Monthly Archives: January 2007

>Snowy days and Mondays

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>Omens that foretell a challenging week ahead:

  • the entire class talks through the announcement about “snow rules” on the playground
  • the special ed teacher for emotional/behaviorally challenged students is off to a training seminar
  • the school counselor is off to the same training seminar
  • the school principal is also off to the same training seminar
  • Little Jenny comes up and says, “I’m so tired I could fall asleep at my desk.”
  • Little Johnny has a note from his mom proclaiming that he didn’t get any help with his math
  • the class quiets down briefly to listen to the new read-aloud book by an award-winning author, long enough to hear dialogue that includes the word “Hell”
  • two students are absent: a different two from those that were absent last Friday
  • at least four teachers are out sick
  • the sub who “didn’t help” little Johnny with his math confirms that the kid lied through his teeth
  • the undiagnosed ADHD child keeps interrupting
  • his diagnosed but unmedicated friend joins in
  • Later on, little Jenny points out, “I’m still yawning all the time!”
  • the class seems to be having a squeaking contest in the hall with their wet boots after lunch recess
  • Little Johnny announces that he didn’t “get it” the first time fractions were taught, either.
  • Georgie Porgie gets in trouble for throwing snowballs at recess, and then wonders why I hounded him to listen to announcements.
  • Behaviorally challenged child tries to leave science class three times to use the bathroom. I let him go once, stop him twice, and hope he doesn’t really need it again.
  • Little Jenny again shares, “I think I’m going to fall asleep.”
  • I say, “I’ll wake you when the bell rings.”
  • She replies,”Good luck. I’m a sound sleeper.”

So am I. Good night! It’s been a long week already, and tomorrow’s only Tuesday.

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>Go team go! But which team?

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>Regular readers know that I live and breathe Packer Green and Gold. My teenage son wears the colors with pride and knows all the NFL stadium names by memory (watch out Jeopardy), my daughter can stump her college friends (male or female) with her knowledge of the game, and Husband sometimes works Sundays to get away from the frenzy at home. What to do when the home team doesn’t make the playoffs? For whom do we cheer? How can a family like ours choose a team that doesn’t have our favorite 3-time MVP at the the helm?
Our “logic” works like this.
We could cheer for the NFC team nearest ours, the one that won the division title, even though our Packers beat the heck out of them in the final game of the season (sorry, Bear fans, I couldn’t resist).
We could choose an AFC team that boasts another talented quarterback from the south who does priceless commercials. (“D-Caf! –boom, boom– D-Caf!”) And the Colts’ coach, Tony Dungy, has gone through a lot of private suffering in a very public arena, maintaining his dignity and class the whole time.
Then there’s the “storied past” angle. Mike Holmgren, currently of the Seattle Seahawks, coached the Pack to their last Super Bowl win ten years ago, uniting the entire extended community of Green Bay in the celebration.
But what about the New Orleans Saints? They were hit hard when hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and trashed their home dome. Haven’t they earned the respect and admiration of fans across the country with their amazing comeback?
La Petite found a solution. Click here, and NFL.com will analyze your preferences and assign you a surrogate team.
Enjoy! And trust me, fellow cheeseheads; the Pack will be Back.

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>Help put some fun into fundraising

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>

Our PTA is having a basket raffle soon. My class is creating a “basket” along the theme of gardening. Well, short of hoisting my compost bin into the school lobby, I’m a little limited as to donations so far. I’m hoping that a few parents will shop this weekend and start the collection. Blog -readers, oh gentle Internet folk, could you please honor the end of “De-lurking week” with suggestions for a garden basket? I have a few ideas aside from the basic seeds and tools, but I would like to suggest things that families in my class can afford to buy and donate. And fun, of course. Think outside the lines — and outside the rabbit fencing! No, I can’t donate the rubber chicken. It belongs to La Petite.

De-lurking week is sponsored by Sheryl of Paper Napkin. She provided several buttons we can display; I posted the one I liked best.

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>200!! Woo-hoo!

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>Yes, this is my two-hundredth blog post!! The family celebrated, too. The rabbits? They just napped. Full report at 10. I mean — pictures tomorrow. Now if I can get down off this block without tripping on the rubber chicken….

In case you’ve never been introduced to my lovely family, Husband and I (from left to right) are on top of the box, and Amigo and La Petite (from left to right) are on the floor. I mean, they’re in the foreground. My thanks to La Petite and Husband for helping set up and photograph the “party”. Amazing how they did that without opposable thumbs!

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>No Flarping during Jeopardy!

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>It was a gift from the bus driver. It looked innocent: a small plastic container with a putty-like substance inside. Then we found out what it, um, did. With a finger or thumb inside, yanked out with a certain technique, Flarp makes (gulp) a farting noise.
Like a good big sister, La Petite showed her brother a few tips for making the noises more, uh, authentic. He practiced (practiced!) and they giggled and laughed and roared as the ‘quality’ of his Flarpiness improved.
I wasn’t so thrilled.
It seemed like whenever it was most irritating, Flarp made its presence known. Not constantly, but as if on cue, just often enough.
If I tried to read a book: Pbbth.
If I put up my feet in the recliner and relax: Pbxzth.
Whenever I finished a goal and took a break: Ppbbthxxb.
When the caffeine was low, and my eyes began to close: Ppbbththxxxbbpbth.
AARGH!!!
Eventually, I stashed it somewhere that Amigo could find it, but wouldn’t think of it very often. After that, he spent more time with his other gifts and the new bunny in the house.
Until my brother came to visit, and the kids taught him to Flarp, too. Darn musician; he has a talent for making the most, er, unique sounds possible. Do you think I’d stay on speaking terms with my sister-in-law if I sent the jar of Flarp home with him?

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>Still Plays with Toys

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>Tiny the rabbit actually plays with toys. while other bunnies will snuggle the humans, chew on firewood, and chase each other around the den, Tiny makes sure this truck (an old metal toy that’s rather heavy for a tiny one) gets the tow it needs.

“Hmm, what’s this? Need a little help, mister?
“Roll over!”
“What a drag.”

“A little push, and you’re back on the road. What ‘cha hauling, buddy? Carrots?”

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>conversations over holiday gifts

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>Cookbooks can be fun. Cooking new things is exciting, of course, but simply reading the book can be interesting, too.
While reading the brand new Good Home Cookbook:
“Did you know that Thomas Jefferson’s cousin was the first to publish a recipe for mac & cheese?”
“Cool. I’ll add it to my Trivia file.”
“Mmm. Here’s one for goulash.”
“But do they have booyah?”
“Well, not by name, but there are several good ethnic soups. Let’s plant lots of tomatoes in the spring so I can make a good minestrone. Maybe extra beans, too.”
I like this cookbook. It has basic instructions and fancy recipes and everything in between. Of course, the trivia scattered throughout guarantees that it’ll sit on my top shlf for a long time.
Reading The Favre Family Cookbook: by the Favre family was an entirely different experience. Instead of instructions for basic midwestern recipes of my family and friends, it features “three generations of Cajun and Creole cooking from the Gulf Coast.” This is not your mama’s chili; it’s Brett Favre’s mama’s gumbo, and more.
“Honey, do you think you’d like Crawfish Bread? I wonder if it would work in my breadmaker.”
“Don’t ask me to go fishing for the main ingredient.”
“Okay. Wow, this one uses three pounds of alligator meat.”
“Alligator? Where would you buy that?”
“I know where I can buy buffalo meat. Do you suppose that would work?”
This cookbook has fascinating recipes. Some I could make (Leslie’s Potato Soup), and some, no matter how delicious, I’m sure I won’t (Rotten Bayou Alligator Broiled with Lemon Butter Sauce). Between the recipes, there are great family pictures of all three generations. I could browse this one for hours.
Cookbooks are fun. The recipes are at their hearts, but the other little details are what makes them special and keeps me reading and cooking.

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>Welcome to space camp — aka the first day back at school after a long break

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>The spaciest thing I did today:
I put on my jacket this morning and reached for my green pair of gloves.
At the end of the day, I put on my jacket and discovered that there was a black and white pair of gloves in the left sleeve (yes, mom, the ones that look like cows). They had been there all the time and I never even noticed. I pulled them out, put both pair in my schoolbag, and went home, contemplating having my morning cuppa before leaving for school instead of at my desk.
Another spacy thing I did today:
I wore a new pair of boots. I’ve been lazy (I admit it), a veritable couch potato, for the last week and a half. Getting back on my feet for the day and wearing a new pair of leather boots with a moderate (read: low) heel was painful. Tomorrow? My new Keds.

But one of my students did something even, um, less logical (read: thoughtless). I caught her in the act of writing a note to a friend. I confiscated the note. She re-wrote it. Sure, now she decides that re-writes are valuable in the writing process! I confiscated the second copy. When I read the note (privately, of course), I realized that it needed to be addressed in the context of inappropriate behavior because it involved her bragging about breaking a rule at recess time. Duh!

The morals of the story:
Wear comfortable shoes on the first day after a lazy break.
Look in coat sleeves before reaching for gloves.

And advice for the Little Scribbler?
If you want to stay out of the principal’s office, don’t put your transgressions in writing. Twice.

And I thought I was only going to teach math, reading, and science today.

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