Message for Me?

Today as I wrote "Don't give up" as the moral on 24 papers for students that certainly don't understand the moral of a fable, I began to wonder if the message was really meant for me.

Written in the style of One Sentence - True Stories Told in One Sentence.

Day in a Sentence

Falling from the sky and covering the ground, the orange stars confirm the upcoming appearance of winter.

Brrrr…. I’m not ready!

It's Fall!

Fall has always been my favorite season. Sometimes I feel cheated when we seem to skip fall going from running the air conditioner to turning on the heater. This year has had several comfortable days and the trees have been just beautiful. The picture is of a tree in my backyard. I have a similar one in the front yard and a burning bush that is a wonderful shade of red. So far the leaves are holding on and so I haven't had to start the raking process yet. I am NOT ready for snow!

Master of Arts

I finally finished my Master of Arts degree in Educational Technology through the Independent Option at the University of Illinois at Springfield. I received my diploma and promptly put it in the frame that I had received from my class a couple of years ago. It is hanging in the downstairs bedroom which doesn't seem quite like the place of respect that it deserves. But... there is a nail there and it fits nicely. I will probably move it up to my "office" after I paint someday. Even though it seemed like forever, I actually finished right on my planned schedule. (3 years with 1 class each fall and spring, extras in the summers) I am thrilled that it is done, but why am I still so busy???

24 Hour Read-A-thon

Can you read for 24 hours? How many books are in your "to be read" pile? This is the perfect chance to concentrate on reading and sharing your reading with others by updating your blog. Mark your calendar for October 18, 5 a.m. Pacific. Check out The Hidden Side of a Leaf for more information.

Day in a Sentence

Day in a Sentence is back at Kevin's Meandering Mind this week. The challenge this week is to write about your day/week in the form of a question. From the dates on my blog, there has obviously been no writing time lately. :-( Here is my entry after a difficult week/month.

How much pressure is too much?

Day in a Sentence

This week Anne is hosting Day in a Sentence with an Olympic theme at her blog, Think, Wonder and Learn with the Web.




Hiking bluff and river trails, admiring the scenery and enjoying the beautiful weather was capped each night watching the Olympics back at the lodge.

Summer Sunset

I took this picture from the back deck a couple of days ago. I think the green of the branch on the left is interesting and I liked the funny little puffy clouds in the middle. I also think that it is amazing that there is a Walgreens just over the berm to the right and a Fitness center sign almost straight ahead. It looks pretty peaceful and for the most part it really is.

15 Words or Less Poem Challenge

Swooping up
Through the air
Ghosts fly swiftly
Into the sky-top towers
For a nightly rendezvous


Laura provides a picture as inspiration for the poem. Check out this challenge at http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/85501.html

Day in a Sentence

This week Jo Hawke is hosting the Day in a Sentence challenge at her blog, MrsHawke.com. Stop by and add your own or check out all the sentences on Sunday.









After about 4 hours, my classroom begins to look ready for students.

Setting up my Classroom

I am going into school to work on setting up my classroom. Why is it assumed that teachers will do this? Technically, we don't go back until Aug. 21 but then we will have professional development activities and there will not be much time to get the room ready. Okay...enough avoidance. At least it is not 100 degrees today, which leads to another debate/thread discussing air conditioning in public schools.

Things to Think About...

I was directed to Katie's list of things to think about for back-to-school (and throughout the school year!) by Mary Lee at A Year of Reading.

It reminds me to keep the students and their needs as my focus. It is not about how cute my room is (or isn't) or the new clothes and supplies or even the what we teach. It is all about WHO we teach and how we can make learning meaningful for THEM.

As my previous district superintendent used to say, "Happy New Year"!

Summer Homework?

What are your thoughts on summer homework? After reading this article in the Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080402231.html?nav=rss_print/asection I will have to contemplate what I "assign" in the future.

This summer my second graders had math "vitamins" to do each weekday. They had 3 calendars (June, July, August) with one review math problem to complete each day. It is not required and they do not return it to me. We encourage parents to check over their child's work so they will not practice incorrectly. I hope that by practicing each day the students will maintain skills over the summer. We compare them to vitamins because we do not want the students to do all the problems in one day defeating the purpose of maintaining their skills.

I also encourage them to read, but there is no required reading list. I guess I hope to instill the love of reading during the year so they will want to read without being required to read. Is this wishful thinking?

I suggest that they continue to write in their writing notebooks and/or find someone to email/snail mail during the summer. This is also not required.

Many of my students are quite busy with a ton of activities during the summer, but I also know that some of them spend the summer at the babysitter. As always, balancing their needs and motivating them to "practice" without a requirement is an interesting challenge.

15 Words or Less Poem Challenge

Cooperation
Around and around
Intertwined
Yet separate
Working together
Creating
A team
Work of art

Check out this challenge at http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/84255.html

Almost There!

My grad committee approved my project. Yeah!! I just have to make some minor adjustments to the paper so it can be stored for posterity in the records department. I plan to print it off, have it bound thinly without using metal, and submit 2 copies on Thursday.

Image from http://www.morguefile.com

Beetles!

These pretty, but nasty little bugs are everywhere. My parents' apple tree is completely brown! When you look at the leaves, you can see 12 - 15 beetles on each leaf. This picture is from the ivy in the front of my house. There are two different kinds and they like one particularly well. I have been picking them off of the day lilies and spraying the burning bush. Hopefully, they will move on soon, but with no real predators I'm not sure what the future holds.

Cookies & Committee Meeting

I have distributed the paper and dvd to each committee member.
I have baked the required treat to distribute at the meeting.
I am wondering what else I need to be doing before my (hopefully) final grad school committee meeting.

At least the cookies are yummy! ...and I feel like it was a highly productive master's project for a degree in Educational Technology. I spent a lot of time evaluating software, developing screencasts and incorporating them into videos to offer short tutorials on topics of interest to beginning teachers. It touched on all my classes in my degree plan. Wish me luck tomorrow!

Reading Poetry

I found these 3 poetry books at Tuesday Morning proving you just never know where you can find a great book!



The Ocean Is... compares the ocean to other places familiar to children. For instance, a closeup picture of a shark compares the ocean to a dentist's office. This book has gorgeous photographs by Norbert Wu.






Hot Potato: mealtime rhymes was written by Neil Philip. This one has some tricky words such as placidly, persist and tureen, but they work into the known subjects visited in this book with poems about cake, jelly sandwiches, picnics and the cafeteria.




Swing around the Sun by Barbara Juster Esbensen contains poems that take you through the seasons of the year. These poems are accompanied by the artwork of Cheng-Khee Chee, Janice Lee Porter, Mary GrandPre and Stephen Gammel. The artists create a visual playground that is just as fun as reading the poetry.

Day in a Sentence

Check out Kevin's Meandering Mind to learn more about this challenge.

My entry this week:
The sun breaks though the clouds as my master's project nears completion.

15 Words or Less Poem Challenge

I found this weekly challenge at Laura Salas' blog: Writing the World for Kids. http://laurasalas.livejournal.com She provides the picture as inspiration for a quick poem. http://laurasalas.livejournal.com/83010.html



Radiance
Morning arrives
Slowly drifting in
As my eyes open
to the glory of the day.