Teacher's tip

My students LOVE Dum Dum pops. Especially since they've come out with flavors like Mango and Banana Split, they prefer it over most treats (including when someone has s birthday and brings in treats. Case and point: today, a student brings in chocolate peanut-butter cookies. I have a boy who hates chocolate and one who is allergic to peanuts. So, I pull out a dum-dum pop for each of these boys. Suddenly about seven more of my students are miraculously "allergic to peanuts." I think it's interesting that they never mentioned that before......

In any case, it's been a fun and cheap way to treat my kids. Also--today they earned watching an episode of planet earth, and I gave them apples and bananas as treats. They looked at the apples a little hestitantly at first, until I mentioned that I'd put Sprite on them so they wouldn't brown. They went pretty quickly after that.

Ode to Joel

Sticks and stones
make castles, pathways
leading to adventures

brother of eight sisters
Boy--oh, boy
growing in wisdom
cellist at heart

my Buddy.

Cummings' Beach Vacation Weekend!

Beach, 2oo6




Beach, 2007




Beach, 2008






Beach 2009?

I'm not sure. I am not there to take pictures of it. To the privileged family in NC this weekend, your duty is laid out; I am expecting multiple blog posts. Soon.

I dare you to try this

Lime Mousse

I recently went to a Raw Foods class with a friend, and they gave us the recipe for this. I have tried it several times since, and you have GOT to give it a whirl! You might be surprised at the ingredients, but you'll be even more shocked with how good it is.


Ingredients for Lime Mousse:

2 1/2 avacados
3/4 C agave nectar or honey (I actually only use 1/2 c because I like the zing to really come through)
1/2 cup lime juice (FRESH)
zest of 2 limes
1/2 tsp salt

Process in food processor or blender until whipped. Serve immediately (though I like mine slightly chilled)

Happy Norwegian Independence Day!

Enjoy this video with some norwegian scenery. I'll be playing Grieg tonight while I make some Julekaka!

Ode to Michelle

Soft passion
giggle sister
singing, swinging
what's your sugar?
patient. with a capital P.

Ode to Trina

Too awesome
Ridiculously intelligent
...Interesting...
Nice vibrato
Adorable

Ode to Melinda.

Melinda,
music, sleep, laughter
oh, father!
Steals baby's penguins
gentle as a goose.

Lovely as lilacs
and fairies.

Ode to Heather Jean

Middle of a legacy,
honoring the Jean.
Gentle, graceful, lovely
soft voice and hands
rehtaeh.

Ahaaaahaaaahaaa

Ode to Sarah Janeen

Sarah,
Writer of comments
includes
aha ha ha ha ha
he hee he hee he
like we all used to do

love that.

Love you.

Spring fever

Take a good look of this picture I found on google images. Colorful, springy....and yet. Slightly disturbing.
Half-formed flowers.
A bug crawling up the side.
Grass that looks like it's encroaching upon the words, the very literary soul of the icon being encompassed.....

It's amazing how perception can skew an image. Maybe your day has been a little easier than mine, so you see prettier things in this picture. (Would that I could send a wink electronically without the use of the semi-colon+parentheses).

My kids HAVE IT. Spring fever. I get math and language arts done very quickly in the morning, and then I try to fill the afternoon with fun activities--science videos, group projects, art lessons.... and still. They won't stop talking, and unfortunately the talking has started edging on some gossiping and ridiculing. I sit there and start thinking, "what's going on? Who are these kids that come out after 11:3oam? Where's my class? When did I fail them?"

And then I remember. It's four weeks until school's out. It's not snowing anymore. No management trick, no extrinsic motivators will consistently work anymore. They're done.

It makes me laugh a little bitterly. Five weeks ago, they would have drooled over the Eric Carle art lesson we did today.

I hope tomorrow's a little better.

One super-plus, however, is that it is teacher appreciation week at school. My mornings start out with getting a box of pencils, a few notes, some daffodils, and I even got a chocolate bar today! Maybe I will make it to May 29th after all.

One day at a time, eh? It's a great adventure.

But I kind of wish it would snow right about now...just to calm everyone down a bit.