Knotted Up

Today was an interesting flop of a day. I was quite ready. I stayed up later than usual and got lots done. I had some quiet time to focus and was feeling really prepared for a good day.

My students have been really struggling to distinguish between area and perimeter. Now, they know what each is. They can tell you what they both mean. They can do a whole lot! I was feeling confident that I could really stretch them today and build the connections we were missing. So I did, and instead of stretching them, I'm pretty sure I tied up all their understanding into knots.

I sat there, watching it happen. Wondering what happened. Where did the clarity go? 

I switched gears as soon as I could to a related skill. 

Not much better. 

I pulled my small groups over, tried to prep them more, really get them thinking first, then attempting independence. 

It was no use. 

It was back to the drawing board. I exhaled, grabbed the 1-inch tiles, and gave out sets for kids to build rectangles.

I'm hoping tomorrow is a bit more successful. It amazed me how, when I thought we were ready to go a step further, we actually went further away from our destination. Time to slow down. 

Smarter than the Average Deer

Where I live, very frequently, you can look outside this time of year and either see deer tracks or the real thing standing nearby. Deer are something I look for nearly every day. I often see them in our backyard late at night munching on tree limbs.

There isn't much snow left on the ground these past two days. Everything is a grayish brown color--the color of deer. This makes them almost impossible to see at times requiring me to be hyper-vigilant as a driver.

At this point in the year, we leave for school right as the light is shifting. Each day is getting just a nudge longer and we can tell because there is just a bit more light on our drive each morning.

Yesterday, we had made the near 30-minute drive to school and I dropped the kids across town from where I work. I don't see deer as frequently in town, but there are a few spots they tend to show up. I was heading up the hill when I saw movement ahead. As I began to slow down I realized it was a deer on the side of the road. It appeared to be waiting...looking. Then it was joined by several other deer who were screeching to a pause in their prance.

Are these deer looking both ways?

It appeared they were. I was almost to a stop when they all revved their legs back up, all seven of them, jumped across the road and down the hill toward the baseball field. I began to slowly accelerate as I watched them all follow each other into the wooded area that borders the field.

Where I live, not all deer are this vigilant and patient. Nor do they all stop at roadways to check for traffic. I'm pretty grateful this crew did.

Play Practice

3:47 Briskly walking out the door. My son carrying half of my things 50 steps ahead of me. 

3:49 I'm pulling in, just in time to wait in the line of cars.

Kids start wandering out. Only around 10-12 kids. There she is, orange coat, bouncing down the sidewalk. 

I wondered how her day had been. She was smiling so I was a bit relieved. Not every day is easy in middle school and I was pretty sure today wasn't going to be easy--because--middle school. 

She shoved herself into the front seat, backpack and all struggling to get her seat belt on before starting to tell me--all the things. 

"How was rehearsal?"

"It was good. Oh my gosh, like five people have dropped out, but Mrs. McLane said we are doing great. And when she said that, the boy who plays *Joel, he gave me a thumbs up."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, how is someone that cute?" Her eyes drifted to the ceiling. We had barely left the lot and I was unable to look away from her dreamlike gaze.

"Jane...what makes him so cute?"

"Oh my gosh, I don't know. It's...he's just...his fluffy noir hair...it bounces like a cloud. No one should be allowed to be that cute. I mean I just like him like a friend. He's so nice. I mean, I might have a little crush," wiggles in her seat to get comfortable as she grins uncontrollably. 

"Oh my, you might?"

"Well..."

Starting Strong and Setting Goals: March is Reading Month

Today was the first day in March I was spending with my students, which meant a kick-off to reading month. I absolutely love the month of March when it comes to all the ways I get to focus on reading with my kids.
The joy.
The love.
The perseverance.
The will to read, read, read, and read some more.

It is always important, but there is something special about celebrating something so crucial for a whole month that makes it that much more special.
We started with a "read-in-the-dark" as a whole school! Kids had little flashlights and eagerly read. My students are third graders, so they are familiar with us reading the first day altogether, but the dark/flashlight reading was new and exciting.
  

A little later this morning, I put out lots of blank paper, one template, a stack of lined paper, staplers, tape, and scissors.
"Make a book to keep all your goals, jots, notes, and thinking from all the reading you do this month!"
Chaos commenced, but the good kind and I watched kids staple too much paper together, and tape it, and take it apart, and put it back together again. I enjoy this kind of magic. I snapped a few pictures of goals students decided to set for themselves. The template I gave them was just a place to store titles, or book cover sketches, goals, or whatever they want. It felt like a good start, and I hope the enthusiasm continues to grow, and these homemade books become something they can look back on as a celebration of their little eight and nine-year-old selves.

 

Beautiful Day

Waking up this morning, I was caught by rays of sunshine in the corner of my eye. I wondered how warm it was going to be today. Was this a tease?

Snow still settled on the ground outside, no melting that I could see. (Not yet, anyway). I opened the sliding glass door and was met with the freezing air. Simultaneously, the sun forced my eyes closed, and a gentle yet inevitable grin spread across my face.

That cold fresh air mixed with the warm sun made me flip into spring mode. I immediately began cleaning and dusting. I put out my new spring placemats and put up our Easter Egg tree. A new lemon themed swag is now above the sliding glass door replacing the pomegranate winter-themed swag that used to be there. It's crooked, but up! I'll eventually adjust it to the perfect fit.

See that bit of sunlight?

It is feeling like a nice way to start off a month of slicing. It feels fresh, new, and ready.

Unexpected Time

Yesterday, on my way home from a day of professional development, I was listening to the radio. I heard about a winter weather advisory. I didn't think much of it until they said wintry mix. My hope rose a bit for a snow day but I buried it away.

That's so unlikely. No one even whispered of a chance for a snow day. It can't be possible.

It was supposed to begin snowing around seven p.m. As I left to pick up my son from driver's training there was barely a flake in the air. However, by the time he drove us home, it was a windy whispy blizzard of sparkly flakes. My hope rose again.

Could it be? So much in such a short time! I'm sure it will be done early and cleaned up by morning.

At 3;30 this morning I woke up and tossed around a bit. I replayed parts of my past week. My mind didn't race but I couldn't turn it off either. I tried singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" over and over again in my head, which I think worked eventually. Then around 5:00, I heard the plow go by. All hope was gone. If a plow was going down our road already, the main roads must be clear, meaning back roads and side streets are going to be prepped for the day.

Fifteen more minutes...alarm, off.
Five more minutes...alarm, off.

I picked up my phone, to which I realized my ringer had been turned off, and a notification awaited A mistake only a rookie would make! What was I thinking! 

"School is closed for the day due to bad road conditions," I read. Then the messages started rolling in and I rolled back over.

On a Roll!

I'm on a roll. FINALLY!

This recovery has been so much more than I expected and humbling as well. It's a good reminder that my house has people in it willing to help when given the opportunity.

We all get so busy within our roles we sometimes forget to change things up and include each other within those roles. It's been a good thing, at least, I can see it that way now. In the worst moments, it was truly frustrating. It's always good to be on the other side of a situation that is tougher than you thought.

To top off a busy couple of weeks my son began driver's training and is likely getting his pink slip tomorrow which means he can start driving us to and from school. My daughter tried out for the school musical yesterday and got a role with a solo! I'd say given the challenges of the past several days we are on the road to bigger and better things.