SoLC 11/31

Hardly a day goes by that I am not amazed by my 8th grade boys in some way. Today they had a test on The Giver. They worked very hard and I think they did very well. They were focused and insightful. They used their time well.

After finishing the test I let them read silently on their independent reading. The main attraction for weeks has been The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Malice has joined the circulation and hasn't been on my shelf longer then a few minutes since I bought it. But today a new one entered the mix and became the focus of several of my boys: a full color (glossy, no less) biography of Taylor Swift.

When I went to collect the tests from my homework bin I glance across the desks of three of my boys to see that they were writing fan letters to Taylor. One of the boys even asked for help spelling some words he was unsure of for his letter.

These same boys, at the end of the day as they were packing up to go home, discovered an unopened movie theater sized box of hot tamali candy. They quickly went from eating one or two at a time and exclaiming, "These are pretty hot!" to stuffing an entire handful into their mouths at once. I think the pictures of them red-faced, crying, and flapping their hands with looks of agony on their faces that I took with my cell phone just might make it into the year book...

Hardly a day goes by that I am not amazed that these are the "seniors" of the school and that they are still alive!

SoLC 10/31

The technology had been tested, the room was rearranged. The students had prepared questions and I had previewed said questions. I was signed into Skype and we anxiously awaited 11:50 when we would call Kate Messner, author of The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, and have our very first Skype author visit.

My seventh grade girls were practically bouncing in their seats. Actually, some of them really were bouncing! B even composed a little song/chant (she does that sort of thing and is rather good at doing it on the spot) that went something along the lines of "We're skyping with Kate Messner" and had some little cheers in it.

Finally, the moment arrived. The little symbol next to Kate's name turned green, and I hit the video call button. There was a minor glitch until I got our video working so she could see us, but then we were off and chatting.

I suddenly had a totally different class. Several of them had that deer- in- the -headlights look about them. "So, who wants to ask the first question?" Silence. "Okay, Y. How about if you start us off."

And so it went, with me prompting the kids and only a few volunteering. They did ask great questions, and Kate was wonderful. She had questions of her own for the kids as well. We learned a lot about writing and editing and publishing.

And it was just plain fun!

SoLC 9/31

Dear Sinuses,
Please, unclog and dry up. I would like to be able to:
think straight
stay up past 8:30
eat, drink, and kiss my husband without fear of suffocating or getting out of breath.

Thank you,
Me

SoLC 8/31

The warm weather and bright sunshine really has a siren call. By the time I dismissed my student council students at 3:45 (15 minutes late), tidied the room from the meeting, and went downstairs to make sure the kids had all been picked up, I discovered that I was nearly the last staff member there. The office was locked, the last two teachers were collecting their children, and driving away. I didn't have to be told twice. I made sure the door was locked, packed up my stuff, locked my room, and headed to the other side of the building to see if my husband was done work.

By 4:15 we were driving away from work, the windows in the truck cracked open to let in the fresh air, the sun on our faces. It was so nice to leave work and arrive home while the sun was still rather high in the sky. The air smells fresh, the sun is warm. All my dreams of hanging out in the backyard, gardening, and going for hikes and bike rides will soon be a reality. I can feeling. Ah. The promise of spring.

SoLC 7/31

The usher passed the plate of communion wafers and the little guy sitting in front of us with his parents snagged a piece without hesitation and ate it right away. The usher and his father smiled down at the boy. When the usher came back a few minutes later with the little cups of juice, the boy, now sitting between his parents, watched them each take a cup and exclaimed, "I want that!"
His parents gave him the little plastic cup of grape juice and gently explained that he couldn't drink it yet. He carefully held the cup in anticipation until the pastor directed the congregation to celebrate Jesus' sacrifice by drinking the cup. Angel's mother quietly told him, "Now you can drink it." And he did, then piped, "I need more!"

How profound, I thought.

SoLC 6/31 The Promise of Spring

The thermometer reads in the 5os. The sun is shining. The sky is blue. Lady bugs cluster on my window. I'm chained to my desk and a sea of red ink (okay, so I'm actually using orange and purple). Heaving a sigh I cling to the promise of spring and freedom from stacks of essays and quizzes. I long for the time when I can spend a warm afternoon in the backyard lost in a fictional world brought to life in paper and ink.

I am restive. I alternate marking quizzes with surfing the internet for grad schools and teaching jobs that might pay more and allow for more time to work on a masters degree. The stack of "easily" graded papers dwindles with the setting sun, but the stack of essays and short stories continues to loom.

SoLC 5/31

"Are you going to be tied up all night?" My husband asked, placing a kiss on my temple as I sat at my computer.

"Nope! I just need to post my Slice of Life."

"Really. So," he asked, "What do you want to do tonight?"

"Watch West Wing."

"I love you!" He gleefully hugged me. "I mean, I love you and I love your idea of watching West Wing."

Yes, we have our priorities straight in this house!

...off to watch West Wing and eat popcorn...