Pleasing the Godmother

There is no previous post which specifically describes The Boy's aversion to the camera. Or at least to pictures on the camera that wind up on mom's blog.

But because it's for his sweet godmother, I absolutely must break with the moratorium on Boy pictures on the blog to share at least a couple of graduation night ones...which reminds my lame blogging self--I still have Easter pictures to share!

Is it The Boy? No, it's Beulah, practicing her graduation pose. You never can be too prepared.

Here comes Naomi getting into the act. You would never have known that the mortarboard in question was soaking wet from the deluge that hit as we exited the church. (You would, however, have known if you had gotten a look at the drowned rat who masqueraded as photographer.)

Get a load of Candace's hair. Picture the pouring rain...seriously, picture it. But look at the grin on that face. Not even a little monsoon could bring the arklings down!

Ummm...yeah.
(Can you see the slice of pizza on the counter? That would be The Boy's after dinner-dinner. Why did no one tell me that my once 8 pound baby Boy would eat his weight in pizza as a teenager?)

He even tied his own tie. We're just so proud!

Headin' For High School!

We made a decision for high school for The Boy.

Finally.

Some of you may recall my request from those who have high-schooled before me...It only took us, you know, almost until he was in high school to decide where he was going. We were faced with three choices--all very good, but all very different.

The local public high school.

The diocesan co-ed Catholic high school.

The private all-boys Catholic high school.

We prayed. We visited. We discussed. We attended open houses. We prayed some more. We even took Grandma and Grandpa to visit. Then, still more prayers.

But when our decision was made, we were at peace.

Is there anything more affirming than that?

Anyone want to guess which school we picked?

Just Because

Just because the schools out East will force my poor little sis to continue working until after the summer solstice--how inhumane! and...

Just because my little girl "graduated" from preschool yesterday and...

Just because the big girls are finished with school today and...

Just because The Boy checks out next week. (Admittedly, if we're being honest he's checked out several weeks ago) next week and...

Just because the repressed school teacher trapped in my body is dying to get out and dance around for the joy of school's end and...

Just because this is too funny not to share.

Jeff Foxworthy on Educators

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off.

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it going to rain, snow, hail....anything!!! Without ever looking outside.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe, "shallow gene pool" should have its own box on a report card.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June.

YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge."

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the UHAUL boxes should they decided to move out of district.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, "Why is this kid like this?"

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference

YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter!

YOU might be a school employee if the words “I have college debt for this?” have ever come out of your mouth.

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!

Defying Probability
(Subtitled: I Knew There Was a Reason We Had All These Kids)

The Boy came home early from school the other day, and being the lone "after-school" voice in the car, I heard slightly more than I usually hear while driving home.

The Boy: We had a problem in Math today and our family was the answer!

Me: (feeling slightly worried about where this was heading) Really? What was the question?

The Boy: It was about statistics and probability; you know, all that coin toss and 50-50 stuff.

Me: And...

The Boy: It challenged us to first, identify a family with six kids (NO PROBLEM!) and then, prove that one existed where it was not made up of three boys and three girls. I just looked at that and everyone else scratching their heads and wondered---what's so hard about this?

Me: (exhaling a sigh of relief) Oh! Good! Let me know if we can help with the multiplication unit...

Valentine's Day Request

I received an email requesting help in putting together Valentine Party activities for a fourth grade class:

I'm looking for some advice and ideas for a 4th grade Valentine's Day classroom party. The Christmas party was ... fun and loud. There's 17 boys and 9 girls in the class. Several of my game ideas just didn't work, like running and shouting activities. The Play Doh charades (like Cadoo, if you've played it) worked well. They sat in three circles and played quietly. Do you have any game ideas for an active class? I've tried looking on the internet and just haven't found much. Or, do have some fun websites that has game ideas? I'd really like to do something or give something to bring in the original meaning of St.Valentine. Our society is just so far away from the origins of St.Valentine and his message. Any thoughts on that one?

Here are just a couple of ideas that seemed like they might be of interest--

• Heart Hunt: Decorate the classroom with hidden red heart cutouts (if the weather was nice, I suppose you could even do this outside?) At the end of the hunt, have a special treat for the children. To keep it quiet, insist that they do it on their tiptoes!
  
• Love Match: Gather scripture verses including chapter and verse or quotes about love from the saints. Then, on two pieces of paper, write the quote/verse on one piece of paper and the author/chapter and verse on the other. You can tape the papers into manilla folders turned on their sides (so that the opening is on the bottom) and number all the folders on the outside. Then you get to play the hostess and students take turns (alone or on teams) guessing which two match together. I've used this before with all ages of students. It was great fun and you could adapt it to either small groups (use index cards instead of folders) or as above for use with the whole class.
  
• Give A Little Love: Have students create valentines to send to a local charity, another group of school-children or to a nearby nursing home. (Don't forget your local religious priests and nuns.) We've made some cute Valentine's projects with mini bags (local craft stores carry these for next to nothing) of Valentine colored M & Ms, goldfish crackers, cinnamon red hots, or conversation hearts. Then, we created toppers with rubber stamps and markers or colored pencils and wrote a little note on the back. Staple the topper to the little mini-bag and voila--a project with heart! I've done this with kids from kindergarten up through high school.
• Life is Like A Box of: CHOCOLATES!!! What Valentine Day would be complete without a serious helping of chocolate? You might want to try your hand at Chocolate Modeling Clay. Or using the little melty chocolates from the craft store, being sure not to confuse them with these, have students pour them into heart-shaped molds, make lollipops or simply dip pretzel sticks in any color of melted chocolate and roll in red, white and pink sprinkles for a festive touch.

You can also find information on Saint Valentine's Day here and here.

And when the kids are all tucked in for the night, check out these "True Romance for Couples with Kids" ideas from Catholic Mom's site.

Based on your note, I think I'd shy away from any Valentine pinatas or the reenactment the martyrdom of the saints celebrated that day! In the meanwhile, I'll keep looking through my Valentine resources for any other suggestions, but as I've said before, most of *my* great ideas aren't even mine! So, if any Ark readers have any super suggestions, feel free to leave a link or an idea below.

***UPDATED***SC Mom has done it again! She's got the quintessential Valentine's Day ideas post up now. Definitely check it out!

And, you can now find Laura's Bingo Cards online here. They are simply divine!

Obviously, People

High school students in CT lost a little common sense today, which for high school students (if memory serves) doesn't leave much left.
Physics teacher and stickler for attention to detail, (Units, people, UNITS!), David Couch, who had been a teacher there for 35 years, just passed away in Germany. He was scheduled to return and teach part time.
Even if you didn't attend Immaculate High School, you knew this teacher. He was the one whom freshmen feared as urban legends about him filled the hallways of the upperclassmen. He was tough-that was for certain. Whether out of fear, or perhaps out of hard work(okay, it was definitely fear); he demanded his students perform to the best of their abilities. He expected nothing less from us, nor we from him. He taught us to expect success of ourselves and of others at a time when teenage angst readily clouded most things positive.
Rest in peace, Mr. Couch. May St. Peter meet you with a truly original joke about your name.

For Miz

and all my other teacher-y friends:

HOW TO TELL IF YOU'RE A REAL TEACHER
Real teachers grade papers in the car, during commercials, in faculty meetings, in the bathroom, and (at the end of the six weeks) have been seen grading in church.
Real teachers cheer when they hear April 1 does not fall on a school day.
Real teachers drive older cars owned by credit unions.
Real teachers clutch a pencil while thinking and make notes in the margins of books.
Real teachers can't walk past a crowd of kids without straightening up the line.
Real teachers never sit down without first checking the seat of the chair.
Real teachers have disjointed necks from writing on boards without turning their backs on the class.
Real teachers are written up in medical journals for size and elasticity of kidneys and bladders.
Real teachers have been timed gulping down a full lunch in 2 minutes, 18 seconds. Master teachers can eat faster than that.
Real teachers can predict exactly which parents will show up at Open House.
Real teachers volunteer for hall duty on days faculty meetings are scheduled.
Real teachers never teach the conjugations of lie and lay to eighth graders.
Real teachers know it is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.
Real teachers know the best end of semester lesson plans can come from Blockbuster.
Real teachers never take grades after Wednesday of the last week of the six weeks.
Real teachers never assign research papers on the last six weeks or essays on final exams.
Real teachers know the shortest distance and the length of travel time from their classroom to the office.
Real teachers can "sense" gum.
Real teachers know the difference among what must be graded, what ought to be graded, and what probably should never again see the light of day.
Real teachers are solely responsible for the destruction of the rain forest.
Real teachers have their best conferences in the parking lot.
Real teachers have never heard an original excuse.
Real teachers buy Excedrin and Advil at Sam's.
Real teachers will eat anything that is put in the workroom/teacher's lounge.
Real teachers never plan discussions for first period or co-operative groups for 7th during an evaluation.
Real teachers have the assistant principals' and counselors' home phone numbers.
Real teachers know secretaries and custodians run the school.
Real teachers know the rules don't really apply to them.
Real teachers hear the heartbeats of crisis; always have time to listen; know they teach students, not subjects; and they are absolutely non-expendable.

Happy Back To School!
It is a great honor to have, at one time, counted myself among your ranks. Have a GREAT year! And Miz-don't let anybody be beastin' on ya.