she will also do some of the most looney things.

Tim calls her "sus-tut-U-pup - I -dud" and many times, it is quite appropriate. I'll have to write some of her crazy adventures sometime, but beware, if you ever meet her, she's a brute of a love bug. She will "attack" with wiggles and stomping on your feet, with a few taste tests of your shoes/socks (if you are lucky enough to have them on). She'll love you, no matter what.

Egypt

My Social Studies class (the 5th through 8th graders) are studying Egypt the next few days. It's fascinating stuff, but I struggle with this area in social studies, I just don't know enough to make it REALLY interesting. :( Now if it was US History, yeah, I've got lots of stuff. Or Even European or Russian, but right now, I've not a lot in this area. I'm hoping to get this interactive game for the kids, but the problem is, we only have so many days before we need to get into Israel and most of these 'games' are spread over several weeks. HMPH! There just isn't enough time to get everything in to really get into it and learn. I hope thier Egypt projects will go over well. They are going to make a presentation on some specific topic related to Ancient Egypt using a computer slideshow materials and . . . whadda ya know, they are here to start Social Studies.
. . .


Tuesday, September 26

hmmmm

So I sat down to just blab for a few while my students are working on thier online assignments, and well . . . several students came in to get directions about differant assignments and I ran out of time. My first through fourth grade music class is coming . . .


AHHHHH . . . BAND NOW!!!



All done. Clean up and go home!

yeah!

Yeah! I'm feeling better!!! Still a little sore, but woohoo! I didn't wake up yucky this morning. Perhaps the second lapse of this bug that's going around the school won't get me. hehe!


Monday, September 25

Just another manic . . .

Colds, flus, crud . . . whatever it is, it's going around and kids and teachers are just struggling. I've been fighting something all weekend, and . . . HMPH! I don't wanna feel this way anymore!!! YUCK!

So I've not minded Mondays until today. Today when I just want to crawl back in bed and sleep or curl up in a blanket on the big comfy recliner with a steaming cup of herbal tea. It's difficult to keep kids focused when your own mind is out somewhere, taking a snooze. I'm thankful I didn't blow up at all at anyone. I can be such a grouch when I'm cruddy. God is really working hard on me today, and boy am I thankful.

Hmmm, I do hope this is gone before Friday. Driving the 8-9 hours up to Campion Academy with my 9th graders for Academy Days will be . . . eww, don't want to even contimplate that.

WOOHOO!! I'm going up towards Denver this weekend!. I've wanted to see the Campion Academy campus for quite some time, and Friday I will. I'm trying to remember if it is at Campion or Mile High that has a classmate of mine working there. It would be fun catching up, and maybe get to know others from the area too.

Well, I've got to clean up this classroom of mine and prepare for tomorrow. OH NO! Kindergarten music tomrorrow! I forgot to pick up somehting for the class on Sunday. Bugger! I'll have to revise the lesson plans, and do that next week, or maybe Thursday. OH! Band is tomorrow too. BAND! hehe, it's the most unique "band" I've ever been a part of. 4 flutes, 2 clarinets and 2 trumpets. Where do I get music for this group? I'm trying to order the same songs in ensemble/trio music for the three differant instruments, and praying that they will work with each other and won't have to be transposed. Any ideas out there? I'd love some. The kids really want to play music from such films as Star Wars and such, but how? Beyond the fact that they are beginners, the instrument arrangements for most of those types of songs has a few more instruments. OK, I need to get some tea or something and curl up for awhile. I'm starting to grump again!

Off I go to clean and home!

Saturday, September 23

light headed, haha

Yesterday morning mom called me and asked if I was going to come down to the school. I had been planning on doing that, but I decided that I needed to work on the church bulletin I offered to do for a friend since she was going to be out of town. And I didn't really need to go to the school since I was planning to go down on Sunday. Then Mom asked if I woudl come down, and we'd go get our hair done.

OOOOOOhhh! Well I desprately needed a haircut and oh yeah, I needed a wax. I was feeling furry cattapiller eyebrows. Soo, I'm feeling much lighter now on top of my head. :)

I've probably the fastest growing hair, and inch or more a month. I let my hair grow longer then it has been in awhile, and it was around mid-back length or longer, and let me tell you, it gets awfully heavy to have such long hair, as well as having lots of it. I think the girl who cut my hair took off around five pounds of hair. LOL I can still pull my hair up, but I've now got the closest thing to bangs I will ever have as well. a small amount of hair cut at cheekbone length. Any shorter and I'd be back in 7th or 8th grade with the Big Bangs. Crazy calics (sp?). It looks like I have short hair, and yet it still in parts is long. OH brother! I'm blogging nonsense . . . my hair cut? LOL such an exciting life I lead. :p Maybe I'll post a pic later . . .

This morning two of my students were baptized! That was awesome. They are a 6th and 7th grade boys who are quite talkitive and funny at times, and yet so serious at other times. So sincere are they, and I'm blessed to have them in my classes. My mom, thier homeroom teacher was just beeming today when they were baptized. She's awsome like that. She's had these kids now only five weeks, and she loves them so, and is already invested her heart into them. She really is a great teacher, if for nothing else, for her love and concern for her students success and salvation and a desire for each of them to feel loved and safe. Sure, she's an "older" teacher now (though I don't think she is), but she's a lot more open then most. It must be her generation. :) She has students emailing her, im'ing her and some calling if and when they can. They all know that thier teacher loves them and rejoices in thier successes and joys, and prays for them too.

God's really blessed me! I hope and pray through me maybe I'll be a blessing to others too.


Tuesday, September 19

mmmmm . . . sooo lovely

This last weekend I went out with one of the churches here to the Mountains in Colorado for Sabbath services and fellowship. My students invited me to go, and though I wasen't feeling all that great (some yucky virus or flu bug that's going around), I'm glad that my family and I went. It's so amazing what only an hour north of here has. Well, it is the Rockies!

So we went to the La Plata Mountains and I got a few good shots of the area with my 35mm slr that I need to develope, I can hardly wait to see! However, I did get a few on my digital camera.

The differance in landscape from an hour north of this little town in the high desert to an hour south. Both so unique and beautiful.

Here's a picture from the drive to the La Platas.


Here is a shot I got as we entered the La Platas



We had a nice informal worship service with about 20 others who came up this weekend, and had a lovely picnic like lunch. It was very cold though, and the wind . . . wow! I had several layers on, and wished for a few more. It's only September!!! My brother though . . . yikes! I don't know how he missed me mentioning that it was going to be cold up there, he got it in his head that it was going to be warm. (not used to sunshine and cold I guess, or he forgot what it is like to go up into the mountains) He didn't bring a coat, and only had a shortsleeved shirt and thankfully jeans. Crazy boy! he brought shorts to change into. Oh I laughed when he said he probably wouldn't be changing. I tried to share my windbreaker at least with him, but he said no. All the church family there were asking if he wanted a blanket, a jacket, a sweater . . . he just said no.

A portion of the group decided to then drive up to the top. At first I wasen't sure if I should. You see, you can only go up if you have a four-wheel drive vehical, and not a low riding one at that. So with that in mind, I had a feeling it would be a bumpy ride, and so my aching back (that wierd bug thing we think) didn't realllly want to go, but my heart did! Then one of the guys mentioned his was probably the most cushioned vehicle, I was there, and in the front passenger seat! Mom came in the same vehicle and the three of us, and the suv made our way up the mountain. What a ride!

A pic half way up, looking back a ways, you can't see the road more then that, it zig-zagged up. This is probably the last place that we had that was a childs rollercoaster, after this stop, it was a VERY bumpy ride :)

There's my brother in his thin, shortsleeve shirt as well. Oh yeah, after this place, you prayed you didn't run into anyone coming down the mountain in a truck. The road was barely wide enough for one to go up.

Here's another shot of some of the scenery going up the mountain.
A little waterfall, that actually eventually made it down and crossed the road we were on.



We finally made it to the top of the mountain area, well, as far up as I thought we could go in a car and we walked down to this area that was just spectacular. I wish I had the pictures from my other camera to show, but this will do I suppose.



That picture with Tim, well where his right heal is , that is the end of the world! Well, it is actually a drop off to several hundred feet of sheer rock face. It is a little scary in a way. You can go around a little bit and see part of it.

Here's my 9th graders sitting at that place where Tim is standing in the above picture on the cliff.


As we got back to the trucks, I thought oh, we're going to go back down. Then my 9th graders hopped in the SUV I was riding in, and said they were driving. I laughed, thinking they were kidding. Shoot! thier only 15, and maybe have thier permits. And then the driver got in on the passenger seat and said we're going up to Notch, the highest point you could drive on this mountain side, and on of the girls was driving up there. I don't have any pictures of that drive, I was VERY nervous to say the least, but I will describe it for you.

On the left, the rocky mountainside went strait up a few hundred feet, on the right, strait down. And the width of the "road" . . . barely wide enough for narrow truck.

Well, with careful guidance by the driver, and one bump on the head on the side of the car (my head :p) we got to the Notch. Three vehicles, I wish I had a picture of that, but I don't have it on my digital camera, it was amazing to watch them turn the vehicles around.

Here's my girls on the top of the Mountain. (for some reason, all my pictures are coming out dark on here, but they aren't on anything else)

Both of them took turns driving down the mountain, back to the campsite. I was nervous at times, but they both did a very good job. A little practice, and they will be excellent drivers someday.


And one last picture. Similar to another, but slightly more colorful and . . .

Wednesday, September 13

Lines, lines and more lines

I just thought this was cute . . . one of the art projects my 1st through 4th graders did. Made catapillers in a lesson of using lines.

Poor thing got smashed so the scanner made some dark marks were there are rinkles.

Monday, September 11

Mondays . . .

So I woke up this morning, and was ready for a new day . . . hmph! Actually I woke up feeling exaughsted and ready to go back to sleep. Then it hit me, I had the strangest dreams. Last night, I got caught up in the ABC movie "Path to 9/11" and I believe that it affected my dreams. OH no, I KNOW it did. I woke up this morning from a dream where I was a part of a taskforce to get the known and captured terrorists to cooperate with officials to peacefully and . . . I don't have any idea. I was a government agent, working to capture and glean information, and I did it all, without carying a gun or weapon of any kind. LOL, I also dreamed that it was World War II, probably as a result of a book I'm reading relating to WW2.

I can only immagine today being that of grief for many families and friends of those who died as a result of the plane hyjackings. To see footage of what was, the murder of a parent, aunt, uncle, child, spouse . . . everytime pictures and film footage is shone on TV. We're told that footage of Steve Irwin's death will never be aired, and that of other deaths that have been caught on film. This out of respect for the families as well, and yet over and over is played the WTC and the Pentagon. These families were in my prayers over the last few days, and my students' as well. Such sencerity from my 9th graders in concern for other people. They are such sweet, caring girls, and I'm proud to be thier teacher. :)

Guess it's time to turn off this computer and head out. I've got to purchase some charts for PE and get something to eat . . . GRRRRRRRROWL! my stomach can be heard echoing throughout the school practically.


Thursday, September 7

Another Week!

Phew! this was a short school week, but my was it busy. My 9th grader's online school work finally arrived! Three weeks into the school year. It seems that it is pretty self-explanitory. YES! After installing it onto the computers, I was worried. It was a little tricky to install, it was all . . . disconbobulated (sp?)

I love four day school weeks, and then only three this week because of the holiday. It means that I can have a day off during the weekend! I can do planning or whatever needs done on Fridays and not have to work sunday, or vise versa. Most parents and students appreciate four day weeks too, Three day weekend. :) I'm blabbering . . . guess I'm exaughsted, and thinking about next week is ITBS testing week . . . hmph.

OH! OH! Yippee! I'm playing bass this weekend with my dad, and a few others here at the church. I have found a great book that I'm learning from, that is helping me with playing the cords!!! :D

ok, i've got to go to my lovely bed. the screen is weaving!