Read, Write, and Blog

Tucker, the Birthday Boy  Tucker’s birthday was April 8.  It’s hard to believe that the little fellow was a year old.  I spent the day repairing his stuffed animals.  (He likes to tear them open at the seams.  I’ve found that the only way to fix them is to sew them back together with dental floss because it’s a lot stronger than ordinary thread.  Of course that doesn’t keep him from tearing them open again a day or two later.)  He also went for two long walks and a “swim” in his pool.  Since it was his birthday, I bought him a box of doggy ice cream sandwiches.  Since they were scored (marked) in fourths, Kolleen, Todd, my husband, and I all got to give him a birthday treat.  Hmmmm, looks like the start of his own birthday tradition.

When I was growing up, birthdays were special days for us.  We got to pick whatever we wanted for our birthday dinner, and then we got to pick what kind of cake we wanted.  Being the strange kid I was, I sometimes asked for cherry pie instead.  Since it was my birthday, that’s what mom fixed.  I have since carried that tradition into my own family.  Whether it happens to be my husband’s birthday or one of my children’s, the “birthday boy or girl” gets to pick what he/she wants.  Over the past few years, we included my mom and sister in our tradition, fixing their favorite foods as well.  We all get together and share a meal.  After all, that’s what families are all about!

Blog Assignment 13 – Talk about what you do on your birthday.  Do you have a tradition that the members of your family follow each year?  Describe it.  If you don’t, what tradition would you like to see started?  BE REALISTIC! 

For the past five years, we have had a pair of mallard ducks fly in to visit with us during the spring and summer.  They usually spend most of their time under the bird feeders and around the crepe myrtles where my husband tosses out extra bird feed, corn, sunflower seeds, and peanuts each day.  We found that the birds, squirrels, rabbits, and ducks enjoy them all.  In addition to sharing meals with us, Mr. and Mrs. Duck also like to swim in the pool.  However, I’m not very fond of this practice as I don’t like finding duck poop in the pool!

Last year, Tucker was terrified of the ducks.  Weighing in at twenty-eight pounds and being all of eight weeks old, he quickly realized that he was no match for them.  He stayed on the other side of the yard and merely watched them go about their daily business of feeding and swimming.  He definitely wasn’t pleased that they were in his yard, but what was a small guy to do? 

This year things have changed quite a bit.  Tipping the scales at a little over one hundred pounds and almost a year old, Tucker is no longer intimidated by the ducks.  He charges out the back door at full speed, heading for the feeding area.  If he doesn’t find them there, he charges to the pool to see if that’s where they’re hiding.  He’s so quick that he can almost catch them before they fly off.  I’m not sure what’s going to happen if he really is able to grab one as they are some pretty big birds!

Blog Assignment 12 – Think back to a time when you were little and afraid.  What were you afraid of?  What did you do to conquer your fear, or were you able to?  Write your answer in good paragraph form with plenty of details.

Everybody loves St. Patrick’s Day and not just because you’re allowed to pinch people who don’t wear green.  In fact, that part of the holiday should be abolished.  Too many people take advantage of it and try to hurt others.  However, that’s not what I really wanted to discuss today.  I, personally, have always been infatuated with the idea that there are little men out there who live at the end of the rainbow and own pots of gold, all for the taking.  In this day and time with the price of gas going sky high, who wouldn’t like their own pot of gold!  Legend says that all you have to do is catch the little guy and the gold is yours.  What if you did catch a leprechaun, and then you found there was a twist to the legend.  The gold became yours, but you couldn’t keep it.  You had to find someone to give it to, someone who really needed it.

Blog Assignment 11:  You have captured a leprechaun and claimed his pot of gold.  Now you have one day to decide who to give it to.  The person who receives it from you must need.  Who would you choose, why would you give it to him/her, and what would he/she use the money for?  Your answer should be written as a good paragraph, about 8 sentences long.  Be sure to answer all of the questions in your paragraph.  May the luck of the Irish be with you!

When Mrs. Palmer had her surgery she told me not to worry.  She said it was much easier than her appendectomy (she had her appendix removed).  So I just assumed everything would be fine – I’d go in, have surgery, come home, and that would be that.  Right? Wrong!  She neglected to tell me that even though it might be better than having your appendix removed, it would still feel like you had been hit by a speeding car!  The only good thing is that every day it hurts less and less, and it’s much easier to get up and move around.  I’m actually looking forward to being able to do some things for myself and not feeling guilty about it. 

I’m not able to get out and walk Tucker any, and that is very hard.  I’m allowed to walk around the house as often as I want.  Whoopee!  I usually start from the bedroom, walk down the hall, turn left, cut through the living room, head into the dining room, turn right into the kitchen, head through the den, and back down the hall.  I guess it’s a good thing that several of the rooms are arranged in a circle.  As I make my way through the house, I decide it is time to pick out my favorite room.  I really do like my bedroom because that’s where the computer is.  My kitchen is pretty neat, too, because I can sit at the table and look out into the back yard and watch Tucker, the birds, and the rabbits.  However, if I had to pick my favorite room, I think it would be the living room, even though I probably use it less than any other except the dining room.

The living room faces south, and is always flooded with sunlight; there are two floor to ceiling high windows in it.  The room itself is not really that large.  There are a couch and a chair in it, and it also holds a small table that my grandfather bought my grandmother when they were first married.  There are two additional pieces of furniture (a bookcase and a dry sink) that my dad built for me.  The couch and chair are dark green, burgundy, and gold and comfy enough to curl up in and read.  That’s what I like best.  It’s the one room in the house where I can go to be alone and still be surrounded by things that remind me of those I love.  When the rest of the house gets crazy, I can sit in the living room and read.  Everyone knows where I am, but no one bothers me unless there is some huge crisis, except for Tucker, and everything is a crisis for him!

Blog Assignment 10 – Which room in your house is your favorite room?  Describe it so that someone can see in his/her mind what it looks like.  What do you do there that makes it special?  Your answer should be 8 – 10 sentences long.

This year we were fortunate enough to have a Promethean board installed in our classroom.  That in itself was great!  I never imagined how wonderfully interactive it would be. 

One of the things that I love the most about it is the fact that the students readily grasp how to use it.  Not only are they capable of using a majority of the tools, they are very able and willing to let me know when I have made a mistake with one of them and what I need to do to get back on track. 

Even with all of the neat things we could do with the board by itself, I never realized just how powerful it could be until I introduced the Activotes or clickers.  Oh, my gosh!  Suddenly everything we did was fun, even the SOL writing test multiple choice reviews (How much fun could that be?).  For students to be able to click on their answers and see the results immediately posted was truly awesome.  Then, when they could see how they did on all of the items combined by a mere click of the Summary button, it nearly blew them away, as it did me!  Not only could I see at a glance how everyone did, but I also had an instant matrix which showed which items I needed to review in order to achieve class mastery.  No more tallying test items for me! 

The more I use this glorious teaching tool, the more I thank my lucky stars that our school system saw the value in such an item as the Promethean board.  And to think that when I bought my first computer I used to get the sweats just thinking about using it!  You just never know! 

Blog Assignment 9 – What do you like best about the Promethean board?  Do you think the Activotes (clickers) will help you in the classroom?  Why or why not?

People are always aghast when they talk about students cheating in school.  How could anyone not study for a test or quiz that he or she knows is going to be given?  Asking someone for an answer or looking at someone else’s paper to get an answer is cheating, and everyone will tell you that. However, what about homework?

Many students look at copying someone else’s homework as an okay thing to do.  After all, it’s only a homework assignment, and it shouldn’t count for much, right?  Wrong!  When you copy someone else’s homework, you are turning in that work as your own.  It is NOT your own.  Copying that homework is the same as copying the paper on a test.  It is wrong, and the same consequences should occur. 

What about the person who lets you copy the homework assignment?  Is he/she quilty of cheating, too?  Most definitely!  Giving someone the answers willingly is just as bad as getting them.  Should the same consequences apply?  Yes.

Blog Assignment 8 – A good friend asks you to let him/her copy your homework.  You know that this friend was at the ballpark playing all afternoon the day before instead of doing the homework.  What should you do, and what do you tell your friend?  Be sure to add specific details to your answer.

It’s hard to believe that we have already finished one semester this year.  We were able to accomplish a lot of things, some of them pleasant, and others not.  I think the thing I liked the best was the “Who Am I?” book report.  It was a lot of fun creating the puzzle and watching it appear.  It was also fun trying to guess who the different people were.  The thing I liked the least was the increase in the amount of paperwork I seem to have this year.  Most of it I think is unnecessary, but just like you guys and girls, I don’t have a choice about doing it or not.

Blog Assignment 7 – What did you like about your first semester in fifth grade, and what didn’t you like?  Give one example for each, and explain why you did or didn’t like it.

Character Trading Card Website  Parents, students are currently reading a fiction AR book for their next book report.  The book report will consist of creating a trading card for one of the characters and taking an AR test on the book.  Your child may complete the trading card at home.  The web site precedes this description.  I will allow a day in class to complete this portion for those students who do not have internet access at home.  If your child completes it at home, please allow him to print 4 copies of the card so that he may keep one, one may be sent to the library, one may be kept in our room, and one may be turned in for a grade.  The only one that needs to have the picture drawn on it is the one turned in for a grade.  However, others may contain pictures, too.  Letters and a form students can fill in so that they have all of the information at hand before completing the card will be coming home next week.  The book report will be due on February 15.

Welcome back, guys and girls. It’s hard to imagine that 2008 has really started. I wish I could be there with you during the next two weeks, but I’ll be back soon. Be sure to be nice to Mrs. Franks while I’m gone. This will be a chance for you to become reacquainted!

You know that a lot of people make resolutions or promises to themselves at the beginning of the new year. Usually they involve things like losing weight, studying more, cleaning your room, becoming better organized, etc. My resolution this year is to try to listen more and be kinder to those people I am fortunate to have in “my space.” Too often we lose patience and yell at those people who mean the most to you. I’m really going to try to do better!

I’ll see you soon.

Blog Assignment 6:  If you were going to make a New Year’s resolution, what would it be?  Why would this be a good one for you?

Of all the holidays we celebrate in our country, I think Thanksgiving is my favorite.  When I was young, I would have picked Christmas, being the greedy little girl that I was!  However, as I grew older, receiving things didn’t seem to mean as much as it did when I was young. Spending time with my family and friends became more and more important.  Then I began to see all of the things in my life for which I was thankful, things like a pantry full of food, a safe and warm house, those people in my life who are there for me every day, and a little chocolate to get me through stressful days at school!  Thanksgiving was the one time when I could concentrate on those that I love without worrying about whether they were going to like the present that I had bought.  The holiday is all about being thankful for the blessings we have in our lives and appreciating them.  It is a truly wonderful day.

Blog Assignment 5 – What things are you most thankful for?  Do you think we should let the people who mean the most to us know how we feel?  Why or why not?