Scrapin's for dinner!

This is what happens when teaching wears you out. You suddenly open the freezer and there is nothing to scrape together for dinner..cept maybe a few hamburgers and by the end of September, we are just about hamburgered out (at least until we get our new grill!) So it was Chef Boyardee Pizza..

Yes..I know what you are all thinking...DO THEY STILL MAKE THAT STUFF???

Sure enough, they do! Joe and I pick it up every once in a while out of pure novelty from our childhood days. I remember a time when I was a kid, in fact, it was the very first time Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas ever aired on HBO. It was a special event in my house. We were all looking forward to it, making pizza and watching the movie..

That is..until the power went out..

Well, that wasn't the end of the world! We still had time before Emmett Otter. Our oven was gas and we could still make the pizza! So by the light of a lantern, we prepared our pizza and went to put it in the oven. Ovens don't work when they are electrically started! Doh!

Lucky for us, the power came back on not much later. We managed to cook up our pizza and watch Emmett Otter..Oh the good old days ;)

Enlightened

"This whole planet is just us," he said. "Therefore destruction of another area essentially is destruction of yourself. That's the new reality."

Today, we made the pilgramage to Rutgers for the visit from the Dalai Lama himself. The sky was overcast but the mood certainly wasn't. I particularly liked the quote above from today's lecture. If only we could all live peacefully, what a different world it would be.

Like a Deer in Headlights

If I walked into class with my 7th or 6th graders and announced an art project, they probably wouldn't think it were odd at all. They are used to my style of teaching. Familiar with me and what I am capable of. On the other hand, the 8th graders are certainly not. Now I generally dread walking into that class. I'm not used to 8th grade yet and they aren't used to me so it isn't a comfortable medium. I don't feel at ease and I thank my lucky stars that several days a week, I have a prep before I teach 8th grade. Time to prepare!

So today, I think it hit them that I'm going to be a bit different. I taught them about imagery. They picked out phrases from the story we were reading and I typed them on the laptop (which I project, aren't I technologically advanced?) Then, with all these phrases in front of us, I asked them to draw me a picture of Mrs. Flowers, the main character. I'm not sure they knew what to do. 8th graders drawing pictures in Language Arts? It was amusing, really. I think they realize now that I'm not going to hand them worksheets and watch them do it. I'm going to make them see things, with their hands, being creative, being different. It was a beautiful thing!

ack!

So the other day, one of my 7th graders mentioned he had a myspace page..I went poking around today and found it. Not only does he have a page, I found at least four other students of mine through him! Now I have a myspace page, not that I ever use it or that I've filled in any information, but then I started thinking, what happens when they start GOOGLING me? Oy..this is no good..Time to use the maiden name alias over on the SBs...and change some things up here..

Whatever happened to the days when you could go home and live a private life? My teachers were only existant during school hours. Besides that, I don't know what they did! I want that same dignity..oh well, with technology comes some negative things!

It Must Be a Sign

Last night, I was in the kitchen and I spotted a rainbow out over the treeline. I quickly grabbed my camera to take a picture, but by the time I got back, it was starting to fade. I caught some of it in the process at least. Then today, I am coming out of work, driving to Staples and I pass Gropp Lake. Now there is a fountain in the lake, and I'm looking at it, sitting in traffic, and I see a rainbow behind it, in the storm clouds. I decide I need to take a picture of this vibrant scene but I'm in traffic, and I have to think quick! So I pull off into the parking area across from the lake. I grab my camera and run out. Now this rainbow thing is seeming to be quite a novelty. Not only is the rainbow in the storm clouds, but now the fountain is starting to pick it up too!! So I get a few pictures and head on my merry way. Ten minutes later, several miles away, there is yet ANOTHER rainbow along the highway! I can't even fathom the concept, three rainbows in less than 24 hours! I just don't even know what to make of it! It must...MUST be a sign of some sort..

Told you so!

Did I not say there was going to be some change around here? I've been racking my brain for the past few days trying to figure out how to make more than one blog on a page. I don't have access to special languages like coldfusion or cgi which makes this process more difficult. For now, this will have to do. I wants a scroll-able page yet still having the windows inside. I managed to work this out with iframes, however, I can't seem to figure out how to make my iframe as long as my blog! I hate that scroll bar, but at least it looks better in a matching color. If you have any idea how to do this, please, let me know! See! there is even a comments section too! All spanky looking!!

Tomorrow is Friday. It isn't coming fast enough. Planning is getting easier, I think. I can't wait for the weekend. My new issue of Martha Stewart came in the mail today chock full of Halloween ideas. I'm not so sure I'm in love with the ideas, but it makes me want to take out the fall decorations. I bet they'll look snazzy against the new "Baked Scone" color of the front downstairs rooms!

6...7...EIGHT..

Yeah, thats pretty much how I feel about them. 8th grade..always hated, learning to tolerate it. I feel like my days often slide into 8th grade after a comfortable romp with 7th grade. The 7th graders I've had before, at least most of them. I enjoy having them. They were the reason I went to middle school. I have them first in the morning, depending on the day, sometimes two periods! Then, it's snack time before the 8th grade waltzes into my classroom like they have a bad case of senioritis. I think they are feeling me out as I do the same. They don't know whether or not to like me..and I make them write, something they loathe! But I think we are growing comfortable with one another. I think they are starting to realize that I'm actually a lot of fun! It's amazing how fast your day goes in middle school. There is hardly a minute to breathe which makes it interesting. I continue to be amazed daily at how controlled the middle school environment really is! The kids actually pay much more attention, even with all those hormones rushing through their little brains.

Change

It's a new season and with that a new school and a fresh view on life. I think of my favorite movie "You've Got Mail" often in the fall and I can hear Tom Hanks saying aloud "If I knew your address, I would buy you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils. Don't you just love New York in the Fall?"

Fall brings a sense of renewal for me. You would think it might be Spring, when regrowth begins, but my reality has this sense during the fall. With that, a fresh new look just may appear here. I'm exploring some options that will allow me to have multiple blogs on one page, sharing with you lyrics of recent music that I've been listening to, pictures, random quips that I find interesting and also my regular blog. Let's see if I can actually work this out.

Piece of Cake - NOT

Last year, at the end of the year, when I contemplated the Middle School Job, I sat down with the LA teacher. She assured me it was very easy to plan and that I'd have a much easier time than with 5th grade. I've found myself planning for a good number of hours this week and I think I've finally finished. I've made notes for the week, I am trying to be prepared. Walking into an 8th grade class where they all stare at you and you don't know what is going through their little heads is really scary. I don't find the other grades nearly as intimidating. The 8th graders tho, they feel like they are just as smart as me and can easily call me out if I make any kind of mistake and that scares the hell out of me.

School kicked my ass last week. I still don't feel like I've recovered from it, but somehow I'll walk in there tomorrow morning and get right back on the rollercoaster. This time, I'll have preps. Thank GOD specials start this week! I think I might die otherwise..

Day TWO

Yeah, school on Tuesday..no school on Wednesday..school today..and I just want to say that Middle School appears from the surface to be much more organized. I don't recall ever having such quiet in my classroom. I get to spend my afternoon with my favorite 6th graders...it's really pleasant!! Let's hope it stays this way...now, to make it interesting and fun, I keep making promises..I have to follow through!

Game over!

Today officially marks the end of summer..and with that..a new year full of new promise and hope..at least for me. Tomorrow morning at approximately 7:45, I will be greeting a ton of middle school kids with a cheery smile on my face pretending to be a morning person. I am looking forward to it tho. The work will keep me busy and my mind content on stuff thats IMPORTANT..so it should be a good year..to all you teachers out there..Here's to a good year..