Hello weekend! I have a three day weekend because of Martin Luther King Day. This is one of the many benefits of being a teacher - so many days off! Of course, being a substitute I don't get paid for them but I am looking forward to having a real job. I have already started the job hunt for next year. It takes soooooo long to fill out all those applications that I thought I would use all my days off being proactive (a good "interview" word - I'm practicing). Who ever thought it would take so much work to get a job. Whew!
Speaking of MLK Day I remembered that yesterday I was speaking to a student about MLK because we had an assembly about it. She said, "I think Martin Luther King was the king at the beginning of the world, he was probably the first one who was born." Where that came from - I don't know.
Today is Saturday and Paul and I spent it doing - as he puts it - nothing. Sometimes what is relaxing to me is "nothing" to Paul. We went out for crepes in the morning and then to the library, where I loaded up on books like "101 Best Resumes" and "The Idiot's Guide to getting your dream job". Paul got some movies on things like snowshoeing and dog-sledding and mountains (he is having a mountain movie marathon even as I am writing this).
The library is our ultimate in cheap entertainment. It's a paradise. There is a library downtown called central library - it's hunormous. It's beautiful.
We also like Barnes and Noble. At first we felt a little guilty about reading all thier books and magazines without ever buying anything, but we go there about twice a month now, just to sit in comfy chairs and read.
January 16, 2004
I haven't written much lately because I haven't been working much lately - with the storm and everything. So today I was in one of my favorite classrooms - a first second split - and they are just so funny.
There are some conversations that teachers just aren't supposed to overhear, and when I hear them, I usually just chuckle and ignore them. Today I heard one that went something like this:
BOY: "It's not true, I never even kissed her!" (this is what I heard first so you can imagine why I kept listening)
GIRL: "But you are her boyfriend."
BOY: (very insistant) "No - I'm - not."
GIRL: "But you know even though you don't think you are her girlfriend, you are because she says so. It's like, she doesn't have to be your girlfriend but you are still her boyfriend."
BOY: "I give up."
There are some conversations that teachers just aren't supposed to overhear, and when I hear them, I usually just chuckle and ignore them. Today I heard one that went something like this:
BOY: "It's not true, I never even kissed her!" (this is what I heard first so you can imagine why I kept listening)
GIRL: "But you are her boyfriend."
BOY: (very insistant) "No - I'm - not."
GIRL: "But you know even though you don't think you are her girlfriend, you are because she says so. It's like, she doesn't have to be your girlfriend but you are still her boyfriend."
BOY: "I give up."
January 09, 2004
January 08, 2004
No school again today for the third day. You would think I would have cabin fever by now since we haven't ventured out in three days, but surprisingly I keep finding new ways to be occupied. I spent two hours knitting in the Starbucks two blocks away from our house yesterday. It's fun to see neighbors.
There is a thick layer of freezing rain (ice) on top of the snow but it finally seems as though it's melting. Paul discovered a broken water pipe in our old house and is fixing it this morning. I am going to walk to Safeway later. Walking has been our only form of transprotation lately. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will be back to normal, but snow days sure are fun!
There is a thick layer of freezing rain (ice) on top of the snow but it finally seems as though it's melting. Paul discovered a broken water pipe in our old house and is fixing it this morning. I am going to walk to Safeway later. Walking has been our only form of transprotation lately. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will be back to normal, but snow days sure are fun!
December 30, 2003
December 23, 2003
Merry Christmas everyone. Our house smells like cranberries and oranges. We are heading out to Peacock Lane (a local street that has Christmas lights). Paul is finishing up the presents he is making. Tomorrow we are going to the Robinsons and to a Christmas Eve service at Mosaic, our church. On Christmas we are going to the Tupper's. Paul has the rest of this week off and all of next week. We are so excited to get to spend some time together.
This just in: ALF is back!!!! My family used to watch ALF all the time. I copied this from yahoo:
"The 7,385 signers of the "Bring Back ALF" online petition letter have finally gotten their wish.
The furry, cat-craving extraterrestrial star of the 1980s NBC sitcom, most recently spotted slumming it for long-distance services 10-10-220 and 1-800-COLLECT, has just landed his own show on Nickelodeon."
"The 7,385 signers of the "Bring Back ALF" online petition letter have finally gotten their wish.
The furry, cat-craving extraterrestrial star of the 1980s NBC sitcom, most recently spotted slumming it for long-distance services 10-10-220 and 1-800-COLLECT, has just landed his own show on Nickelodeon."
December 22, 2003
There will be no funny school stories for a whole two weeks. It's Christmas break! I do have a cute Sunday School story for you though. Paul and I teach the preschool class which has been fun. Paul knows "the cleanup song" now. I have once or twice been tempted to belt it out while he and I are cleaning up around the house, just for fun. Anyway, yesterday Paul had to do the first part of Sunday School alone because I was doing a puppet show with two other ladies. During the puppet show (which the preschoolers attended but didn't know that I was a puppet) my character said that Jesus came to earth as a "tiny baby". Right after I said this a hear a little preschool voice out in the audience say (very earnestly), "No, he was a king, a king, Jesus was a king!" Then I hear Paul, "Shhhhh, listen." He said he smiled and winked at her, and she smiled back.
December 18, 2003
Yesterday I was in a kindergarten classroom that had A LOT of pets. Have I ever told you how much I don't care for classroom pets? I counted how many pets there were:
5 rats (my absolute least favorite)
1 hamster (almost as bad as a rat)
2 guinea pigs (not so bad)
1 rabbit
3 crabs
walking sticks
a canary
(These last three are the only three I would consider owning. No biting or fur involved.)
I don't mind being in the same room with these animals as long as they are in cages, but when the teacher asked me to feed them I considered reviewing my job description. My main concern was the rats, but the guinea pigs were making hissing noises at me!!!! I found a solution though - I know that kindergarteners LOVE to feed pets (just like they love to squeeze and "pet" them). So I just asked a girl if she would be my helper and made sure that she was the one who reached into the cage and got the food bowl out. The animals didn't attack her hand - which I really didn't think would happen but you never know.
Another funny thing that happened.
When I was counting the animals I noticed an aquarium full of sticks and leaves so I asked a student, "What kind of animal is in that aquarium?"
She said, "Oh, there's drumsticks in there."
"What?"
"Yeah, drumsticks."
I looked closer for some sort of insect I didn't know about. Probably deadly. They were walking sticks.
5 rats (my absolute least favorite)
1 hamster (almost as bad as a rat)
2 guinea pigs (not so bad)
1 rabbit
3 crabs
walking sticks
a canary
(These last three are the only three I would consider owning. No biting or fur involved.)
I don't mind being in the same room with these animals as long as they are in cages, but when the teacher asked me to feed them I considered reviewing my job description. My main concern was the rats, but the guinea pigs were making hissing noises at me!!!! I found a solution though - I know that kindergarteners LOVE to feed pets (just like they love to squeeze and "pet" them). So I just asked a girl if she would be my helper and made sure that she was the one who reached into the cage and got the food bowl out. The animals didn't attack her hand - which I really didn't think would happen but you never know.
Another funny thing that happened.
When I was counting the animals I noticed an aquarium full of sticks and leaves so I asked a student, "What kind of animal is in that aquarium?"
She said, "Oh, there's drumsticks in there."
"What?"
"Yeah, drumsticks."
I looked closer for some sort of insect I didn't know about. Probably deadly. They were walking sticks.
December 16, 2003
epitaph for a newt
Kindergarten classrooms are often chaotic. On one such chaotic day in one such chaotic classroom a newt was killed, but not intentionally. I'm almost sure that if those PETA people knew what went on in kindergarten to classroom pets they would be picketing every elementary school in the country.
"Teacher! (frantically) The newt is stuck!!!" (visualize other children also screaming and jumping up and down in the background)
Indeed, the newt was stuck. It's head was stuck in the lid of the aquarium almost as if in the act of putting the newt back into the aquarium someone had closed the lid too early. It's head was inside the aquarium and the rest of it's totally stiff and terrified body was outside.
"OK", I said, "I'll open the lid and you catch the newt." I assigned the roles this way because I don't like to touch dead newts. The catch was successful.
Me to the class - "Sometimes when a newt gets hurt he doesn't like to be touched or petted for a long time so we are going to leave the newt alone during choice time." I said this as if the newt was alive. This is the nice thing about being a substitute, the real teacher can break the bad news tomorrow. I just have to break the news to her...
Kindergarten classrooms are often chaotic. On one such chaotic day in one such chaotic classroom a newt was killed, but not intentionally. I'm almost sure that if those PETA people knew what went on in kindergarten to classroom pets they would be picketing every elementary school in the country.
"Teacher! (frantically) The newt is stuck!!!" (visualize other children also screaming and jumping up and down in the background)
Indeed, the newt was stuck. It's head was stuck in the lid of the aquarium almost as if in the act of putting the newt back into the aquarium someone had closed the lid too early. It's head was inside the aquarium and the rest of it's totally stiff and terrified body was outside.
"OK", I said, "I'll open the lid and you catch the newt." I assigned the roles this way because I don't like to touch dead newts. The catch was successful.
Me to the class - "Sometimes when a newt gets hurt he doesn't like to be touched or petted for a long time so we are going to leave the newt alone during choice time." I said this as if the newt was alive. This is the nice thing about being a substitute, the real teacher can break the bad news tomorrow. I just have to break the news to her...
December 14, 2003
Third Grade
This story is one I remembered from a couple weeks ago.
We were reading something historical in which they used the word "petticoat". You know, those things that women used to wear.
I asked the students if anyone knew what it meant.
"I think it's like one of those little sweaters that they put on dogs sometimes."
This story is one I remembered from a couple weeks ago.
We were reading something historical in which they used the word "petticoat". You know, those things that women used to wear.
I asked the students if anyone knew what it meant.
"I think it's like one of those little sweaters that they put on dogs sometimes."
December 12, 2003
1st/2nd grade
What's a jewia?
Today we were talking about Sacajewia, the famous Native American who helped Lewis and Clark discover the Northwest.
"What's a jewia?" a boy asked.
"You mean Sacajewia?" I said.
"Yeah, what's a jewia?" he replied.
Right then I realized that he thought I had said "sack of jewia". I explained who Lewis, Clark and Sacajewia were. Even at the end, some kids still didn't understand. They asked,
"Why did they carry a sack of something across the United States?"
"What's in the sack?"
"What's a jewia?"
What's a jewia?
Today we were talking about Sacajewia, the famous Native American who helped Lewis and Clark discover the Northwest.
"What's a jewia?" a boy asked.
"You mean Sacajewia?" I said.
"Yeah, what's a jewia?" he replied.
Right then I realized that he thought I had said "sack of jewia". I explained who Lewis, Clark and Sacajewia were. Even at the end, some kids still didn't understand. They asked,
"Why did they carry a sack of something across the United States?"
"What's in the sack?"
"What's a jewia?"
December 11, 2003
Third Grade
I was reading aloud from "Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary. We came across a section of the book in which Ramona's Dad comes home and tells the family that the car's transmission is broken, and that the auto repair shop will let them pay in installments. Knowing that the students probably didn't know what this meant, I asked them to take their best guess.
"I think it means that Ramona's Dad will have to pay before they install it."
Sounds logical to me….
I was reading aloud from "Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary. We came across a section of the book in which Ramona's Dad comes home and tells the family that the car's transmission is broken, and that the auto repair shop will let them pay in installments. Knowing that the students probably didn't know what this meant, I asked them to take their best guess.
"I think it means that Ramona's Dad will have to pay before they install it."
Sounds logical to me….
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