. . . a loving family
. . . my daughter found a terrific boyfriend
. . . my son has found his niche in life
. . . my son got over a very difficult relationship and is dating again
. . . wonderful friends
. . . a loving school family
. . . Mrs. Antonacci, Mrs. Dincher, Mrs. Phillips, Miss Porter, and Mrs. Pulizzi
. . . a job I love
. . . consistently great groups of sixth graders over the last 15 years
. . . my new lease on life -- I feel great
. . . the drive to prove to Mrs. Antonacci, I can dance - just gotta train my crippled leg
Happy Thanksgiving, be careful if you are travelling, good luck if you shop on Black Friday, good luck if you are hunting, enjoy life. Have a great vacation, folks.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Time For Conferences
I'm here 'til 9. Hope my coffee holds out. Actually, I did flee for an hour. Had to get puppy out for a walk - quick quarter-mile. Boy, did she give me a nasty look. I told the pup to blame the parents.
Tomorrow
can't come soon enough. These holiday weeks are getting tougher the older I get. Hey, you try keeping up with a hundred something 12-year-olds.
Have a good night, folks
Tomorrow
can't come soon enough. These holiday weeks are getting tougher the older I get. Hey, you try keeping up with a hundred something 12-year-olds.
Have a good night, folks
Monday, November 24, 2008
I Love, My Girls
Whew! That wind and snow is fierce. Dog and I cut the walk down to one-mile. I got the coffee pot a'brewin'.
Today, my classes started building a geological timeline. First, we need to make a 15-foot long timeline and mark-it-off in centimeters. One centimeter equals 10 million years. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Quick, how many centimeter marks will we need? Hope you said 450. If not, check your math work.
Anyway, Mrs. Dincher, always the mommy, spent the first class period fussing over the cherubs - rolling-up their timelines to keep them tangle-free, and cleaning-up after the kids. She just kept showing the munchkins what to do and I had to keep yelling at her that this is inquiry-based learning and directions are written-out. That means they learn through self-discovery. I came short of wrapping my arms around her to keep her from doing the work for the students. Yes, I love this woman and she does very well for herself, thank you, ordering me around. She is almost as good as Mrs. Antonacci. In the end, my students in that class completed the timeline format. I will not see them again, until Wednesday and next week, we begin assembling.
My other love is Mrs. Phillips. Her second period class is doing the same project. She, however, took students to the floor to lay-out their timelines and mark the centimeter points. There she was, crawling around on the floor with the kids - guiding, facilitating, advising; not doing the work for them. I did get a picture of her on the floor, but, did not download it yet, for this blog. Mrs. Phillips is well-aware of my teaching style and she does a wonderful job offering support when and where needed. Yes, they completed the assignment in preparation for assembling the timeline. I will not see them again until Wednesday.
In the end, I had a blast, today. My students are terrific and my two girls - Mrs. Dincher and Mrs. Phillips - are a godsend. Even Mr. Fausnaught stopped in to see us having -- dare I say it? FUN!!!!
Student-led Conferences
began today. The afternoon was spent meeting parents as wonderful as their children. Several conferences were enjoyable, others informative, all were interesting. You should have seen my kiddoes take charge of their conferences and lead me and their parents through the conference. I chuckle thinking of the several very nervous children anticipating the meeting of parent and teacher. Hey! sixth graders! Y'all done good. Thanks for your hard work.
PappaZ says this snowy weather will end by midnight. No need to fear a two-hour delay, tomorrow. You know I won't live this down, if I am wrong. Have a great night, folks.
Today, my classes started building a geological timeline. First, we need to make a 15-foot long timeline and mark-it-off in centimeters. One centimeter equals 10 million years. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Quick, how many centimeter marks will we need? Hope you said 450. If not, check your math work.
Anyway, Mrs. Dincher, always the mommy, spent the first class period fussing over the cherubs - rolling-up their timelines to keep them tangle-free, and cleaning-up after the kids. She just kept showing the munchkins what to do and I had to keep yelling at her that this is inquiry-based learning and directions are written-out. That means they learn through self-discovery. I came short of wrapping my arms around her to keep her from doing the work for the students. Yes, I love this woman and she does very well for herself, thank you, ordering me around. She is almost as good as Mrs. Antonacci. In the end, my students in that class completed the timeline format. I will not see them again, until Wednesday and next week, we begin assembling.
My other love is Mrs. Phillips. Her second period class is doing the same project. She, however, took students to the floor to lay-out their timelines and mark the centimeter points. There she was, crawling around on the floor with the kids - guiding, facilitating, advising; not doing the work for them. I did get a picture of her on the floor, but, did not download it yet, for this blog. Mrs. Phillips is well-aware of my teaching style and she does a wonderful job offering support when and where needed. Yes, they completed the assignment in preparation for assembling the timeline. I will not see them again until Wednesday.
In the end, I had a blast, today. My students are terrific and my two girls - Mrs. Dincher and Mrs. Phillips - are a godsend. Even Mr. Fausnaught stopped in to see us having -- dare I say it? FUN!!!!
Student-led Conferences
began today. The afternoon was spent meeting parents as wonderful as their children. Several conferences were enjoyable, others informative, all were interesting. You should have seen my kiddoes take charge of their conferences and lead me and their parents through the conference. I chuckle thinking of the several very nervous children anticipating the meeting of parent and teacher. Hey! sixth graders! Y'all done good. Thanks for your hard work.
PappaZ says this snowy weather will end by midnight. No need to fear a two-hour delay, tomorrow. You know I won't live this down, if I am wrong. Have a great night, folks.
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