The concussion

Henry has a concussion.  He was on the ice for 10 whole seconds and a kid slammed him against the boards.  A week later, he still has a headache.  He is going back to the doctor on Monday morning.  I'm hoping that he is allowed to run, but I doubt it.  He ran a little during the XC sectional tournament today and his head started hurting.  His head was hurting during the hockey game today.  The music was loud.

Soccer is over for Hayden and he is in full blown hockey mode now.  He scored his first goal on Friday night and he was so excited.

Harrison will be 21 this coming Friday the 13th.  Fun birthday for a 21 year old.  I'm planning on taking him to the Sinking Ship on Saturday in Indy.  It's a fun little hockey bar in Indy that plays heavy metal music and they serve delicious vegan food.  Then we are headed over to the fuel tank to watch some hockey.  Hopefully, Henry's head will be better by then.

I went canoeing with my friend today on Griffy.  It was really windy, but so fun.  My arms got a little workout, and my knee didn't hurt at all!  I want to get a kayak next time. 

the big overlap

Hayden had his last JV soccer game tonight.  He made the sectional team, so he can't practice with his  hockey team tomorrow night.  Henry can, but only after he finishes cross country practice.  I have to follow Henry to Bedford on Saturday morning for practice.  As soon as he is done with his run, I have to rush him to the Frank for his first home hockey game with the Blades.  Hayden doesn't have practice on Saturday, so both boys will be there, but they will most likely be sitting on the bench.   The high school hockey coach does not like that they are missing his practices.

Meanwhile, I'm supposed to be at the Hoosier's Outrun Cancer run/walk on Saturday morning.  I signed up because one month ago, there was nothing on my calendar for Saturday morning.  Not that I can even walk it now anyway with this giant knee brace on my leg.

Science was so much better

I separated the kids into groups of 2 and I picked their partner.  They hated me, but it was tons better.  They listened for a minute or two longer.  They even asked questions!  I think they may have learned one thing.  I even took pictures to prove it.

So, when I first introduced this, I forgot that I was supposed to use a paper clip.  I had a magnet on the string.  It took forever, but I got that magnet to float and I even put a thin book in between the magnets.  The kids were impressed, but then when I sent them off to try it on their own, I looked it up.   I didn't remember it being that hard!  I gave them all a paper clip and they had a blast.  We talked about the magnetic field and gravity and everything.  We talked about forces and how they can be balanced and unbalanced.  We all laughed about bringing balance to the force.  Well most of us got the joke.

  

Magnets

Today we started the motion and matter investigations.  The kids quickly got off task and started conducting their own investigations without writing anything down.  It was super frustrating.  Tomorrow instead of little groups, we are doing all of this together and I'm separating their desks into 1970's formation.  We are going to discuss it and maybe even learn something about magnetism, force, and gravity.

After school, I made a bee line for the ER.  By 1:00, my knee was killing me.  I couldn't even pick up my students from lunch.  I only got to see a physician's assistant and she said, MRI's are rarely prescribed in these cases.  They did an x-ray.  She said, there is a break in there of some kind.  She said it looks like an old injury.  NOPE.  I have torn everything up, but my knees have been good.  So I have to go back and talk to a real doctor on the 5th.  She said tomorrow and I said NO.  I'm not missing work, that is why I came to the ER at night where all the equipment is.  The ER is like a big prompt care now.

My mom was there to save the day.  She came and sat with me and made me food.  She is so great.  I'm so lucky.

Culver

Got home from Culver around 5 last night.  I walked around the campus a lot.  My knee is really sore today, but it was worth it.  I'm going to keep moving and hope for the best.  There is a possibility that something is torn.  I'm just pretending that it's not.  The Bloomington North boys placed 4th and the girls got 1st!  It was fun watching them run.

Henry was happy with his time, so I'm happy too.  Hayden's soccer team lost again.  Two more soccer games and Hayden's season is over.

Motion and matter

My third graders have religious education every Friday for 40 minutes.  For some reason, my class has the highest number of students that have opted out of religious ed.  I have 6 out of 17 that stay at school. The other teachers have only one or two students.  I usually read with those kids that stay back or conference with them.  Today, I put them to work. We set up the motion and matter science stations for next week.  It was really fun.  We got 4 sets ready for both third grade classrooms. I really love the sound unit, but I'm glad it's over.  It was so loud!  Next week, we will investigate magnets, forces, and gravity. Then we will build some little cars.

For digital citizenship week, my class had to come up with a motto. This took about 0.4 seconds. I was pleasantly surprised!  One kid said teamwork, and I said, ok, can we say a little more? And a kid said, saves the day!  And I got up and did a little dance.  My knee still hurts a lot, so it was a short dance.

Teamwork Saves The Day!   I'm in love with it.

I tutored my little Chinese dude tonight. His mom wants him to work on casual conversation, so we just sit and chat. It's getting a little weird. There is only so much that I want to know about a 15 year old boy. And also, I have two of them living with me.  Tonight we talked about his sports week that he had at his school. He won 3 medals and shared his times.  He asked a lot of questions about Henry's time and how much he trains. I told him that henry is usually about 3 minutes behind the actual winner.  He can't believe how fast the kids are here. We did a little math and found out that the winner of the eagle classic did 1K in about 3 minutes. He told me that he didn't believe it. I said, well come on over here and watch them run with your own eyeballs.

Training Day

I went to training today for our eLearning day that is happening on October 5th.  It was a lot of fun.  I learned how to use screencastify and I set up my Google Classroom.  I made some funny videos on snapchat and sent them straight to my google classroom page.  My third graders are gonna crack up when they watch them tomorrow.  I'm all trained and ready to go for a real eLearning day.  Bring on the snow.

I finally had a free hour to take Hayden to get his haircut the other day.  It was so long that his cousin was braiding it.  I have no free hours right now.  A minute here and a minute there.  I'm leaving for Culver right after school tomorrow to watch Henry run.  It's supposed to be 90 degrees.  That is not great running weather.  You can find me standing under a shade tree or skipping rocks on the lake.  I love that place.

I'm wide awake, I'm not sleeping

School was so great today.  I spent the day reading about Roberto Clemente, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron. My little 3rd graders were angels.  They are trying to earn stars so that they can sit at the special table for lunch.  This is definitely working.  I had no idea that my class could walk down the hallway quietly.  

We went outside for recess, even though they told me that the ground might be wet because it rained.  The ground was fine and it was a beautiful day.  At our 2nd recess, I asked my incredibly, talented gymnastic girls to recreate a picture I saw on Instagram.  It looked like this.

My third graders almost nailed it.....

ok, ok,  they actually did a better job than this, but this is funny.  And we never came close to the real picture, but it was still fun.  They were all laughing hysterically.

On my way home, I stopped for motor oil and I couldn't get the hood to the van open.  The stupid thing is broken.  Then I had to stop to get my library books that were ready and there was no parking.  I had to pay for parking.  When I got home, I tried to relax.  I watched some tv, read some articles, and then I fell down the stairs.  My knee twisted in a way that is not normal.  I crawled to the couch.  No one was home, so I just laid there in agony, swearing at the ceiling.  My stairs are carpeted and they suck.  Almost everyone I know has fallen down them.  There isn't any skin left on my elbow and I'm waiting to see if I can walk in the morning.  It's pretty swollen.  Tomorrow should be loads of fun.




 

And when I go there, I go there with you, It's all I can do

I constantly have lesson plans swirling around in my head.  It's fun, but sometimes annoying.  Is this normal?  I don't know.  I need to find a way to tame it.  Take control.  Last night I was thinking about the book, Grace for President.  I have read this book many times over the years.   Shameeka B's reaction was the greatest, still, to this day.  She was livid to see all those men, all those white faces, on the wall.  She decided on that day, that she was going to do something, be something.  She stepped up her game for the rest of her little third grade year.  She's was a tiny little thing, but a powerhouse.  She was smart in more ways than one.  I loved being her teacher.  I hope she's out there killing it somewhere.

 I've always read it aloud to the entire class. I got this idea in my head last night, that I was going to do something different with it this year.  This year, I'm first going to read it to the girls, then to the boys.  I want to see and hear their reactions without the opposite sex sitting next to them.  I have a little handout for the students to fill out while I'm reading.  We are going to stop and discuss the book along the way.  Look for updates later.

I stumbled upon the thinker builder guy in TPT  while reading, and researching last night.  His blog is loaded with great ideas that I would like to try in my classroom.  I saw his quote wall and I'm thinking about putting one in my bedroom.  Just for something to look at and constantly remind myself to keep going.  I like this one.

You're in the mud, in the maze of her imagination

I've been tutoring a kid from China for over a year now. His mom told me yesterday that he wanted to take a semester off.  I was relieved for a minute, then starting beating myself up about it. I wondered what had I done wrong and why he wanted to quit. Of course, it was all my fault. Everything is always all my fault. I can't think any other way. I got a message from him less than 24 hours later that he wanted to tutor. I was in Indianapolis at a hockey game, but it was almost over, so I said sure!  Well I couldn't hear him and I didn't have my headphones. I had to hang up.  I need to find out why he wanted to quit and why he wants to start again! I need answers.

Hockey Season

High school hockey started tonight.  It was a scrimmage and the twins didn't play much.  I hope the whole season isn't like this.  Henry was upset about his playing time.  He really wants to concentrate on XC right now, so hockey is just bothersome. I doubt that he plays next year. He said he wants to run in college, so taking time out for hockey is low on his to do list.  Hayden is really loving soccer this year. He's getting a lot of playing time and his coach always has nice things to say about him.  Hopefully, when XC and soccer finishes up, they will be able to concentrate on hockey more.

Henry is number 31.

I need to take some classes or something.  My brain is on overdrive and I need to give it something to focus on. I've been sitting around looking at old pictures and cleaning out memory boxes and old projects.  Maybe it's a good time to go back to school.  My boys are busy with their own lives.  They get annoyed when I try to converse with them.  At least I'm prepared this time.  I was not ready when Harrison did this to me.

I'm ready, I think

So I think about this little blog quite often and occasionally, I will visit it and start a post.  I have many saved drafts that I deemed lame and never finished or just never published.  I'm going to put some energy into this space.  I am going to try at least.

I have a good class this year.  Cute kids.  Smart kids.  My teaching partner is my old 5th grade basketball coach and I think THAT is so freakin awesome.  She's a great teacher.  I'm honored to be working with her.

So I had 2 surgeries this summer.  Stupid chicken. And on the 2nd day of school, I got a call from Bloomington North that Hayden had something stuck in his throat.  Guess what it was???  chicken.  He had to have emergency surgery to have it removed. I can't stand chicken.  My mom makes white bean chicken chili and it's so good, but it kills my stomach.  I have mainly been eating vegetables, rice and beans.  I don't drink milk or eat eggs.  Occasionally, I will have meat, but I feel terrible after I eat it.

I'm still busy running form place to place.  Henry is doing well in XC and Hayden is rocking in soccer.  High school hockey starts soon.  Henry is already talking about quitting hockey.  We will see how this year goes.  He also wanted to quit viola, but couldn't do it.  

Harrison is taking the semester off at IU.  Actually 3 semesters.  Hopefully, he will have a new plan for January.

Life was so much simpler when the boys were little.   We went to the park, the library, and played outside.  We went to the pool, had sleepovers, and stayed up late watching movies.  I still look at them and see their little faces.  Their first grade faces.   Their mom, mom, mom, watch this... faces.  Time flies when you're having fun.

Some Zombie game

The boys are playing some zombie video game in Hayden's room.  The dialogue coming out of the room is hilarious.  Here's some of what they are screaming.  

Open the door...

Feed the dragon...

You're an idiot...

Why won't you just let them in?

Why don't you just kill it???

Please open the door and stop killing the ZOMBIES!!!!

Good stuff. Let me tell you.   So last night I ended up in the ER.  I had a piece of chicken lodged in my throat.  It had been there for about 26 hours.  I couldn't take one more minute of it.  I had not been able to get anything to my stomach and I was getting sicker by the minute.  I made it to the ER around 11 and was in the surgery room by 1 am.  My mom was there to help me.  The doc explained that he may have to put a stint in.  At this point, I started to freak a little and when the nurses suited up with their masks and placed an oxygen tube under my nose, I started to cry.  I woke up about 10 minutes later and it was gone.  And no stint.  I have to go back to get my esophagus stretched, again.  I had that procedure done about 6 years ago.  I hate this.  I'm never eating chicken again.  My diet will consist of only soft squishy food.

On our way home, my Mom asked if I wanted to go get my pain prescription and I said NO!  I just want to got to bed.  So at 4 am, I woke up screaming in pain and starting vomiting.  She ran to CVS.  She's such a good mom.  I am so sore today.  I've had an ice pack on my throat most of the day.  I feel like I'm starving even though, I'm pretty sure that I could go 3 days without eating and be just fine.

Summer Break is here

Hayden helped me move my classroom yesterday.  I think this is year 5 of changing classrooms, grades, towns, etc.  I've lost track of it all honestly.  I slowly chug forward.  I just purchased the greatest pair of blinders and I'm reading a book about how to live in the present and only in the present.  The past is over and the future is just not here, so sit back and wait for it; like a boss.

I'm teaching 3rd grade next year.  My favorite grade of all time.  I'm feeling a ton of emotions, but I'm just telling people that I'm excited.  I just came out of the best teaching year of my life.  I was challenged, learned new things, my students showed a ton of growth on NWEA, I laughed a ton, tried out some new ideas, and made new friends.  I'm going to some fun summer PD's and have some fun trips planned.

My mom and I are leaving for California in a few weeks.  We are staying in Scotts Valley, California.  It's right in the middle of all the places we want to visit.  I'll be sitting in AT & T park on my birthday watching the Giants play the Colorado Rockies.  We plan to hike through five different redwood forests and walk on Santa Cruz beach.  The list of places we want to visit grows daily.

Harrison has a new job.  He's a detailer at Andy Mohr Honda.  So if you need your car cleaned, go visit him.  On his first day, he sent me a text that said "this place is amazing!"  He doesn't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to walk dogs that are miserable anymore and he is very happy about that.

Hayden is talking to a girl.   He won't tell me who she is.  He knows how over protective and crazy I am.  I wouldn't tell me either.  He has evening soccer workouts all summer and Henry has XC workouts in the morning.  So guess who will be driving back and forth to North 52 times a day this summer?  This girl.  One more year and they will be able to drive on their own.  So I will cherish this last year with them in the car, with their headphones on, watching them gobble down food,  picking up all of their trash, their clothes, their smelly socks, listening to their funny stories, and watching them sleep.  One more glorious year.

Spring Break 2017

I opened blogger every day over break.  My brain feels scattered right now.  I couldn't decide what to write about and I still can't.  So I'm just going to review my spring break.  Overall, it was a 2/5.  I spend most of the week sleeping.  I drove the boys around.  Took them to school, practice, haircuts, friends houses, etc.  I painted my bathroom.  Henry painted the high places that I couldn't reach.

I read a few books.  Real books, not just picture books.  Well, both.  Talked to Tom Crean for a little while.   His kids go to North.  Went to a track meet.  Henry ran the mile in 5:12.  Tonight he ran it in 5:05.  He's doing great. I walked a little.  Watched a bunch of movies.  Graded, graded, graded papers..  Tutored my little friend in China.  Filled out a document describing how I tackle domain one of RISE in my classroom.  Created some fun science stations.  and Planned the rest of the year with my amazing little first graders.  These kids are so fun.  I'm so lucky to be their teacher.

It's Sunday

The boys finished up their youth hockey career yesterday with 2 losses.  They played the Owensboro Puckhogs and the Findlay Trojans.  The rink was so cold.  I spent the entire day freezing to death.  It snowed off and on a little, after being in the 60's all week.  Welcome back winter.  High school hockey is next.  The best part about high school hockey is that we only play Indiana teams.  We won't have to travel around all winter anymore.

My mom went with me to watch the final games.  On the way back, we talked about taking a road trip to California this summer.  We want to visit our old house in San Jose.  I want to visit Gardner School where I went to kindergarten and 6th grade.   I'd like to sit on the beach in Santa Cruz where I played when I was little.   My mom wants to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge.  If we go to San Fransisco, I have to see the Giants play.  We talked about camping along the way, like Harrison and I did last summer.  This trip will be epic, if it pans out.  I have to take a class this summer.  So we will see.  

Finally February

Has January always been this long?  It seemed longer than long this year.  The long car rides to all the hockey games didn't help.  I spent way too much time in the van last month.  We are home almost all of February now.  Except for this weekend.....

So my math bowl team won first place in the area competition!  The real competition is February 23rd.   I'm so excited, but we have a lot of work to do.  We scored 18 points out of a possible 32.  AND one of my math bowl kids moved away.  His last day was Monday.  I need to pick a new captain for squad 3 and move someone into his spot.  The stress is real here.

My class made the front page of the paper.  The fall foliage queen came to read to our class last week.  She had this huge tiara on her head.  She read a book about a princess that had a bad hair day.  The kids seemed to enjoy it.  When she left, I read the Paper Bag Princess story to them, just to bring them back down to planet Earth.

Kahoot

I played Kahoot with my first graders today.  They had a blast.  They screamed.  They jumped.  They went berserk.  And then about halfway through the third game, the fire alarm went off.  I totally forgot that we were having a drill at 2:45.  They all freaked out and took off running.  Luckily, I beat them to the door.  When we got back inside, I needed them to chill out.  Calm down. Take it down about 72 notches.  I had them pack up, then I gave them snack, and put on a movie.

Indoor recess needs to end ASAP.....  These kids need to run like the wind, OUTSIDE!

In other news, our practice math bowl competition is this Thursday.  We are competing against all the other kids in Martinsville and then the real competition is February 23rd.  I hope they do well.  We have been practicing 2 days a week for a few months.  I'm a nervous wreck.  Our shirts are pretty cool though!

Women's March Weekend

I missed out on all of the marches yesterday because I was in Ohio watching the twins play hockey. I really wish that I had traveled to Washington.  The pictures that my friends sent me and posted were fantastic.  The chants and signs were amazing.  I really missed out.  😞😞😞

The boys played a tough team yesterday.  We still have one kid out with a broken arm and another kid couldn't make it because of choir.  We ended up winning the first game and losing the 2nd.  Hayden scored in the first game and got a 2 minute penalty for slashing.  He's only been in the penalty box a handful of times over the years.  The first time he was called for a penalty, he cried the entire 2 minutes.

My mom went with us, so that made it fun.  Mom and I walked around the Cube ice rink in Findlay Ohio while the boys warmed up. They had two amazing parks, a walking trail, and some cool baseball diamonds.

We celebrated our 100th day in grand style on Friday.  The first graders were pumped up.  I had them so excited about this day.  I brought in cake, we played games, and the kids brought in projects.  My principal stopped by a few times because "she didn't want to miss out on all of the fun!"  I love my little school.  The kids are great.   The staff is great.  I feel like I've won the lottery.

First post of 2017

My resolution this year is to spend less time on social media.  I get sucked in.  It's nice to check in on people and see how they are doing, but every single day???  nahhhh  I do miss blogging though.   I like to look back on the blog to relive all the fun times, but last year I hardly blogged.  I'm so disappointed in myself.

I'm going to look over my 2016 goals.

16 Goals for 2016

1.  Visit 16 new cities or towns. Outside of Indiana preferably:  NO

2.  Get a 40,000 steps in a day badge on Fitbit : yes

3.  Run a 5k: Yes and a half marathon!  I walked, but whatever

4. Stop drinking Diet Coke: NO 

5.  Read 16 books :  almost. ok NO.  Wait do first grade picture books count???

6.  Take a class : NO

7.  Organize my pictures : NO  This is depressing......

8.  Paint the boy's bedrooms YES!!!

9.  Write more : grrrr

10.  Spend more time with the boys because, wow, do they grow up fast  Yes!

11. Eat better food. Although, I just had ice cream for dinner No

12. Spend less time on social media. Yes

13. Ride my bike 1,000 miles No :(

14. Get another tattoo nope

15. Go watch the IU women play basketball Yes!

16. Go on an adventure:  Does going from 6th grade to 1st count?  I think so. 

7 out of 16.  Less than 50%.  ugh.  I need better resolutions for this year.  I deleted Facebook.  I'm only taking on one more goal.  I have to take a class to renew my license.  I am coaching the math bowl team. Those 4th and 5th graders are so smart.  I am tutoring a kid in China over Skype.  I think he might come and stay with us this summer.  I'll think of another goal.  Maybe.  or maybe this is enough.