Vacation!

This is the last day of school before vacation. Even though we only worked three days last week because of ice, this week has made up for it - I swear each day was three days long. I had high hopes this morning because of heavy fog that we could skip this last day - but of course we are here and ready to work! My grade level has a sing a long this morning for 20 minutes, a Christmas tradition we started at Lincoln many years ago. The music teacher plays piano and I get to choose the songs. At Lincoln, the whole school sang, here the whole fourth grade and some of their parents who can get away for a little bit. The principal insisted this year that we not sing any "religious" songs. I will miss the sweetness of hearing 200 rambuncious 10 year old voices singing reverently Silent Night.

Blessed Holidays

As the last days of school before Christmas wind down (and the kids wind up!) I am prompted to let each of you know that I think of you often and hope your holidays will be very special this year. Dan and I got to spend Saturday shopping part of the day, visiting Emily and her parents another part of the day and lastly, watching the musical version of "It's a Wonderful Life" at Ames City Auditorium. Robert was part of the orchestra and their church partnered with several other churches in Ames to put on the production. Although I missed seeing Jimmy Stewart in it, it was a great experience. The music was powerful and the message good as well.
Laura and I baked cookies while Emily napped in the afternoon and Dan and Rob watched a movie. We decided it was a good day's work and although everything might not have looked like the magazine pictures, the cookies tasted pretty good. They will be eaten tomorrow for "Treat" day here at school.

Long time, no write

It's been a while, hasn't it? No excuses - just regular stuff. I have started tutoring three days a week, both before and after school. It's not really tutoring, but instead teaching an intensive phonics based reading program. Our district got a grant to pay for materials and pay for us. The groups are small, three or four at a time, which is what is recommended. Consequently I have been trying to get to work by 6:00 each morning and can't leave in the afternoon much before 5:00.
The weather sounds as if it might be real nasty for tomorrow. Our superintendent is the last one in our whole area to call off school. Friday everyone around us was delayed because of the ice but not us. I wonder if the bus drivers are paid extra for driving on icy roads in the dark? I am sort of counting on tomorrow off, though, as it sounds as if it will take down power lines again. This time we have stockpiled some candles and firewood, so we hopefully we won't repeat last year when we were without furnace for 4 days. If we don't have school maybe I can get all the projects finished for Christmas. Every time I finish one seems like I get three new ideas to work on!

Quiet Weekend

It was a truly quiet weekend at our house. Dan got some outside things done and I spent a lot of time in my studio. A friend had ordered a smart bag and I had some pants to hem for hire, after that I experimented with some ideas I've had brewing for Christmas and beyond. As usual we did church and Sunday afternoon briefly attended a visitation for a friend's mother's funeral. This morning it is winterish and I might have to finally close the bedroom window. The wind is something! If I were home, I'd be out throwing the leaves into the air and they would all blow to the neighbor's!

Cleaning Quirk

This weekend I was in the mood to (gasp!) clean. Maybe it was because I was frustrated by one of my parent conferences. I started by using my dryer vent brushes to clean as far in as I could in all the furnace vents. Then I cleaned the louvered doors - I can never get between the slats well enough. Then I looked at the cat's bathroom and knew I could improve on that. I dug out my steam cleaner and went to work on that floor. I didn't think it would ever be white again. While I had the cleaner out, I did those nooks and crannies I always ignore - around the oven door, the back of the counter, behind the stovetop, etc. My hands are paying the price, but I worked off the mad and have a cleaner house to show for it! Somewhere along the line I must have used some new muscles - in my posterior - at least I hurt places I haven't before unless I'd gotten a vaccination!

Conference time

It is parent teacher conference time here. Our school is on trimesters and we try to hold conference with parents about half way through the first one - at about six weeks. It is great to meet parents and be able to say good things about their kids. The part I don't like is the 12 hour days! They dismissed kids 2 hours early today, but we needed to be back at school at 3:00. I chose not to go home for the little break. The PTO furnishes us with a nice meal (I think soup) and we are having a book fair at the same time. My load is light today. One regular conference, one individual educational plan meeting, and two student assistance team meetings. School will start at the regular time tomorrow, with another two hour early dismissal and tomorrow we conference from 4:00 to 8:00. Friday we get the afternoon off. No students in the morning, just conferences.

New Look

We took down the big evergreen in our front yard on Saturday. Wish I had taken pictures. It went exactly as planned - always a big surprise! Our friend Curt came by with his chain saws, and took off limbs from the bottom up and Dan and I loaded the pickup. Oskaloosa has a tree/yard dump, so we could dispose of the tree easily. Curt worked his way up the tree and after a bit Greg and his friend Justin arrived. By then the top of the tree was ready to come down. It was roped, notched and with very little fanfare, came down just where we wanted it to. A little more chain saw action and no more tree. I counted the rings but only got 27 - I thought the tree has to be older than that. The front of the house is now visible from the street - no more streaking through the house!

Today is my baby's 23rd birthday! Happy Birthday, Lynne!
Doesn't make me feel old!
Dan lost his job on Tuesday around 3:30. They said they were getting rid of the department because it wasn't cost effective. They didn't give him any advance notice.
Dan got a new job on Tuesday, about an hour after being fired. He now will work for the competition. They have an office here in town so he won't drive as much and a slightly bigger salary. Isn't God great?

It's finished!

I have been taking a correspondence class of sorts for the past several months, in order to earn the last credits I need to renew my teaching certificate. The format was easy to use and the credit comes from Marycrest College, a place where I have earned several other credits. They send you a cd and you work from it on a computer, watching video clips, reading articles, practicing scenarios, stuff like that. Neat thing is you get to take the tests several times and they average your scores. The thing that took me the longest was the four essays and three article reviews. Of course, I intended to have it done during the summer, well, that didn't happen! I finished all the course work last night and will mail it today. Another long term goal completed! Everyone go have a cookie and celebrate with me!

Sad News

Yesterday it was announced that a fellow teacher had been killed in a truck/bridge accident. His body has not yet been recovered from the river. He has a young wife and two children , one kindergarten and one in second grade. He taught at the middle school but started his career at the building I taught in before we opened the new building. The family and his parents attend our church. I am so sad for them...

Blood Pressure?

You all know I teach, right? Or try to. Today one student was a pretty big challenge. He is a fifth grader, not yet reading, lots of difficulty with other academics as well. The biggest problem is, he won't. Anything. If it looks hard or different he just hangs his head and won't try. I know its a defense mechanism and know he's scared he might not do well, but what am I to do? We tried time away. He thought he was just getting out of the work there. I tried making him sit until he does what I want, but eventually the hour is done and he gets to leave (because I need to be somewhere else). If I can't figure something out, I'm going to need a trip to the Dr for meds for high blood pressure!

New Beginnings

I was inspired to start this blog after seeing my daughter's blog and having my son get married this past weekend. I got to talk with friends and family members and enjoyed it so much. I think this might be a good way to communicate with family and hopefully to share and find out what's going on with them as well. This is a new experience for me, so bear with me, please. I look forward to getting some feedback!