Fam Visit

My family came to visit and mom spent the day in my classroom.  Justin and Eric stopped by later in the day for lunch.  What a treat, not only for me, but for my students.  My students heard stories from when I was in elementary school and they LOVED it.  I enjoyed "showing off" my family to everyone.  

Listography

I'm often looking for ways to get my students to write without it feeling like a chore.  I want students to express themselves in their writing, provide detail and really let their readers imagine what they are writing about.  I want to feel what my students are feeling as I read their writing.  Without question, I also want them to work on their conventions (spelling, capitalization, and punctuation), but then I find them getting hung-up on their conventions and not focusing on the actual content of their writing; the part I find more meaningful. 

While on my weekend jaunt to Widbey Island, I picked up this little treasure.

My immediate thought was how fun this would be to share with my students and how it might trigger ideas for their writing....or ideas for teaching.

On the ferry ride home I pulled out my new purchase and began filling it in.  Here is my first list.

Places I've Lived:
Lompoc, California
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Pinehurst, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Quito, Ecuador
Bothell, Washington
Kirkland, Washington

Fun!  I've got to remember to take this to school and share with my kids.  They are going to love this!

For the Love of 6th Grade

All I have to say is that our conversations in class this past Friday ranged from...

1. Pi is cool because it's like "pie". 
2. How cool it would be to live in Antarctica, or maybe just take a field trip as a class.  (This would be rad!...We are studying Earnest Shackleton.)
3. Whoopie cushions make funny noises.
4. Some familes don't openly talk about farting and burping and we need to respect that. (So, in other words, only have the whoopie cushion out during appropriate times and not when I'm teaching.)
5. How can we help the children in need from the tsunami in Japan?  We have so much to be thankful for.
6. Marvel comics are awesome.
7. Who is reading the coolest book in class right now?  (The winner was a toss up between The Chronicles of Narnia, When You Reach Me and My 6th Grade Teacher is an Alien...awesome!)
8. Greek Root of the Week:  logos, meaning word and of course scatology (the study of feces) was one of the discovered words...yes, I accepted it, but they could not do a skit on that particular word.
9. What is a haiku poem?  My class is full of beautiful poets!  (They truly are, but I might be a little bias too.)
10. The mystery of when Mrs. MacDonald's birthday is and how old she is going to be.  (They finally figured it out...and were shocked when they realized I'm as old as some of their parents.)

My love for 6th grade is endless and my heart just melts thinking about how adorable my class is.

Hidden Treasure

I found myself venturing to Whidbey Island this past weekend with a group of girlfriends.  What a hidden treasure our little destination was...and I'm not going to tell you where for fear of others fleeing to this magnificent gem.  I could live there.  Quiet.  Calm. Serene.  And there was coffee.  Really good coffee. There is even beachfront for running.  All this place needs is an Irish Pub and I'd have one foot out the door, but only if Chad was with me. 

Surrounded

Today I'm home sick.  Maybe this is a good thing because the time to myself allows time for thinking and time with God.  It's not a hidden secret that my heart has been hurting and hurting a lot, and lately I've had a lot of questions.  Most of my questions have started with "Why?".  And many of my questions I don't have answers to and I may never get answers.  I'm trying to be okay with that, but it's really hard. 

God knows my heart and he knows I've been struggling.  He knows that I'm hurting and in pain.  He also knows that I need others to support me and surround me with His love.  He's done just that.  In my bouts of anger with God I've felt aslmost as if he has turned His back on me.  Although logically I know this is not true.  God will never turn his back on me...and again more "why" questions scramble through my head.  My God is a God of love...again more "whys"...and as He carries me through this time of hardship, hurting and pain, I think on the other side it's going to be okay. 

I'm thankful for the family and friends that God has surrounded me with; family and friends who love Him and love me. 

Thank you.