SOLC 2013 Day 8: See you in a week!

"See you in a week!"  I must have said that dozens of times today, to students as they left my classroom, colleagues in the hall after the last bell, and parents crossing at my crosswalk this afternoon in the drizzly weather.  

"See you in a week!"  At once a celebration and an encouragement.  

Celebrating a much-needed week off for teachers and students alike.  Encouraging a return to this place of learning.

Celebrating the turning of the seasons.  Encouraging students and parents to see our campus as a welcome home in the community.

Celebrating the idea that we can be apart and come back together seamlessly.  Encouraging each other by affirming vacation and staycation plans.

"See you in a week!"  

Sounds like family, feels like home.  

SOLC 2013 Day 7: The. longest. week. ever.

(Today's SOLC word prompt:  time.)

This has been no ordinary week.  It has been a week of testing prep, birthday glee, administrative classroom observations, an early release day, professional development, a staff egg hunt, one sick child (mine), band contest (the sick child's), internet woes (now fixed), chess club, crocheting lessons, snarky scholars, sweet scholars, laughs, groans, too much fast food, too little sleep, looming opportunities, and added responsibilities.

It's the week before spring break.  Any wonder? Last one to the door is a rotten egg!  ;-)

SOLC Day 6: Technodetails

The word of the day is "details".  And I almost didn't get to blog today, because of the intricate, detailed workings of technology and the internet and electricity.

I'm not a technophobe, but I'm also not qualified to be on the Geek Squad.  I know tech as a user, explorer, teacher.  I know where the on buttons are, the difference between a CPU and a USB, software versus hardware.  But I do not know what to do when my computer says it IS connected to the internet, and attempts to connect via Chrome or Explorer yield blank tabs on my screen.  All the lights on my modem are green...well, the middle two are green and blinking, which according to my husband may mean that we've overloaded the wi-fi yet again and are on the verge of burning out the power supply.

Tech-savvy neighbors to the rescue, whew!  In the three hours between coming home and finally logging on, I grew painfully aware of how much I depend on connecting in cyberspace. I had this blog to write, and some business to conduct, both of which required internet use.  I almost panicked, afraid that I would break my writing streak and not get the information I needed (but could certainly have lived without for the next 24 hours).  

It's one thing to unplug on purpose; another thing entirely to have it unavailable without notice.  It was more than a little unnerving to realize my dependence on technology!  I'm thinking I need to unplug a bit more often...after the SOLC is over, of course.

SOLC 2013 Day 5: Exercise? Not on my birthday!

So today's Slice of Life word is "exercise", as in writing muscles need to be exercised like any other.  But today is my birthday, and the thought of doing anything because I HAVE to is just joy-squashing to me.  

So for today, I am turning my HAVE-TOs into CHOOSE-TOs.  

I chose to go to work instead of calling in a mental health day. I chose to grade papers, teach kids--oops, scholars (sorry, Ms. Allen!)--answer emails, and track IEP objectives.  I chose to hand out positives on behavior cards and give out warnings to stay on task and get it done.  I've even chosen to take time out of my birthday afternoon and write this blogpost.  

But wait...there's more choices I've made today.  I chose to wear my pretty party-store pink-sparkled petite Piscean princess tiara comb in my hair all day.  I chose to get a birthday ribbon from the office to stick on my jacket.  I chose to set up centers in my room for language arts and math, with computers and Magnadoodle math cards and spin-a-sentence and rhyming games and funny questions about my birthday for writing prompts, like "How old does Ms. Margocs act?" and "How should she celebrate her birthday?".  I chose to let my students enjoy those centers, without hearing my Charlie-Brown-teacher-whaa-whaa-whaa voice all the time, and I let my fun egg-shaped clock timer decide when to switch activities.  I chose to let my classroom become a tad chaotic with all that activity.

And what did I get for all these choices?

I got thank-yous from teachers as I handed them graded papers in time for end-of-nine-weeks wrap-up.  I got smiles and happy-birthday-wishes from staff and scholars at the sight of my sparkly tiara.  I got lunch from Torchy's Tacos delivered by my husband, who stayed and ate with me in my classroom (first time ever!)--and he included a piece of chocolate cake with a green plastic Happy Birthday ring, my favorite color.  I got scholars engaged in reading and spelling and writing and calculator use and number sense and telling time and skip counting without a single "Do I haaaaaave to?"  I got my desk cleaned off and straightened out by my wonderful paraprofessional, just in time for the assistant principal to visit and observe me tomorrow.  I got the beautiful gift of a sparkly rock from a student, accompanied by an even sweeter gift of a handwritten note saying he's having a "grat tim" in my room.  I got a picnic mat and goodies to eat, and a birthday party from my group of "Others" who treated me to even more delicious chocolate cake and Amazon loot to spend.  I even got windows rolled down with hand waves and birthday greetings from parents I barely know in the car pickup lane as I worked my crossguard duty.

The picture does not do justice to the sparkles!

I got soooo much more than what I chose to give.  I am having the best birthday ever, no exercise required.  

SOLC 2013 Day 4: Living the Good Life

I like today's one-word prompt for the Slice of Life Challenge: Live.  This is what I live for:

• My husband.  He has seen the worst and best of me, and still loves me through all of it.  He is also a great dad to our
• Children.  Even the acts of bringing them into this world were profoundly life changing (they have amazing birth stories), and they continue to teach me about what's important, and even more importantly, act as mirrors to my own
• Values, beliefs, and habits.  There's nothing like a child to make one aware of one's own faults and foibles.  They are reflections of my best and worst behavior, and keep me mindful that my words are less powerful than my
• Actions.  Remember that old saying about how people won't remember what you said, but they'll remember how you made them feel?  Actions and attitudes speak louder than lectures delivered at multi-digit decibels.  The older I get, the more I realize that the people I love and the things I care about need my active
• Attention.  Nowadays, my family gets my attention.  So do my friends, my students, my administrators, my colleagues, and issues that engage my passion for education, equality, and human rights.  But attention isn't only an outward action; it also involves
• Mindfulness.  Amid all these demands for my attention, I am learning to cherish the inner quiet and engage in activities that feed my soul, like reading and crocheting.  In a state of mindfulness, I can revel in
• Gratitude.  I have so many wonderful blessings in my life--nuclear and extended family, friends, home, job, books, yarn, trees, sunshine, rain....I'm even grateful for my washer and dryer, and indoor plumbing, and coffee with creamer!

There is so much loving and learning to do.  That's what I'm living for.  What's your motivation?    

SOLC Day 3: My morning quiet time

There are many things that I have learned about myself in my almost-forty-seven years of living, and one of the most important is that I need quiet time alone to start my day.  

I am not one of those people who rolls out of bed and hits the ground running.  I stretch before I become vertical, sit up and fix my ponytail before leaving the bed, and an immediate need for coffee kicks in.  With very few exceptions, my day begins like this whether weekday or weekend.  

If by exhaustion or sickness or perceived luxury I decide to sleep in on a Saturday and my cohabitants arise before I do, it just feels weird.  I do very little talking until the needed amount of coffee and quiet (at least in my own head) has been absorbed.

On Sundays, I have to get up early enough to squeeze in my quiet time before "Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood", which I watch with my teen-aged babyboy.  Well, we kind of watch it together; he usually falls asleep again on the couch, and I have to wake him up for the "moment of nature" at the end.  That's really what he likes about the show.

Which is about to come on, so I need to leave this post and get on with my day.  Happy Sunday!

2013 SOLC, Day 2

It's a beautiful day for a school carnival in Austin, Texas...except for the wind.  I'll get into that more in a bit.  But first, carnival details:

• Sunshine and blue skies!  I was tempted to walk to the school today, but I had to carry some skeins of yarn and hooks for my raffle offering (I'm giving away crochet lessons and supplies), and I was hoping to bring back a cake from the cake walk.  So I drove, but with windows down and radio blasting!
• Families, lots of families.  Not as many as in years past, but it is still gratifying to see old and young milling about together, chatting, pushing strollers, and smiling.
• The sweet student, not even one of "mine", who came by to show me the cake she had won and ask what day it is.  My classroom just happens to be right where everyone lines up for the cafeteria, and I have the daily holiday displayed on the door.  After having the entire fifth grade rotate through my room on math enrichment day and learning that yes, indeed, those holidays are real, this young lady makes it a point to "read my door" each day on her way to lunch.  Today, I had the pleasure of telling her that it was a three-fer:  Dr. Seuss' birthday, National Read Across America Day, and Texas Independence Day.  (I may be a day off on the second one, but oh, well!)  Brought a big smile to her face!
• I won two prizes on the silent auction!  After some intense bidding (and a phone call to the hubby), I scored a night at the Renaissance Hotel with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and four movie tickets for a very reasonable price, as well as a gorgeous shell necklace just right for summer wearing.  :-)
• I did not, unfortunately, score a cake on the cakewalk or even a hotdog for refreshment.  Both tables were sold out by the time I got to them.  :-(
• There was the CUTEST little girl running around in pink corduroy OshKosh overalls and glittery pink shoes.  And babies with big cheeks.  And little boys with tiger stripe face paint and little girls with purple butterflies on their faces.  And big ol' high school football players in their jerseys, with fake felt mustaches and silly facepaint too.
• And now for the wind...right as I was leaving, I stopped to talk to a fourth grade teacher who was manning the ticket table.  Suddenly, the wind whipped up, and she was hit in the face with the side of a cardboard sign!  It scratched the side of her nose...needless to say, she called it a day after that!  And so did I.  

Now back home to my to-do list of college finances for next year for babygirl (seeing as how she is surviving her first year splendidly!), hanging out with babyboy for a bit, housecleaning, and crocheting that blanket I've started on.  Here's the teaser I sent the mom-to-be:

Have a great weekend, everyone!