My World…Road Trippin’ Part 2

As I mentioned on Monday, we are back from a road trip, the destination of which was Arizona and the goal of which was to see the abundant, and awe inspiring, Indian Ruins in that beautiful state.

We were in Canyon De Chelly and we were hiking along a trail that allowed us a spectacular view of Spider Rock.  It was a very easy walk (my favorite kind) and I must confess to feeling a wee bit guilty about enjoying all that view for so very little effort.  Typically, we have to hike uphill for miles and miles (in the snow…while carrying our brothers and sisters on our backs) for a view of that caliber!

I quickly made peace with this guilt knowing that I had “done my time” on countless other hikes, and as I looked out at the majesty that surrounded me, the term “small world” instantly came to mind.  At that moment, however, what I was feeling was that the world was anything but small.  In fact, what I felt more than anything was just how overwhelmingly big the world really is.  Words like expansive and vast came to mind…but most certainly not a word like small.     

As I was contemplating the vastness of it all, a moment of sadness overtook me as I came to the realization that no matter how long I lived it would not be long enough to see it all.  The world is simply too big, and even if time and money were in endless supply, which they are not, but even if they were, I would never experience all the beauty in this world.  (I’m not trying to be all “woe is me” here, but it’s a simple fact that there are many, many, many parts of this beautiful world that I will never see.)

At the exact moment that this realization cemented itself into my brain, and at the exact moment that I accepted this as fact (and, indeed, as my destiny), my family came into my view.  On the path before me walked my husband, my son, and my daughter, side by side, taking up the narrow path. 

Peace washed over me…for right there, right before me, was my world.  There is beauty in those three people…beauty in the past that we have shared together, beauty in that very moment that we were sharing, and beauty in the wondering of what the future might hold for each of us...and that is all I need; indeed, it is all I will ever need.

Did You Know that In First Grade…?

Here’s a little game I like to call Did You Know that In First Grade…? 

You ready?

Okay, here goes…

 *Did you know that in First Grade there is a new movie called Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid?

 *Did you know that in First Grade some kids have em  p  three players?

 *Did you know that in First Grade you can wrap your leftovers in tin foyole?

 *Did you know…you can visit a city called elaye?  (LA)

 *Did you know…veterinarian and vegetarian are interchangeable…even when reading a  book called Pets at the VET…even when every picture in said book shows an adult wearing a lab coat…and even when said adults are taking care of ANIMALS?

 *Did you know…you can help your parents by dusting the driveway?

 *Did you know…you can go to the maul and by a knew pear of Vans?

 *Did you know…before you have a play date with a friend you must first decide whose hose you will be going to?  Similarly, when playing soccer, you must first decide who is going to be the goaler.

 *Did you know…there is a new subspecies of tiger called the Bangled Tiger?

 *And, my personal favorite…Did you know that if you get a new playground ball and you don’t want to get it dirty you can carry it around like a baby for the entire recess?

Road Trippin’

We’re just back from a road trip in which we put over 1,000 miles on the ol’ camper!

To me, the road trip is a great way to force your family to spend some time with you!  At home, it seems as if everyone is too busy and too dialed in to their own thing to really care too much about doing anything together.  (I’m exaggerating a bit here; we really are lucky in that our teenagers actually do spend quite a bit of time at home…it’s just that they’re usually doing something that doesn’t involve us!)

To have everyone in my sight, and during about 90% of a road trip in my reach (literally), is nice; this is especially true since the kids are getting older and we really do sense that our times together like this are numbered (sniff, sniff).

As with every family, there are a lot of things that happen that are really “you had to be there” things and that are really only funny when you are, well, right there when they happen.  Other things, however, are more universal. 

For example…We had been driving for a while when my husband decided it was time to pull off the road so that everyone could stretch their legs and grab a bite to eat.  We had been stopped for a good 20 minutes when we decided it was time to get back on the road.  My husband gives everyone a final, “Anybody need anything from the camper before I shut ‘er down?”  We grumble our replies and he shuts everything down and hops back in the driver’s seat.  He starts the truck and drives, no joke, about 10 feet when my son says, “Is there anything to eat?”  Hello!  We were just stopped for 20 minutes, dad just asked if anyone needed anything before he shut everything down, and now we are, like, two seconds back on the road and you want something to eat?!  Oye vay!

Probably not so universal are the funny things that happen as a result of being married to a geologist.  In a way, it’s like teaching First Grade in that, like my students, my husband sometimes speaks an entirely different language than the rest of us.

For example…We’re driving along out in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden he swept his hand out, Vanna-style, and said, “Wow, there’s a slick roadcut.”  Huh?  Like the rest of us are supposed to know what that means?!  For the record…because I know you’re dying to know…a roadcut is “a cut through a hill or mountain for the purposes of building a road through it, rather than over it.”  Well, at least it makes sense!  So a slick roadcut, to the geologist husband, means some cool rock has been exposed as a result of a road being built through it.  Whew...I'm glad we got that all figured out!

Driving along further, he excitedly said, “How do you like that cap rock?”

My response…“Are you talking to me?” 

Him, “Yes, look at that nice cap rock.”

Again, I have no clue what he is talking about!  If you are interested in expanding your vocabulary and impressing everyone at your next cocktail party, cap rock means, “a relatively impermeable rock, commonly shale, anhydrite, or salt that forms a barrier or seal above and around reservoir rock so that fluids cannot migrate beyond the reservoir.”  (I bet you just totally fell asleep there, huh?)  Again, I guess it makes sense once you know what it means, but until then you’re like, “Cap rock…hmmm…is that anything like cap sleeves?”

And one more for the road…er, I mean, one more from the road…“Oh, look, they’re mining the scoria, babe, check it out.”  Again, huh?  And again, for your next party...scoria is “basaltic lava ejected as fragments from a volcano, typically with a frothy texture.”  I’m sorry, but that just sounds vulgar!   The second definition is “slag separated from molten metal during smelting.”  Okay, so that definition’s not quite so graphic, but now I have to look up slag, molten, and smelting!  Oh, never mind, let’s just say being married to a geologist is an adventure and leave it at that...and from now on, when he throws out fancy geologist terms I’ll just smile and nod my head and say, “Oh, look honey, rocks, pretty, pretty rocks!”

25 Random Things

I am a complete sucker for all of those Facebook-type, getting-to-know-you lists.  I love how random they are and how you get to know things about a person that would not normally come up in a regular conversation.  So…if you want to know a little bit more about me, and I just know you do, well, here you go!

1. I am an avid reader and love all things to do with words, books, and reading. 
2. I am grateful to my parents for exposing me to a variety of music.
3. One of my fondest memories growing up is coming home after school and hearing my mom on the piano singing and playing her heart out.  Another great memory is her taking me to the Bookmobile (I know I am dating myself with that little gem).  Perhaps my all-time favorite is my 21^st birthday when my dad flew me to Vegas on a private jet.     
4. I am a first grade teacher and absolutely love it.  There’s something magical about helping a child learn how to read. 
5. I admire my husband for his integrity, my son for his determination and focus, and my daughter for the fact that she can cook, bake, knit and bait her own hook. 
6. I can’t go a day without chocolate.
7. I am not a political person at all, but I do sometimes wish that I were more politically aware.
8. I love America and am grateful every day for all of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed so that I can be sitting here at my computer right now typing all of this nonsense about myself.
9. About 20 years ago I realized my mom’s mental illness was not my fault and was nothing to be ashamed of. 
10. I think a great pair of jeans is well worth the price.
11. I grew up in a town that is constantly mocked, but that also has bragging rights to the best bakery on the planet, and while I have not actually traveled the planet, I have been to enough bakeries to know that this is true! 
12. I don’t like beer or wine.
13. I have no first cousins.
14. I had a crush on pretty much everyone in high school.
15. My mom and sister have both battled breast cancer. 
16. I never knew my mother-in-law.  Ditto for my dad’s dad and my mom’s dad.
17. I think a man who is crazy about his wife and kid is sexy. 
18. Petty people drive me nuts.
19. I am punctual and reliable.
20. It upsets me when people think teachers have it easy or that we are overpaid.  When you factor in all the time we work unpaid (weekends, breaks, etc.), plus all of our own money that we spend on our students/classrooms, I assure you we are so not overpaid. 
21. I think all the big clichés are true:  time really does fly, the best things in life really are free, time really does heal all wounds, children really are the future, a little kindness really does go a long way, and, of course, we all really should do onto others as we would have them do unto us.   
22. I am a great baker, though strangely only a mediocre cook. 
23. My dad is scary smart, and I am grateful that my kids have inherited some of this (though, unfortunately, I did not).   
24. I love the fact that my son taught me how to play chess and that I still cannot beat him.
25. I thank my lucky stars every day that at the ripe old age of 24 I somehow had my wits about me enough to marry a great man.

Hey, that’s Not Fair!

So we switched seats last Friday, like we do on the first day of every month.  The kids basically get to pick where they want to sit, BUT…they can’t sit next to someone in their color group (guided reading group), they can’t sit next to someone they have sat next to before, they can’t sit in the same row they were just sitting in, and…I have FINAL say. 

This system evolved this year primarily out of my laziness to make a new seating chart every month, but also out of my curiosity to see where they would sit if they were allowed to choose.  It’s actually a great system because they have to figure out where they can sit based on where they can’t sit.  It’s a little thing I like to call problem solving, and I just love to see those wheels turning as they try to figure it out.

Anyway, that’s not really the point of this post…

So the kids are all settled in their new spots and not one, not two, but three of them discover that the previous inhabitant had written his name in the desk…in permanent marker…which, in my book, is not okay.

I give them my best, “I’m shocked.  I don’t know what to say.  Did you know that writing on someone else’s property is called vandalism and that vandalism is illegal?”  I try not to go overboard, but I want them to know how disappointed I am. 

As luck would have it, prior to this little discovery I had told the kids I would give them some Free Choice Friday time (you know, 20 minutes of puzzles, blocks, free coloring… kids live for times like this).  And there was no way I was going to let my little trio of vandals have free choice time, so I handed them each a piece of paper, told them to go grab their pencils, and I put them at the back table to write a letter to their parents explaining what they had done…while the rest of the class had free choice. 

After the free choice time was up, it was time to go.  I stapled a note to the letters the kids had written explaining what had happened and then dismissed everyone.  (At my school, I walk the kids up to the front and I have to wait until everyone gets picked up.  This typically takes about 15 minutes.)

I return to my classroom and there, with his mom, is one of the boys and she is making him wash his name off the desk.  She is very calm about it, not at all berating him or anything like that…just very matter of fact…I think she handled it beautifully.

After he finishes his desk he asks if he can clean the two other names off of the two other desks, to which she replies, “Fine.”  So he proceeds to clean those desks as well, and as he’s working on the third desk he says, “Momma, this is fun.  When we get home, can you find some stuff at our house to clean?”  She says, “Sure!”  And while this beautiful little mother/son exchange is happening I’m thinking, “Wait a minute.  That’s not fair!  Shouldn’t he have to come to my house and clean something?!”

First Grade vs. Fourth Grade: A Tooth Story

This story is based on a conversation between, well, first grade teachers and fourth grade teachers, thus the title (I’m very clever that way, aren’t I?).  However, the author…that’d be me, has taken some liberties. 

First Grade Classroom

Student:  Teacher, I lost a tooth.

Teacher:  Oh, my goodness!  Class, look!  Susie lost a tooth.  Come on up here, Susie, let’s check that out.  Wow!  Okay, now we need to put you on our “Who Lost  a Tooth?” board.  Let’s see, if there were four kids who lost a tooth in December and now Susie has lost one, how many do we have now?  Yes, that’s right, five.  Okay, boys and girls, now, is five odd or even?  Good, odd.  Wow, you guys are so smart!  Now put on your thinking caps for this one:  How many total teeth have we lost this year.  (Fingers come out, eyes roll to the back of heads, etc., as the children try to add up all the numbers.)   That’s right, Sam, we have lost a total of 25 teeth.  Wow, let’s give Sam a round of applause!  Okay, now let’s tally 25.  Ooohhh, and who knows how to make 25 using money?  Great, that’s right, we could use 5 nickels.  Who has another way?  Fantastic, one quarter.   You guys are awesome!  Okay,  now Susie, hop on up to the office and show Ms. Mary your lost tooth.  (Susie skips gleefully down the hallway.  While she is gone, every student now exclaims that he/she has wiggly teeth and proceeds to try and show the teacher.  It’s a fingers-in-the-mouth fest like none other.  Susie returns proudly displaying her nifty little tooth box - or tooth coffin - as we teachers call them.  The class oohs and ahhs over Susie’s box and then proceeds to share stories of the boxes they have received.)   

(This could literally go on and on, but let’s just say a good 15 minutes was just spent on Susie’s tooth.)

Fourth Grade Classroom

Student:  Teacher, I lost a tooth.

Teacher:  Huh?

Student:  Teacher, I lost a tooth.

Teacher:  I heard you the first time.  I’m just wondering why you’re telling me.  It’s not like you’ve never lost a tooth before.  Stick it in a baggie and get back to work. 

(This exchange was probably 15 seconds, max.)

Later, during lunch…

First grade teacher glances at the clock (while grading papers in her classroom during lunch) and notices that her lunch “hour” is almost up.  She rushes into the lounge, grabs her lunch, and mutters, “Oh my goodness, no matter how hard I work, I just can’t seem to catch up.  We are so behind!”  Fourth grade teacher feigns sympathy but when the door closes says, “What’s with those primary teachers?  They are always rushing around complaining they can’t get anything done.  They have the same amount of hours in a day as we do.  What, exactly, do they do all day long?”

Writing 101...Part Two

It recently occurred to me that when I wrote the “Writing 101” post the other day, I stated that I would be sharing some of the exercises with you from my recent writing class.  Exercises, as in more than one…hey, I teach first grade, I know all about plurals! 

In an attempt to keep my word…as if anyone even cares…I crack myself up thinking that more than three people read this blog…I have this fantasy that, like, 10 people read it…I know, I know…that’s crazy talk! 

Anyhow, here is another (and final) exercise I wanted to share with you.

This one involves a poem.  I won’t put the poem here because, well, I don’t have the author’s permission, and well, I don’t want to, you know, get sued!  But, I will put the name of the poem and the author…I figure that’s no different than me calling you up and saying, “Hey, I read this great poem called such and such by so and so and I think you should check it out.” 

The poem is The Journey by Mary Oliver.  It’s a great poem, by the way, so whether or not you do this exercise I highly recommend you read it anyway.

Our instructor explained that she would read the poem to us two times.  The first time we were to close our eyes, relax, and just listen to it.  The second time we were to hone in on a line that spoke to us.  The assignment after the two readings (both with our eyes closed) was to spend 10 minutes writing about what moved us about the line we chose.  Ideally someone would read you the poem twice like our teacher did with us, but whatever…

The line I picked was “…determined to save the only life you could save…” and this is what I wrote:

This line reminds me of my dad’s justification for why he left my mom.  How many times had he said the following words to me…“It was too late for your sister.  She was already lost to me.  But you...I knew if I could get you out of that situation – I knew if I could somehow remove you from the chaos of her illness that you would be okay, you would not be lost to me like your sister is.  You would still have a shot at a decent life.  I worried I would be too late.  You were already becoming too reserved, too quiet, spending too much time in your head.  I could see your personality beginning to fade away…to disappear.  I knew the only way to save you would be to leave.  Yours was the only life I could save and I owed it to you to leave.  You didn’t want me to leave her.  You cried and cried and it broke my heart.  But I knew I would be a fool to stay.  You would have been lost if I had stayed and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice your life the way I had your sister’s.”

Okay, your turn now…have fun!