Moments of magic!

                               Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.

Sunday afternoon nap time is sacred time at my house.  However, this past Sunday afternoon I broke with tradition, stayed dressed (I'm usually back into my PJs within minutes of returning home from church), and ventured out (even though the temperatures were unseasonably cold).  I phoned the library to inquire about the time for the performance and was told 2:30.  I thought it started at 2:00 and was almost ready at 1:45, so I headed to the library with a bag of tricks to amuse me until show time.  Good thing I did!

When I entered the library shortly after 2, the carolers were directly in front of me and already singing.  Luckily, there were still a few seats in the back.  I snagged a seat and was immediately entranced by beloved Christmas tunes and the four part harmony of the Dickens' carolers.

I quickly forgot the "to do" list, the cards needing to be addressed, the Christmas shopping not yet done, and the tree in my family room adorned with lights, but still awaiting ornaments. I looked around me and saw all ages soaking in the beauty of this performance -  from the new parents cradling a newborn, to the young parents shushing toddlers and grade schoolers, to the mature folks like myself listening appreciatively, to the gorgeous silver haired senior citizens holding hands and nodding in time.

In the hurry and scurry of the season, I treasure carving out a few moments that rejuvenate me. This was one of those experiences.  It's hard to decide what to attend and what to pass up, but listening to and indulging our own desires can provide magical moments in the midst of many obligations.  My hope is that each of us can discover an activity that feeds our souls - perhaps wandering outside on a moonlit night to ponder the night sky, filling the kitchen with the aroma of fresh baked cookies from treasured family recipes, or heading out for an afternoon of sledding followed by hot chocolate and marshmallows.  For me, I discovered magic at the library as I listened to beautiful voices sing the familiar songs of this special season!

Celebrating a new trimester and winter's early arrival!

                            So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres!

                It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!

Posting a bit late this week, but I continue to discover that paying attention means I find much to celebrate each week. 

One - My students finished their first trimester, and I finished posting grades and comments on Friday.  Woo Hoo!

Two - We didn't get a snow day this past week, but my snowman collection is out for the winter.  My good friend Shelly offered her creative eye and wonderful flair for decorating on the eve of her own travel. I'm always happy that my snowmen/women continue to brighten the dark days of winter long after the Christmas decorations are put away and stashed for next year.  We also put up the Christmas tin collection in the kitchen.  My husband threatens to streamline my stash of tins, but I love each and every one of them.  

Three - My students started a WebQuest for Social Studies on Thursday.  It was great fun to see their collaboration and engagement as they began 2nd trimester and this project with a new shoulder partner. 

Four - We had our first WOW (word of the week) party this last week during lunch.  When students find one of our words in outside reading, they post the example to our discussion thread, and join me for lunch, a game of Catch Phrase and cookie bars.  We had some lively phrases flying around the room as we worked to elicit the exact phrase from our teammates before the beeper stopped!  If you've never played Catch Phrase, it's a great game for all ages.

Five - If our cold weather continues, I'll read a favorite picture book, Winter is the Warmest Season.   Even though winter doesn't officially arrive until we're out for winter break, I've discovered that sometimes our coldest weather arrives in early December.  You've got to celebrate cold weather when it's here!

"What's that noise?" inquired the cat.

                               Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.

Last week, the weatherman mentioned a chance of snow flurries in the forecast for Sunday evening. Then the chance of snow moved to Monday.  I wore one of my snow themed sweaters as inspiration for old man weather.  I promised myself that I would bring everything home in case of a snow day.  (My husband still recalls the time we retrieved 57 shoebox book projects from my classroom in several inches of snow because I wanted to grade them while we were out of school.)

Fast forward through the day.  The sun was clear and bright.  I realized that I had worn my sweater in vain.  It didn't look a bit like snow which is why I forgot my promise to bring home anything that might need grading.  I left school early (shortly after five), stopped by the grocery store, and headed for home.  The cat greeted me and joined me in the kitchen.  She looked at the ceiling, puzzled by the rat-tat-tat on the roof.  I went to the deck and flipped on the light to see a light coating of sleet covering the deck and lawn furniture.  Just before coming upstairs, I looked again to find the sleet mostly gone with only a few frosty spots.  

I'll head to bed and hope for a two hour late start for tomorrow.  Even if we don't get much snow, some of our teachers travel from other locales and any snow is problematic in our area.  I won't sleep well tonight.  I'll be up peering out the window to see if we get any more sleet or snow.  And then I'll be listening for the phone call that arrives rather early to announce late start, or no school.  I'm just like one of the kids.  I still love a snow day!

Celebrating two weekends!

                           So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres!

                It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!

Celebrations are everywhere when we slow down to notice them:

Thanksgiving eve devotional with friends from many faith communities 

 Sleeping in on turkey day

Having a young friend join us for the holiday

Enjoying Thanksgiving lunch at a restaurant

Heading upstairs to see Catching Fire

The guys for setting up and lighting the Christmas tree  

Lance's homemade pizza (thanks Sara & Will for inspiring him)

Time to play Yahtzee and Chicken Foot

Ryan's coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate

Touching base with loved ones by telephone and email throughout the day

Our friend's time & technological expertise (space again for taking pics on my phone)

A black Friday pajama day perfect for grading papers

Waking up this morning to another weekend and Saturday celebrations!

Teacher-Created Chaos

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.

It was one of those rare, quiet moments in my 4th /5th period block of 19 boys and 9 girls. Quiet is something that is rarely achieved in this classroom.  Everyone was engrossed in his or her Mock Newbery book and anticipating lunch.
Suddenly, I heard that annoying sound!  Another student with hiccups.  We've had an epidemic of hiccups  in our classroom lately.  Some are the loud, gut-wrenching kind that disturb the entire class.  This afflicted student was a bit quieter which is why most of my students didn't hear her and become totally distracted.
My dad always claimed that a good scare was the best cure for the hiccups.
So... I crept up behind her, shouted "BOO!" and scared the living daylights out of her and the entire class!
My students wanted to know why I was crying.  I explained that hearty laughter always brings tears to my eyes.
Once everyone calmed down, I asked the afflicted student if she still had the hiccups.
Nope, they were gone!

Celebrate!

                                            

                           So excited to join Saturday Celebrations with Ruth Ayres!

                   It is fun to live my week thinking about what I will celebrate on Saturday!  

A quick celebration before tackling the work of the day:

1.  Celebrating the encouragement I received last week from fellow bloggers to exercise.  Although I didn't exercise five times, four times is definitely moving in the right direction.  Makes me think about how important it is to celebrate approximations toward a goal, not just accomplishment.  (Could I please move my mountain climber four hundred feet up the mountain?)

2.  Celebrating a new opportunity to serve in my faith community.  After spending seven years of Sunday mornings with young children, I'm sad to leave them.  I know I'll be challenged by this new direction.

3.  Celebrating time to talk with my daughter before school yesterday.  After two years of PA school and the same time zone, I had grown attached to our early morning check-ins.  Now with her move to the east coast, she's already at work when I get up at 5 a.m.  Glad her road trip yesterday gave us time to chat!  

4. Celebrating a Saturday morning phone call from my son.  He's headed up to campus to study and I'm grading papers.  We lead exciting lives!

Take a few moments to join us for Saturday celebrations at Ruth Ayres Writes!

7 Questions for Tuesday Night!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by  Two Writing Teachers.

A meandering slice of random thoughts . . . stick with me for the book recommendation!

1.  Are authors contributing to a generation without a proper understanding of capital letters when  they refuse to use capitals in the titles of their books?  Am I clinging to an old fashioned notion by still insisting that first words, last words, and all other important words in the title are capitalized on reading logs?

2.  How do people keep up with the flood of email?  Our new email system continues to baffle me, emails elude me by hiding in unusual places, and emails started (but not finished) slink away to the draft folder instead of staying in my current mailbox.

3.  Wasn't life simpler for middle schoolers and their parents without teacher updates, assignments posted on Schoology, and grades entered on Skyward?

4.  Since I didn't reach my goal of exercising five times this week, do I just give up and try again next  week?  Or do I celebrate each day that I exercise knowing that some is always better than none?

5.  How can one book be filled with so many memorable lines?  From the optimism here "Never let someone tell you that you can't do it," to the bleakness here, "All reality, I decide, is a blender where hopes and dreams are mixed with fear and despair," to the wisdom here, "Every person has lots of ingredients to make them into what is always a one-of-a-kind creation."

6.  How can one book break my heart, celebrate life, create quirky characters I'll never forget, and stay with me long after I've turned the last page?

7.  How can I resist purchasing my own copy of this book so I can mark it to my heart's content?  My advice, treat yourself to a wonderful reading experience and pick up a copy of counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan!  (It was hard, but I typed that title with no caps.  Just don't tell my students!)