OIY! Crazy BEASTS!!!!!

All's well that ends well . . . or is it?

With all that I've seen and experiance as a teacher, or working at summer camps, and just personal relationships . . . that statement just does not ring true.

Example: Today for PE, the grades 1-4 were playing games with the parachute. Lots of fun! Listening however, is lacking today. While playing Mousetrap, one of the 4th graders, a guy who likes to make people laugh, got caught. So, while in underneath, he stuck his head through the middle hole and gave us all a cheezy grin. Caos erupts! several students are still holding the parachute waiting for the young man to come back out, but one jumps onto the shoot to walk up to the kid in the middle, pulling the chute across his neck. Another starts pulling the shoot and laughing at the kid in the middle, pulling it tighter and tighter. I told everyone "Drop the Parachute". The few who are listening do so, immediately, noticing the problem. "DROP THE CHUTE!!!!" I ended up yelling and blowing my whistle, "GET OFF! of it! AND LET GO NOW!!!" The one walking on, saunters off, not understanding, but realizing he has crossed a line because my voice was rather loud and forceful. The other student just pulls harder and harder laughing away (completely unaware, and ignoring me). I'm frantically trying to pull against him to prevent the kid in the middle from being strangled. "___________ DROP THE PARACHUTE NOW!!!" he finally lets go, and the child in the center comes out, uninjured, but knowing he was in some serious trouble. I was quaking on the inside. It is a parachute! no one should get hurt playing with it, but for some reason, these kids find ways to do so, and are just plain clueless about it. Ok, that's unfair, most of the students were aware, and several were also trying to tell the ones on and pulling to let go . . . still! Sure, all ended "well" but is all well that ended well? did it even end well? I probably over reacted following . . . I won't get into that. It wasen't that bad, but I still am a little disturbed by the whole thing!

HMPH! You'd think it was a full moon.

Crazy Like Me!

Working at summer camps is life changing, and always a part of you. Random thoughts buzzed about my head (almost like an old Get Smart show of the silent room) as I sit here listening to my ninth grader read her "paper". Wow! it amazes me how much these kids do not understand what it means to write a paper. Oh well . . . off subject . . . like I said, random thoughts.

Strange as it was, I got to thinking about some lovely friends that I worked camps with. The last night I was at camp, four of us . . . people who I worked the longest with at Camp W, all took off after the final play Saturday night, in our Bible costumes to McD's. Yup, they are all crazy like me . . . shoot, a little kookier too. ;)

Of course, now I'm thinking about this next summer, and I don't get to work at camp. I'll probably be in summer classes. OHHH! I get to go to a wedding!!! woohoo! I'm soo excited! SH is getting married!!!! I'm soo happy for her! Can't wait to see her and meet her fiance too.

Oh goodie, PE time. What in the world, did I take the wrong cold medicine, my thoughts are everywhere!

The Crud

Crud! my sinuses are full of ucky crud! I just love being a teacher sometimes when the kids come to school with all thier colds and flus, viruses . . .

After eating out with some friends from church and the school here on Thursday night, I started to get a sore throat and it just went down hill from there. Probably didn't help that the restraunt had a smoking section, and it was the only section to be able to eat with a large group. Good food, good company . . . lousy smokers!

OH well! I'm starting to recouperate . . . spent the last few nights sleeping in a recliner in the living room. Have to 'sit up' to sleep. :P But wow, I feel better enough to be here at the school. Hopefully no student comes with another cold, flu, virus . . . I'm recovering, no immunity for new buggies.

Ok, perk up girl! You don't have choir today!!!! only band. LOL!

Yeah!!!! Going to Drama Convention!

February I take a flight to Kansas City and go to a Christian Drama and Worship Workshop Convention. I'm looking forward to it for so many reasons.
1. It's a drama workshop!
2. My roommate is going to be friend and I think of in many ways as a second mom. :)
3. I get to get off work for two days. :D
4. Blessings from the programs they are putting on.
5. Materials and ideas to bring back with me to help in continuing school drama, starting church drama and kids ministries . . .
6. and soo much more, I've only a little idea what all it's going to be.
7. I get to return on my 'lil bro's 26th birthday early enough that we can still do something fun. :)

ok, I'm rambling, but I really am excited about it.

OH, it's time for art class with grades 5 & up. It will be interesting.

oh oh, I got a new watch and a pair of Funky sunglasses . . . tooo much fun. :D I'll have to get a pic of both on sometime, they are just kickin'. :D

Sabbath!!!

As a whole, there are a lot more sunny days here then ever was in Wisconsin, and Indiana, but today is a little cloudy. Snow is falling, in a round about way. As I look out the window, a flake slowly drifts around in the air and eventually makes it's final resting spot on the ground. The time it takes to get there is pretty fascinating. I've only scene about two to three at a time. Such lazy snowflakes. :)

I got a surprise in the mail today! My dear friend Sara, who's off at SAU, sent the most endearing thing for Christmas, New Year, and most "importantly" my Birthday :D I LOVE IT!!! Thank you Sara!!! I'm not sure if I'm going to take it to school or in my room, but woohoo :D Thanks luv! You're thoughtfulness made my day. :)

And now I'm off, to participate in some lovely Sabbath afternoon, lay activities. :) Happy Sabbath all!

Two More Days!

It is only two day until the quarter ends. Talk about rush rush rush for some students who realized they didn't have thier work done "all of a sudden". Well, at least they are finally getting that if they don't turn in the work, they can't get credit for it. So, I'm getting a lot of work to be graded from WAY back at the begining of the quarter. Today is actually thier last class day for the quarter for Social Studies, and that is the class they've been lax in the most. I was mortified by this kids grades, but all my hounding and prodding was getting know where until last week when I printed out thier grades and they HAD to get thier parents to sign it. Wah La!

Last night, after school, the drama with the irrate mother came together in a lovely conference with the Principal, myself, and the student's biological father. Neither the principal (who is the child's home room teacher) nor myself backed down from our grading techniques, but dad seemed to agree with us, soooo . . . well it turned out well.

Have a lovely day all

New Day!

Today is a new day! It will be a marvelous one!!!

And the meeting with the afforementioned parent and thier student.

So what! It's a beautiful day! Sun is shining, air is crisp, and I've got a cute hairdo. :D

Hope everyone has a good day too.

Ventings of a Harried Teacher!

I'm so irritated today . . . I could SCREAM!!! It is one thing to have a child who's parents are upset because their grades are low. Especially if they did not do the assignments correctly nor ontime. When you have given numorous instructions, time to follow them. Opportunities for students to ask for help. Offered to help. Set out a definate plan of when things are due, etc . . . I'm frustrated about thier grades too. How can someone say, their child didn't know what to do. "You never told them." "He can barely ask me for help, so him asking you is impossible" "You can't write things on kids papers, you should never write anything negative on their papers" (negative? "You can do better. I expect you to put more of an effort to get things done ontime and to follow the directions." on a paper that they have failed because they refused to follow directions) "There is nothing wrong with this paper, he answered the questions." Yeah, he answered the questions, as minimally as possible on a paper that was a 'research' paper, and only one sentence per page! He asked how long it needed to be, I said it needed to be complete. I'm soooo . . . how many times did I ask him if he needed any help? "NO" or remind him he needed to get busy on his project and don't forget the visual. "ok" "I don't care" AHHHHHH!

And then, I set up a website/blog so that parents can see what thier students have been assigned for that day, because I am tired of kids saying, I didn't know, you never told me. Or a parent saying, you never told him, how is he suppose to know. And I get reemed about that! Apparently they don't want their child to have any part of it. Hello? I'm not going to be posting students names or pictures without prior permission from the parents! I very nicely told the mother this. "well, just pretend he isn't one of your students when you are doing this". ?huh? It's for his and their benifit, and it is giving absolutely NO personal information about the students. I've several parents who've mentioned they like this. I don't have anything set up yet so that they can also get online and check thier childs grades, but eventually we will. OH well!

I guess all those years of education, teaching, and studying under some of the best teachers I know, is all bunk. Well I know that is not true, but to hear this parent talk, I don't know how to grade, I grade wrong, the principal teaches wrong, and because the child has up untill now always been an A/B student then it is all our doing. Wait, so, his refusal to take responsibility, and the parent insists that he be spoonfed all he is supposed to do . . . HE'S IN SEVENTH GRADE!!! He is supposed to think for himself, and start being responsible for his own work!

AHHHHHH!!!!! ok, calm down . . . the rest of the day has been going rather well. Only one crazy 'fight' with 3rd and 4th graders who just misinterpreted each other. Off to upper grades PE.

One Whole Year!

One year ago today I started writing this blog. A lot has happened. I'm a year older and . . . It's been kinda fun. Blogging is a great venting and sharing experiance. This new year I see a number of blogs to come and probably more changes and events in my life that I look forward to sharing. Though I still wonder what it is that fascinates us to looking into the lives of other people . . . maybe to understand ourselves more and to understand one another as well.

I do hope you all have a lovely year. I'm expecting good things . . . can't wait to tell you all about them. :)

A Whole New Year!

Wow . . . 2007! It actually has a good ring to it. Hmm, it just might be a good year. Naw, it's gonna be a great year. how can it not be, with a 7 on the end. hehe. Besides, it means 30 years of life and that's gonna be a good year right? I mean, I've heard it is, and I've got a good feeling about it.

The 2nd is only a few minutes away . . . woohooo. :|

OH! I'm not much of a football fan, but even I have to admit, it was pretty cool watching Boise vs. Oklahoma. Or at least the overtime plays. WOW! WAY TO GO, IDAHO!!! pretty amazing plays, and leadership to pull that off. And as I hear it, they were expected to be slaughtered. I love it when the underdog makes it!

And that will probably my one and only football reference, of my own amazement. Haha. I guess WV made a few awesome plays today too. My dad was just gushing about it, YEAH Morgantown! ok, no more football! it is banned!!! hehe I guess if I was at the game, it would be more interesting to me if I was at the game, I don't know, I'm not one to watch sports on TV.

Well, 12 hours from now, and it will be 30 years since I made my first entrance into this world. If any of my students read my blog, they will finally all know how old I am . . . so SHHH!!! :D Not that it's a big secret, but kids think anyone over 25 is sooo old. I suppose though, I've finally made it to 'old maid' or maybe not quite yet, another couple years. :)

Well, I'm off to dreamland! Hope and pray this is a lovely year for each and everyone of you! God Bless!!!

lub ya all . . . me! :)