Happenings

Boy am I tired!  The first week of school is always exhausting, and parent night was tonight so I’m really wiped out now.  Like Mrs. Beaulieu I too had a great turnout for the evening.  Thank you parents for taking time out of your evening to visit me in the classroom!  I shared the traditional “back to school” info but was very anxious to share some technology information with my parents.  I showed them my class webpage and some blogs to “hook” them so to speak on the ideas and encourage them to get involved in our online community.  I also clarified some of the safety precautions we will have in place for the kids’ blogs.  They seemed interested and excited (I hope I wasn’t reading too much into things).  I can’t wait for their kids to post their first entry to give the parents the opportunity to reply!  Wow, it’s going to be a great year!

So just what did he want? Why was he there? Well, apparently even bushy brown bears enjoy an hors’devours in the early evening hours for our four-legged friend continued to stroll leisurely through the forest, past our cabin, searching for an evening snack. Did he find one? Well, yes…unfortunately. You see, in the town of Mammoth Lakes, feeding the bears is a big no-no. Sadly the bears are becoming too comfortable around humans and are venturing into the neighborhoods more and more looking for food. Why? Because, we humans, in our quest to get back in touch with nature are louring them to us by leaving out “snacks” because we so enjoy watching them. I have mixed emotions about this practice…on the one hand I too find such pleasure in watching the wildlife pass literally across my front door. However, I also think of the saying that is posted everywhere in the town, “A fed bear is a dead bear” and I feel some guilt at finding such pleasure as a direct result of human action rather than an act of nature that was meant to be.

Regardless of my feelings though, seeing this silent giant wander through the forest neighborhood was extremely exciting. So exciting in fact that all logic left us! We grabbed the kids from inside and all stood on the front porch watching the bear plod through the trees to a fallen stump where he found a tasty snack of…french fries waiting for him! (You thought I was going to say berries or something found in nature didn’t you?!) As our friend the bear plopped himself down next to the stump, resting his front paws gently on top of the tree stump and devouring the delicious fries, Mike came up with what seemed like a marvelous idea-he was going to grab the camera and get as close as he could to the bear (in hind site it probably wasn’t such a marvelous idea!) to get some pictures. After all, we had to have proof that we indeed saw a bear!

Just about the time that Mike grabbed the camera and walked (note to self-humans cannot walk through the forest as silently as bears can) slowly through the forest towards the bear to catch that perfect shot the bear decided he had had enough fries and began to move on to a nearby salt lick which was originally intended for the deer, but our friend the bear was satisfied just the same! Mike began snapping photos and moving closer and closer towards the giant, who seemed oblivious to the fact that anyone other than he was interested in what he was having for his evening snack. Mike crouched down into the brush in order to zoom in on the bear’s face. Wouldn’t you know it? Just then the camera decided to quit working correctly and Mike had trouble turning it on. He glanced down to try and fix the knob, and when he looked back up he realized that the bear was oblivious no more! The big, brown, burly bear was staring right at him! We figure that he was either thinking “Hmmm…THAT looks mighty tasty!” or “Do you mind? I’m trying to have a snack here!”. Either way, Mike realized at that moment that he probably wasn’t making the wisest of decisions by following the bear just to get a picture (although we did get some really good photos!).

Thankfully, the bear decided that a nice refreshing drink from the cool creek would hit the spot much better than my husband would, for at that moment he slowly rose to his paws and strolled towards the water. And while it did occur to Mike to follow him, he instead decided that he’d much rather watch the bear from the security of our front porch…where he was close enough to run inside the house if need be!

Mammoth Lakes, California always has been and always will be one of my favorite places to be. This tiny little mountain town is hidden in the Sierra Nevadas just an short distance from Yosemite National Park. The town itself has a small “village” where one can find the conveniences that they are accustomed to (for the most part), but the fond memories that I hold are not tied to the village, nor are they tied to the ski slopes as they are for many of the town’s visitors. My memories are tied to the tiny little cabin nestled beneath the towering pine trees far above the village itself. This cabin was built as a one-room tar shack in the 1930s and was eventually expanded to a whopping 400 square feet to hold a tiny bedroom and bath, and a combination living room/kitchen. My grandparents bought the cabin in the 1970s, which was when my family began to visit. We each loved the Mammoth, but I had a special fondness for the area. I spent many summers there visiting my grandparents, fishing the pristine lakes, hiking the back trails, and splashing in the creek that runs just down the dusty dirt road from my grandparents cabin, and building many memories and friendships which I hold dear to my heart. As I grew older, and moved farther away, I lost touch with the area…a heartbreaking thought for me as I find so much peace and comfort in being there…but visiting became nearly impossible. It wasn’t until I became a parent myself that I returned to visit, this time with my own children. And what did I find? I found that the area was still a special place form me and now has become the same for my children as they fish the pristine lakes, hike the back trails, and splash in the creek that runs just down the dusty dirt road from their great-grandparents cabin, and build many memories and friendships with the same people who they now hold dear to their heart.

This summer, as my family spent a week at the cabin, we had many memorable moments. One of those moments came as my husband Mike and I sat outside on the porch with my Grandaddy in the early evening hours. We spent some time chattering about the days fishing trip (we all caught our limit-yeah!) and listening to the wind whisper through the tree tops, almost as if it were telling us that we were not alone. Realistically though, when you are in the forest you never are alone as there are always visitors of the animal variety that can arrive at any moment. And at that moment Mike stopped speaking mid-sentence and raised his hand into the air, telling us to stop talking. He peered around the edge of the tiny brown cabin straight into the backwoods. He saw something moving through the forest, and that something was an enourmous, bushy brown bear! “Shay, come here! Look at this! It’s a bear!” (We had already seen many deer sauntering through the area-and a bear was truly what we had been waiting for!) My first concern was to get my grandad’s wanna-be-ferocious miniature schnauzer Charlie into the house for he would tear off into the woods and confront this monstrous bear if given the opportunity (or any other woodland creature who dare step foot onto HIS territory). Charlie knew that something was up and was reluctant to leave the porch to go inside. But finally he did, and finally I was able to step down off the porch to get a glimpse at the evening visitor. I stared in awe at the 300-400 pound giant who crept silently through the woods no more than 25 yards from where we stood. What did he want? Why was he here? We could only watch, and wait to see…

And wait you will have to do as well-the story of the bear will be continued soon!

Yes…I was thinking of the song when I picked that title!

Well, this is it-the next time I walk into my classroom it will be to greet 20 little faces on the first day of school.  I can hardly believe that Monday is the kid’s first day back.  I’m anxious to see them, and anxious to get started!  The first few days of school are always hard because there are so many little “housekeeping” duties that need to be taken care of (organizing supplies, gathering paperwork from the parents, and on and on!).  I really just want to get down to business and teach!

We spent the afternoon as a grade level planning and making copies for us all.  It seems like we’re getting off on the right foot in terms of working together yet realizing that not everybody has to do exactly the same thing in order to accomplish the objectives.  Relatively speaking, we’re a “new” grade level-not in terms of experience but based on the fact that 3 of the 5 teachers are new to the grade level, so establishing that team effort is an important venture for us at this point.

Now that the school year is beginning, I find myself reflecting back on my summer adventures.  There are several stories that I would like to share, I think I will begin doing so this weekend.  The first will be about “The Bear”, but I will wait until tomorrow to post it!

I wrote a post yesterday…but it’s not here.  I’m not sure what happened to it.  I know I saved the post and even got the message that the post was saved but it’s no where to be found!  Yesterday I wrote about technology and how I’m hoping to do more with my kids this year technologically.  I can’t wait to get them started on their own blogs and other projects like podcasts and such.  It’s all new to me though too…so we’ll have to learn together.  I did create a podcast (I think that’s what it is…) of our little frogs.  You can see it here if you like!

Today was our first day back to work.  On one hand I’m really excited about the beginning of a new school year.  After all, even though I’m looping with my class, I’m entering a new grade level, with new people to work with and new curriculum to teach (and learn myself!)  It’s hard not to be excited with so many new things to explore.  On the other hand, even though this was a long summer I was so busy that I forgot to relax (only half exaggerating on that one).  I feel like I’m starting the year already behind on the energy curve.

The kids come back on Monday, and I’ve yet to finish lesson plans for the first week-although I know in my mind what it is that I want to accomplish.  Primary importance is to get the kids onto the computers to show them the new features that I’ve added to the webpage and so that they can see what blogs are all about. My hopes are that by doing so early in the year it will set the tone for the rest of the year in tems of other projects and technology integration.

Overall, I suppose I’m ready and raring to go…another school year…the crazy thing is that it will be over before I know it!  Time seems to travel faster with each passing year!

Ribbit (short for King Ribbit) and …he who shall remain nameless as of yet…are home and settled into their new critter keeper.  They are very cute little frogs.  Ribbit seems to be much more active than the other frog but we are hoping that will change as they become better acquainted with their new surroundings.  I ended up creating a forest floor setting for them using bed-a-beast, a small water dish, a cave, a forest background, and a fake plant.  At this point they seem to really like the plant and have spent much time climbing in and out of it devouring poor, defenseless crickets.  I chose this set up because it doesn’t require a filter like a 50% land 50%water set up would, and a forest floor set up discourages breeding because there is no place to lay eggs (I definitely do NOT want lots of little Ribbits hopping around!).  I am a bit frustrated already though with the bed-a-beast.  This is a soil like prodcut that comes in a hard brick and you add water to it so that it expands.  The first round I mixed was too watery, so I went and got another brick and mixed just enough water so that I could break it apart and add it to the soil-soup that was already in the container.  But wow-the stuff is messy…the frogs keep tracking it into their water dish (which will mean changing the water several times a day creating more opportunities for little guys to practice their escape techniques).  So I find myself torn as to which would be better…using the soil to have a more realistic habitat for them and needing to open the container more often to change the water or using large gravel instead so that the maintenance wouldn’t be needed as frequently.  Perhaps a combination of the two would be good…frogs are a new venture for me so I imagine this will be a process of trial and error (hopefully not too much error though).

The kids & I went shopping today to get a few things for my class pet…like Mrs. Beaulieu we’re going to have a frog! This all started last year when my class was studying types of animals and they were very fascinated with amphibians…more so the metamorphosis. Ideally I would have been able to get a tadpole so they could see the process, but alas that proved to be more complicated than I had anticipated so we will simpy start with the adult version and have one or two fire bellied toads. I can’t wait to actually get the little guys. I’m torn though, my own children want to help name them, and I want my class to help too. I’ve already been toying with names…I like Ribbit (I know, how original) and another name that I thought was cute (but I’m afraid would be a bit ominous-did I spell that right???-) is Croak (as in the sound, not in the action of dying)…I’ll stay away from that one as I would hate for it’s name to be it’s destiny (in either sense of the word)-he he! Perhaps I’ll name one with my own kids (They like Ribbit too) and I’ll let my class name the other!

I’ve come to the conclusion that when a person is put into a position of authority, they far too often use that position to take far too much control over things that they should have no say in.  Okay, maybe some say…but individuals should still be allowed to express their own creativity in a manner that they see fit while still maintaining appropriateness to the situation.  I won’t go into any details over the person or groups of people I am referring too, but those of you who know me outside of the cyber world will know what situation I’m talking about.  An interesting analogy came to mind tonight when I was emailing Ginny.  I’d like to know your thoughts on what would happen if a teacher tried to take control of her students in the following way.  Imagine that you have a class of 4th graders who are completing a writing assignment.  Let’s say for the 4th Grade Writing TAKS test…and prior to the test day (because as you know, you’re not allowed to say ANYTHING on the test day) the teacher has explained to her students “Boys and Girls, you can put any ideas you want into the middle of your writing.  But all of your introductions and all of your conclusions must say exactly the same thing so that everyone knows that we are uniform and go to the same school!”  What would people say to that?  What would educators say when they read the 20 essays that all began and ended the same way?

My thoughts are that we would all say…Where is the individuality?  Why would I want to keep reading when they all say exactly the same thing?  How boring, they’re all like little robots who can’t think for themselves. Would we display or publish pieces from different authors that begin and end exactly the same?  Would we tell a group of kindergarteners that they must illustrate their stories in exactly the way we tell them?  No, we wouldn’t.  We encourage our students to think independently.  We want them to be different and to express their own personalities. Too bad adults aren’t allowed to do the same.

How is this any different from “you know what”?  I’ll follow the rules out of respect for the position I hold…but I will be vocal in expressing my displeasure about it.

School starts next week for teachers and the 27th for the kids.  My room is ready (thanks to my hubby & kids…they really helped out a lot this year) although I keep coming up with things for my husband to do to improve it so I’m sure he’ll be glad when there are finally kids in the room and I can’t make any more major changes.  I did a presentation today for some of the new teachers in the district-I’m glad I was able to share some ideas with them that might make the beginning of their first year a bit easier!  The rest of  this week will be busy still-2 meetings on Wednesday, the kids have appointments on Thursday & I have a grade level meeting to start discussing scheduling, and Friday…hey wait a minute…I don’t have ANYTHING I have to do on Friday-YEAH!  It’ll be a great opportunity to rest-it seems like this summer has been so busy what with our family trip and planning/going on  the girl scout trip (note to self-girl scout trips are a lot of work!) and then moving and preparing my classroom-I’m already tired.  I don’t want to start out the school year exhausted but it seems thats the direction I’m heading.  Fatigue is definitely an issue for me-I’ve got to find a way to rest before the kids start school or else it’s going to be a LONG first semester!  Maybe I need a weekend away…nah-I’d have to plan that and it’d would drain me even more!

As I sat down and looked at my calendar today, I came to the sad realization that my summer is indeed over. Between doctor’s appointments, trainings and inservices, working in my classroom, and so on there isn’t a single weekday left where I don’t have something to do. I hate to leave behind the somewhat lazy days of summer, I am however truly looking forward to this school year. I will be back with my kids from last year…our class is looping to 4th grade together and I’m very excited to get the year going as soon as possible. There are so many benefits to staying together as a group-for one, I already know each of my student’s strengths and weaknesses, where they are coming from, and how fast I can take them to where they need to be. I will indeed know exactly what they were taught last year-so there will be no excuses or “Our teacher didn’t tell us that last year”. I am excited about the new places we will be able to “go” this year…new thoughts and ideas, new technology experiences, new skills to be mastered. So all in all, while I’m a bit disappointed that my “long” summer is rapidly coming to an end, I’m anxious for the new experiences that the school year will bring!