MATH

READING

Busy, Busy, Busy

As I was cleaning the board last night and even I had to laugh. There was the formula for finding the volume of a sphere, the linear equation and a graph, the long o spelling patterns, roman numerals, a student generated list for camping, the formula for finding your maximum heart rate, and "Van Gogh genius or crazy", all written. Thank goodness I have a lot of help, I don't think I could keep all of that in my head.

They are always learning something

I took the opportunity today to talk to the kids about the recent incidents of disrespect that have been in the news lately; at the VMA awards, on the tennis court and in the House of Representatives. The kids understood and were shocked by the appalling bad manners of people whom they think of adults. They were able to understand how disrespectful that type of behavior is and how the tennis star, the rap star and the congressman were the ones who looked bad. We talked about some of their choices and how they treat their friends, classmates and parents. I hope the shock they felt at the behavior of these "role models" influences them. I hope the lesson they learned this week was to behave better than those adults that were in the news this week.

September 4, 2009

Looking foreward

I took my niece to college this weekend. There have been some of my friends who say she is a lot like me, but only because I have had a 30 year head start on her. She will pass me soon. She is so full of confidence and excitement right now. I just loved it when she said, "I am so wierd, my roommates are going to love me!"

It was fun to be the one that got to experience her excitement at this point in her life. I have a friend that says we don't usually recognize the turning points in our life when they happen. I remember the day I got dropped off at college. Although I remember it clearly, that day was not a turning point, but the next few months were. Some of the change came from the things I learned in the classroom, but most came from learning about myself when I broke my leg, or decided at the last minute to drive to Mexico, or decided that clearing brush at the ski area was a good way to earn a season pass. It was those things that helped me recognize myself.

Good luck Tevi, and like I tell the kids in my class, Work Hard, Play Hard, Be Kind and Have Fun.

The new kindergartner is going to fit right in. When all the rest of us were playing duck, duck, goose today, he was playing pumpkin, pumpkin, scorpion.