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"My students would rather watch TV" I�ve got millions of thoughts running in all different directions this morning. With no segues whatsoever, I am going to spew them out here! It�s almost Spring Break. You can tell. I decided to alter my 8th grade lesson plans a bit for the rest of the week. The kids needed to be engaged in some kind of project with a short-term goal. They are definitely not up for sitting and reading, or sitting and taking notes, or having to be quiet at all. So, I decided to divide them up into 6 groups, give each group one part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and have them prepare a poster and presentation today. Tomorrow, they will teach their topic to the rest of the class. They are busy and learning. I guess I can�t ask for more than that! As for my 7th graders�well, they just had their big Renaissance Faire yesterday, so they are definitely not up for a big project. Instead, they are doing some paper and pencil group work today. Tomorrow they will have a vocabulary quiz on the parts of the eye. A matching quiz. I�m not even making it that hard. Guess I�m being a bit of a softie this week. For the past two weeks I�ve had this off and on low-grade fever (really, the highest was 100.2) and an off and on earache. I can�t decide if it�s worth going to the doctor. I don�t tend to run fevers very often, but this is such a nothing fever. And, the last time I had an ear infection it hurt much worse than this. Still, two weeks is a long time for this to drag on if it�s nothing. Hmmmm�. Last night was our Passover Seder at my parent�s house. It really was the ultra-abbreviated version this year, and I feel like that�s mostly because I had class yesterday and didn�t get there until a little after 6pm. We were shooting at getting the boys home and in bed close to 8pm, so we had to quickly cruise through everything. Bailey was great. This year he was very interested in the story of Passover and wanted to absorb all of the customs and prayers. Jared, no so much. He is still in that stage where he�s not really aware that there was anything different than our usual family dinners at Grammy and Zayde�s house. That�s OK. He�s only 4. Eventually, he�ll clue in. Starbucks discontinued my new favorite syrup flavor. Bummer. I was really liking the Cinnamon Dolce stuff. Plain cinnamon isn�t too bad, though. Especially with soy milk because it gets that little bit of vanilla flavor in there as well. I am so used to having class on Tuesdays and Thursdays (I have been doing that for over a year now) that this Monday/Wednesday thing is really screwing me up right now! I went to class last night, so today feels like it should be Friday, not Thursday. I will be in for a rude awakening when my alarm goes off tomorrow morning! LOL As for my class, it should be fun. Seriously, 1/3 of the material is the same as my class last quarter, so I really should find it easy to keep up and to do well. When I started this process, I kept telling myself that I didn�t have to get A�s. I just had to pass every class. That is all that the state requires. Still, that�s not me. I mean, I did well with that philosophy for the first class. But, once I was in the swing of being a student again, it was about doing my best. Not my situational best, but my best. It became important to me to master the material. And, that�s fine. With one class at a time, I can do that (obviously�3 class so far and I�ve gotten a B and 2 A�s). Still, though, taking a class from the same teacher that I just got an A from�.that puts some pressure on me! There are expectations now, and they�re not just from me! We are having a rare day (probably a half day) of sunshine right now. Honestly, the weather has been insane. I�m about ready to build myself an Ark! It hasn�t even been sunny long enough for things to dry out. Even if it doesn�t rain again today, the ground is so saturated that everything stays wet. Reservoirs are at capacity. Rivers are brimming. Hillsides are sliding. All in all, it�s pretty scary. Alright, the PE shower bell just rang, which tells me that I have 5 minutes of prep left. Perhaps I should do something productive. past | future0 comments Listening to: The Time it Takes to Fall by Adam Pascal Reading: Rereading The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown Eating/drinking: Venti Soy Cinnamon Latte Do what to me?!? - April 24, 2007 Wicked funny websearch - April 05, 2007 Trot out the dogs 'n ponies - March 31, 2007 Almost done... - March 20, 2007 Who am I? - March 12, 2007 READ ME |