SOL #6 ~ Random Ramblings

Hello! It feels like it has been forever since I blogged. It has only been a week, but it has been a long week with something every day/night! I helped out with brain bowl practice and competition, went on a walk with a friend, baby sat for a friend, played cards and had dinner with a friend, shared some chicken with another friend, and just been blessed in general with spending time with those I love.

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This week isn't as crazy, but do have a lot on the calendar. Thankfully SOL fell on the Tuesday that I don't have anything! I graded papers with Kris and then we went and celebrated Taco Tuesday (even though Kris seems to refuse to actually eat tacos on Taco Tuesday) and now I am sitting on the couch watching the last half of the Grammy Awards that I just couldn't stay awake for on Sunday night.

Well, I thought I had more to say, but I think that's all I have. Plus I have four sets of tests to grade, so I better get busy. I hope that you aren't having too crazy of week and can enjoy some time just to be.

SOL #5 ~ Helping Others

Read other's SOLs at Two Writing Teachers

Sometimes life isn't very nice. Sometimes life is the mean kid on the playground that sits and waits for you to come by.

Sometimes life can be very nice. Sometimes life can be the kid who comes along on the playground and helps you after the mean kid leaves. Or better yet, life is the kid who comes along on the playground and stops the mean kid in his tracks.

We all go through times when life is stressful and tough. So what do we do?

We change what we can.

I know that I am not the only one who sometimes gets beat up by the kid on the playground. I also know that I can be the kid who comes along afterwards and may even be able to prevent some beatings.

My motives are pure with the hopes of uplifting myself. You can't help but help yourself when you help others.

Will you join me this week to help bring a bright spot to the lives of others?

Monday Memorandum

Memorandum. How do you like that word? Just learned it today. I am thinking that this is where the word "memo" comes from.

Anyway, lots to say today. I guess I whined and complained enough about having a topic to blog about that my friend, Cassie, sent me to this really cool place for some writing prompts.  My goal for the month is to write at least something for all of these prompts. Today's prompt is this:

Groundhog Day! Did you see your shadow when you walked outside this morning?

I did not. I didn't go for a walk this morning outside. Instead I was inside in front of my computer watching the ALA Youth Media Awards and anxiously awaiting the announcement of the 2015 Newbery Award. The winner was:

I have not read this one yet. I have only seen it on the Internet, and didn't know anything about it until today. I was planning on reading the winner to my class, but am not sure if this one will be a good one for them or not. I read the sample on Amazon and am not sure. I am hoping to get my hands on a copy and then decided.

Today we had an inservice at school, which as most educators can say, can go either way. Between "meetings" we were to report to the office. There our boss handed us some balls and a Nerf gun. We played a game based on capture the flag and had a BLAST! My team teacher and I didn't end up with any balls, which meant we were losers, but we sure had fun playing! I feel as if we need to play this game at least twice a month from here on out!

Back to the original prompt. Since I was busy getting my book nerdiness on, I didn't walk outside, so I decided to do so tonight.

I have a small head and long legs! I would have walked longer, but it was very foul-smelling out. I don't do well with stink.

How was your Monday? 

February 2015 TBR

February?! Weren't we just celebrating the start of January?

I didn't get as much read in January as I would have liked. I was able to finish three books and am working on both of my 2015 reading challenges.

• The Storied Life of A.J Fikry (A book a friend recommended, thanks Carol!)
• The Painted Veil (A book set in a different country and part of Reread 2015)
• Mr. Popper's Penguins  (A book that became a movie)

Looking forward to these books:

Still working on this one! I am enjoying Stephen King's writing style immensely!

 I joined a second book club with my sister and this is the current read.

My middle grade level book. I hope it is one I can share with my students.

This little gem should be in my mailbox on Monday! I can't wait! I met my workout goal last week and this is my reward. I love Sharon Creech. I better finish some other books so I can read this one!

What are you hoping to read this month? Any sappy romances to go with the holiday?

Toe Squeezing

Lunch was over, I was getting tired and my head was starting to throb. Thankfully my hangry problem had been fixed. Naturally I was not in the best of moods and it seemed as if my students weren't listening to me. Was 3:15 ever going to come?
I sat at my document camera waiting for them to finish their daily language review so we could go over it. A few of them weren't picking up on my not-so-subtle hints of getting quiet and to work. My frustration was starting to become my primary emotion when I looked over at a student who had one socked foot up on his desk.
"Benjamin, where is your shoe?"
"I took it off."
"Why?"
"I wanted to squeeze my toes to see how it felt."

What? I couldn't help but laugh. It was the most random thing that I heard all day, yet it made since for that kid. Which by the way, I changed his name to protect the innocence of the darling dear.
I was speechless.
I was in a better mood!

(Are you wondering why there is a random picture of a kitten? Let me tell you. Google search "socked feet" and "toes" Go ahead, do it. GROSS! Both searches. So in order to get the gross pictures off of my search, I typed in the first thing that came to mind just to get the gross pictures away from me. Has nothing to do with the story, but blog posts need some sort of picture right?)

SOL #4 - Random Thoughts from Today

Yay for writing! Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving us a place to write!

I once again sat down to write and am having a hard time finding something to write about. Then I heard my own voice telling my students to just write when they complain about not having anything to journal about. Better do as I say.

Random Thoughts from Today:

• I got a new student today. This can be such a hard thing and it does throw off the day, but one of the best parts about getting a new student is you realize how far your students have come since the beginning of the year. They know the routines and they know how things go, even when they act like they don't!
• Sharing Taco Tuesday with a friend is better than Taco Tuesday on your own.
• This week I sent home book orders and made a flippant comment (I tend to do that a lot) that if we had an order of $125 or more I got cool free books. I have a student who is a co-worker's daughter and mom can get her free books through her own book orders. So the daughter, turned in a book order with her own money to insist that I get free books. Made my *heart flutter* that she was so thoughtful.

Well, that's all I got. :0)

Happy Tuesday ya'll

Celebrating Writing

Celebrating two weeks ago was so successful, I wanted to celebrate again! Thanks Ruth Ayres for  having me!

This week I am celebrating writing. I often struggle with writing, both teaching it and doing it myself. I am constantly thinking about writing and what to do with it. On Tuesday I participated in Slice of Life and while reading other slices I came across Tammy's slice. She talked about how students just need to write. They need time to just write. I couldn't have agreed more and promptly started to apply this philosophy to my daily routine in my classroom.

On the first day we had a few extra minutes in class so I handed out their notebooks and told them to open to the next blank page. About five students asked what we were doing, three exclaimed that they needed a pencil, and the other few did what they were asked to do.

Looking at the clock I calculated how much time we had until the next class and told them that I wanted them to write until it was time to go.

"What do we write about?"
"Just write."
"Can I write a story?"
"Just write."
"Does it have to be true?"
"Just write." (by this point my voice is starting to get higher.)

They did NOT like this game. One student was almost in tears because he couldn't think of anything to write about. I gave him some ideas and walked away to his protests. They finally surrendered and just wrote.

My classroom was silent for fifteen minutes. Every student was writing and several of them asked to share theirs when time was up, including the student who threw the biggest fit!

Fast forward to day three of journal writing.

"Today's journal entry is going to be a picture prompt."

source

All the progress we had made the first day was lost.
"What do we write?"
"This is your picture prompt for your journal writing today."
"Do we describe it?"
"This is your picture prompt for your journal writing today."
"I don't get it!"
"This is your picture prompt for your journal writing today."

Finally they got the hint and began to write. Again, they were silent as they wrote and wrote and wrote. This was celebration number one. Celebration number two came when they all wanted to share their journal entries!

I LOVED what they wrote! Each student's writing was so unique and different. They were talking about their writing to each other and upset that we ran out of time to share all of them. I can't wait to hear what the others wrote and see what is to come the rest of the year.

What would you write with this picture prompt?