Monthly Archives: October 2007

>Three for me, three for you

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>Melanie, a blogger and honest-to-goodness wonderful author, is stirring up interest in her Buy Three a Month mission. Her goal is to encourage readers to buy three books each month, then go to her blog and tell her about it. She wants folks to tell her which books they bought, and a month later she’ll ask for short summaries and reviews of those books. This is for fun, folks, not for obligation. Buy paperback or hardcover, from the sale table or farther back in the store, but pick up three books for your very own.
Today is the fifteenth of October, so she posted her three for October along with short reviews of the three she bought in September. You can read about them here.
October is one of the craziest months in my teaching life, so I don’t know if I’ll get to the bookstore, much less have time to read three new books. I did, however, buy Nicholas Evan’s The Divide. I’ve enjoyed his other books enough to read and reread them, so I’m hoping this one will keep me company by the fireplace on the long weekend after parent-teacher conferences.
So, Melanie, I may get out to buy two more, but if not, I promise to reread two I already own. I’ll make it up in November. Or December. Or … next summer? But no matter what, I’ll keep reading.

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>There’s no place like Homecoming

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>It had a rough start, but as the newspaper said, a “fabulous finish.” Amigo wasn’t even sure we could get into the game because he had lost his wallet with his school i.d. card inside. We went anyway, knowing that his homeroom teacher was doing crowd control. If worst came to worst, I knew that my district i.d. would gain admission for two, and then one other could buy a ticket. We were in luck; the ticket-takers at the gate knew Amigo and let him in. Phew!
The student section of this homecoming crowd, as Husband put it, was a “seething mass of adolescent hormones,” so we sat in the adult section near a friend and co-worker of mine who is an ex-cheerleader and is married to one of the football coaches.
This made for some humorous moments. As the night went on and the weather grew cooler, and the concession stand ran out of hot cocoa and cider, we considered going home early. But Amigo would have none of it. “I’m fine, I’m warm enough, so I want to stay to the end! And there are fireworks afterwards, too!” Since it was his homecoming, we opted to stay. But as the end of the game approached and the two teams kept tying the score, Husband turned to Coach’s Wife and asked, “Do high school games have overtime?” To her nod he responded “Darn!”
With a fourth quarter in which the two teams combined for 44 points and 309 yards, we didn’t really have a chance to relax or feel the cold. In the final 19 seconds, the home team scored their final touchdown and completed a two point conversion to win by one, yes one, golden point.
This win puts the team in the regional playoffs.
If Amigo wants to go to any playoff games, I think I’ll bring my own hot cocoa.

An updated version of this post can be found on Mid-Century Modern Moms.

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>Is it procrastination if I’m getting other work done?

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>I should be correcting the chapter 1 tests and analyzing the chapter 2 pretests and planning my next Social Studies unit.

Instead, I…

  • fed rabbit and refilled her pellet container
  • sorted laundry
  • washed four loads of laundry
  • hung one load to dry
  • put another load in the dryer
  • started a loaf of bread in the breadmaker
  • unloaded the dishwasher and put the clean dishes away
  • reloaded the dishwasher with dirty dishes
  • brought the kitchen waste (including coffee grounds and filter) to the compost
  • turned the compost (mmm, the compost is such a luscious deep brown…)
  • served lunch to myself and Amigo
  • made beds
  • got the winter outerwear from storage
  • put the winter gloves, hats, and mittens on the deck to air out (to get rid of the basement storage odor)

And still on my list:

  • bake cookies
  • clean rabbit litter box
  • finish laundry (dry, fold, put away)
  • give Amigo a ride to the homecoming dance
  • do the grocery shopping
  • pick up Amigo from the homecoming dance
  • make supper (probably grilled cheese on homemade bread, see above)

Maybe today is housework day, and tomorrow will be schoolwork. That’s not true procrastination and avoidance, is it?

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>Why do we have to learn this?

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>

  • You need it to pass this grade.
  • It’ll be on the test.
  • Because I said so.
  • No one, but no one, graduates without knowing this.
  • You’ll have to repeat the grade if you don’t.
  • Because the Powers That Be think it’s essential to living.
  • Life’s not fair. Get used to it.
  • You won’t go out to recess until you can prove you know it.
  • Every adult needs to understand double digit divisor division thoroughly in order to make a living and pay the bills.
  • Someday you’ll thank me.
  • Trust me. I know these things. I just do.

What are your kids learning in school? And why are they learning it? If you want to avoid these ridiculous answers to the ever present question, you could sidetrack the questioner and head to Scholastic’s new parent web site. They have all kinds of information for parents of children from preschool to middle and high school.

And if you’re still thinking of Scholastic as just a place to buy books, you can shop at their site by using the code BLOGBLAST – which gives you 10% off with purchase of $25 or more, valid 10/12 – 10/21. I might pick up a few things for my classroom or for Christmas.

Blog Blast sponsored by Parent Bloggers Network and Scholastic.com.

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>shoulds, once again, are bogus

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>Should: Appointments, especially early morning appointments, should never be cancelled.
Reality: The phone rang at 6:25 a.m. to cancel my 7:00 physical therapy appointment
End result: I had a morning off (half a sick day) that I didn’t need.

Should: I should have cancelled the sick day. It was early enough in the morning, and I didn’t need the time off any more.
Reality: I had brought home a bag full of work to do after the appointment.
End result: I stayed home anyway. I waded through four piles of papers, cleaned the kitchen, and blogged.

Should: Cancelled appointments should be rescheduled easily and conveniently.
Reality: I’m a teacher, people. My work schedule is NOT flexible! And I have parent-teacher conferences next week in the evenings, so I’m not free after school, either!
End result: I took an afternoon appointment on a day between conferences. I’ll blow another half sick day. Bleh.

Shoulds: I should drink less coffee.
Reality: I like my coffee.
End result: After the appointment was cancelled and I put Amigo on his school bus, I made a pot of Sumatran and started in to work on my school papers. Math tests, vocabulary sheets, penmanship, and more, met with my green pen while the Early Show played softly in the background.

Ah,well, I’ll be ready for conferences next week. I’ll be rested and relaxed (and caffeinated) this afternoon, too. No crabby teaching in Social Studies. Nuh-uh.

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>Smells like — School Spirit?

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>Where will you find Pajama Day, Duct Tape Day, Prince/Princess Day, Crazy Outfit Day, and Spirit Day all in one week? Add a bonfire with an effigy of the upcoming football opponent, a big game complete with marching band show, and a Saturday night dance, and you guessed it.
Amigo’s school is in the middle of Homecoming Week. He really enjoys the festivities. He skipped dressing up for pajama day, but today he’s decked out in one of his dad’s t-shirts proclaiming “I can fix anything: Where’s the duct tape?” He’ll borrow another t-shirt for Crazy Outfit Day on Thursday. It says “Stop Animal Testing!” and has a picture of the sweetest looking rabbit sitting in a desk taking a standardized test. For Prince/Princess Day, he’s getting creative. He’s going to wear a Milwaukee Brewers shirt. (Prince Fielder, first baseman, home run king, okay?)
The school plays theme music during passing time between classes. Yesterday they played “Bananas in pajamas.” Tomorrow I predict Disney Princess tunes. Today? Well, I don’t know, what would you play for Duct Tape Day? Something that would stick with you, no doubt. (snicker)
Happy Homecoming to all. Amigo sure loves it.

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>Compost is Something Good, or I’m the Honored Guest!

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>Lorna from Something Good and The Freelance Parent asked me to write a guest post on compost. It’s up here.

To see more day-to-day compost adventures, you can look to these earlier posts.

When neighbors’ fences attack
Compost can be beautiful!
Husband’s role in the process (besides eating the produce)
Oh, the compost, it happens.

Meanwhile, I’m going to make a cup of coffee. I know where the grounds will go.

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>The rivalry continues

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>What’s harder than driving on the expressway around Chicago during rush hour and road construction? Driving a news truck with “Green Bay” emblazoned on it in huge letters, through Chicago, in the week before the Packers play the Bears.

Yes, husband was on a work-related trip last week that required he drive the news truck through Chicago on his way to his destination. The reactions, let’s just say, were many and varied. The most creative had to be the toll booth worker who asked if he was a spy.

Now that he’s home (and safely, I might add), we can watch tonight’s game in peace and — well, you know that in our house, it won’t be quiet.

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>Walk a mile in my shoes

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>How far would you go for your child? We’ve had some challenging, even difficult, times with our children, and I’ve had some tough times dealing with the special education staff working with my child…a not-so-comfortable task, since I teach in the same district. Let’s look at this from another angle, though.
I posted yesterday after a frustrating day of teaching. I deal with more in a single day than ER or Grey’s Anatomy would if the shows were set in the psych wing. Really, folks, I can’t (and won’t try to) diagnose anyone, but there are symptoms of all kinds of serious problems just bouncing around my school building, dressed in Hello Kitty and Tony Hawk. Certain parents, IMHO, haven’t gone far enough.
I kept seeing little (thank goodness, not front page news) blurbs about Britney Spears losing custody of her children. Teachers are mandated reporters; if we suspect any neglect or abuse, we are required by law to report it. After that, it’s up to the folks at protective services to assess the case and figure out if the kids are safe or not. If not, they determine what kind of action is necessary.
Britney’s kids are not near school age yet. They’re not in regular day care, either, another field where the teachers are mandated reporters. Fortunately, the children had an advocate in the form of their father, and he had enough money to take this to court himself without waiting for the wheels of public service to turn. Now all involved need to hope that he will do right by his kids.
Unfortunately, Brit doesn’t seem to have a support network that will help her get her act together and learn how to be a mom. She can’t do it alone. Who will step up to be her mentor? How far will her family go to help her, and ultimately help her children?

How far would you go for your kids? I hope I never need to know the real answer.

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Blog Blast inspired by the new book Dangerous Admissions

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