Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
March 23, 2010
It rained yesterday and last night and this morning and then again this afternoon. We are studying the water cycle in science, but I don't need all these visual aids! This is a new little pondthat has sprung up outside my school. If you look closely, you can see the building through the trees. It looks cool now, but I'm thinking ahead to the warmer months when this might turn into a breeding ground for our state bird...the misquote...just kidding. Still, for now it's nice to know it will never be a FROZEN little pond as the weather is supposed to warm up this week.
Monday, March 22, 2010
March 22, 2010
The bright, sunny day of yesterday has given way to torrential rains, thunder and lightning. My poor daffodils bent over in the rain, so I picked them. Those flowers are just so darn pretty and last such a short time. As one of my friends said about them today, "Better to have had them even just a short time and enjoy them, than to never have had then before." I guess so, but I'd still like to have a field of them for longer than a week.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
March 21, 2010
SPRING HAS SPRUNG. My garden is a mess, but it always cheers me up to see these flowers pop up no matter how bad the construction has been.
March 19, 2010
I knew I was a bit out of order. This event took place in school on Friday, March 19. Students and staff brought in a dollar to buy a "foot". This money is going towards fund raising to find a cure for MS, a disease one of our staff members has.
March 20, 2010
On Saturday morning, Angleo Alberto presented Jeff with an award to add to his many others, at Centennial Courts in Haddonfield. Angleo did an amazing job getting the courts ready for the spring season and having a dedication during this first day of spring. I was happy to be able to know his family through Liz, his daughter, who was on the team I coached for a year.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
March 19, 2010
So much to write about the LIFE presentation today and lots of pictures, but at the end, always have to go with THE BEN!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
March 17, 2010
Lots of pictures to choose from today, but will choose the St. Patrick one of the students and save the others for when I need to catch up. It looked like a herd of leprechauns today at our school as a sea of green clothed students and staff showed up today. Even the carpet had glitter on it (that will never happen again) as footprints from the escaping leprecahauns were seen.
This evening I had the pleasure of having dinner at City Tavern in Philadelphia with the Discovery group. It was such fun to talk and see everyone
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
March 16, 2010
This week in school, it is MS Awareness Week. Today teachers and students were asked to dress in orange. Of course I looked terrible (just call me a pumpkin) but Leslie, the teacher who organized the day looks wonderful. With her is Cindy C, a second grade teacher who is also wonderful.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Art Talent Students make a poster for the Wizard of Oz bulletin board. These kids come in early in the morning to paint this.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
March 13, 2010
A Watery Day
It rained today...hard. It was windy as well and more than 41,000 people in the NorthEast have lost power. You can still hear the wind blowing hard. On my way back from grocery shopping, at the light in Haddonfield, I turned off my windshield wipers and took a picture of this house. It just seconds the rains covered the windshield, and I didn't need any type of filter.
March 12, 2010
The boys try to memorize PI digits to the 33th place value...and they DO!
Although PI Day (March 14....3/14) isn't until Sunday, my third graders celebrated on Friday measuring everything from cups, plates, pies, cookies, M&Ms, everything and anything that was round. In addition, each team tried to see if they could memorize the digits past 3.14....two teams made it to the 33 place value. Pretty impressive!
March 11, 2010
Kids start to learn how to use Kerpoof to make movies.
I'm on the board for Kerpoof and was reviewing their spelling section when I thought it would be fun to introduce the students to movie making since we were talking about characters and setting in writing. They took to it easily, making a movie with ease. Because of this, I think every Wednesday I should introduce them to a new site on line that they can use. I can test it out with them before presenting it to the teachers on Thursday, although I have to say, the kids will get it much easier.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
March 7, 2010
THERE is something so fulfilling about starting something from nothing and watching it grow. So it is fun to watch this pot of basil start from seedlings and germinate. Putting a water bulb in it will help me as I'm not known for keeping plants growing very well. I still have a few others to plant, but those who are wiser at the ways of the earth, have told me to wait a bit until I'm sure it's not going to snow again. My patio is a wreck from construction so I can't wait to get some pretty colored flowers and plants on it. Hopefully, the basil will be a good sign that things CAN actually grow despite my less than green thumb.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
March 6, 2010
It may look like just an open window, but to me it's the first day in a long time I've been able to open a window and shut off the heat. The temperature hovered around fifty, the first time in months, the sun made an appearance and there was even talk about playing tennis! Tomorrow promises to be as nice with an entire week without one mention of the word snow...rain maybe on Thursday but not snow. We may even be go an entire week in school! Spring officially arrives on the 20th, but for now...there's a spring in my step.
Friday, March 5, 2010
March 5, 2010
Through rain and snow and dark of night...oh, wait, that's the postal creed, which, apparently in 2010 doesn't ring true anymore, but back to what I was thinking...it's been a little more than a month since I was able to park in front of my house. Today, a FRIDAY!, I rounded the corner and didn't see the familiar sight of a yellow construction truck or even siding piled high in the parking spaces. There wasn't even any SNOW still on the ground. I actually had to check to make sure all was well before pulling in to the spot, but sure enough...I was home. Now all I have to do is get some nice plants so that the outside looks better, but I think I'll wait until after the last week of March. Who knows...maybe this is just a weekend thing.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
March 4, 2010
A pretty uneventful day all told. There are rumors flying about who is teaching third grade next year, but that happens every year. Next year, though, there are only two third grade classes and that WILL make a difference. the budget is going to be cut by so much that it will affect many teachers in the districts...wonder if it would affect administrators as well..No one seems to answer that question. The one thing, though, is that I hope it doesn't do anything that will affect the kids. No cutting of the arts, after school programs, and, while w could probably get by with less supplies, it's the students who should come first. As for professional development that could also be done in an less expensive way. I have a feeling if the administrators asked the staff for ideas, they'd be pleasantly surprised and could learn quite a few things from our POV.
In the meantime, life goes on in and out of the classroom. The kids are learning, doing math, and, as the picture shows, reading. I'm always amused at how many people tell me that it's tough to get boys to read. Not in my class. They are the first to ask for SSR, for me to read to them, and to pull a book out of their desk when they think I'm not looking. An e-mail from a parent yesterday told me her son was reading until 1:00am!!! Not the best thing for a nine-year-old, but not the worst thing in the world either. One of my favorite quotes is "Reading is inhaling....writing is exhaling." I'm so glad my students love to breathe.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
March 3, 2010
ANOTHER blog that doesn't need too many words. My house is almost finished. They started on February 2 and have finished the outside part of it...almost. There is still debris all over the place and now those ugly things in the front of the house need to be replaced, but at least I can see the end in site.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
March 2, 2010
I WAS going to write about Read Across America, but I'll save that for another day. When this picture came through, there was no doubt what the picture of the day would be. Welcome home, soldiers, welcome home.
Monday, March 1, 2010
March 1, 2010
IT'S MARCH...we made it..It came in as a lamb and am a bit afraid of how it will go out
There is so much already scheduled for this month:
Read Across America Day March 2
World Math Day March 3
Workshop March 5
Free Wash and Blow Dry March 5
Shawnee High School Musical March 6
Pi Day March 12 (actually 3/14 but that's a Sunday)
Dinner at City Tavern with DEN March 17
Life Screening at Franklin Institute with DEN March 18
Field Trip March 31 Franklin Institute
Drama rehearsal every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday after school
Drama rehearsal EVERY DAY before school
....................and that's just what I know about the first day. So much more to fill in, I'm sure, but for now that's all I can look at without getting totally overwhelmed.
Goals: Bed by 10 on school nights
Vitamins
try to continue no soda for another month
cut down on SUGAR!!! That's going to be a big one...and difficult as Easter candy in my favorite of all holidays.
But, I'll try...and that's all I can ask of myself.
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