Happy Flying

My parents are leaving today for Houston. This should be dad's final chemo treatment for awhile. He then gets to take his "Chemo Holiday." He will still be required to get his blood drawn and get scanned every so often here in South Bend and down in Houston. They will be back home on Tuesday night. Please keep my dad in your prayers this week. :)

Need Snow?

While going through the classified ads last night, hubby came across this ad:

So if you feel that you don't quite have enough in your yard, you now have another option to get some more! :)

The Art of Handwriting

This is a topic of conversation that came up today during our In-Service. Our principal is really old-school and believes in the art of handwriting. We have a contest that we are supposed to have the students complete by the end of February.

She would like us to constantly correct the students on their pencil technique and how they pull their pencil down on the paper. She would like us to spend more than 15 minutes teaching handwriting. We are NOT to tell the students to open up to page so and so and complete it. We are to have the students practice on the board, on blank pieces of paper, and newspapers.

I, on the other hand, totally disagree with the teaching of handwriting. I am constantly short on minutes trying to teach Reading, Grammar, Math, and if I am lucky I can squeeze in Writing and Science on a good day.

I believe that students have their handwriting technique down from Kindergarten and it is somewhat tweaked in the first grade. By the time I have them in second grade, I believe, that they are already set in their ways and it is impossible to correct them.

I also remember this speech back when I taught junior high. Explain to me how to correct a 12, 13, and 14 year old on correcting their handwriting. It just isn't going to happen.

I believe that if I can read the paper, I am in good shape. Even on standardized tests it tells the student to write in what is most legible (cursive or print). However, isn't everything being done on computers?

Now I will go through the correct techniques for teaching cursive in the next few weeks when we begin, but I will not have the time to spend more than 15 minutes of my precious time on these correct techniques.

What do you think? Is the art of handwriting really that important in school anymore?

Trying to Stay Warm

This is what the temperature is right now at 11 o'clock at night and it is supposed to get colder. We usually have the door between the porch and the living room open for the cats to run in and out. However we closed it at 6 o'clock tonight because we were just chilled. So the cats better be good tonight.

I went out there earlier to retrieve a plant and I came back chilled. The heater we have out there is barely making a dent in this ridiculous temperature. I think the only thing going for us is that we will be a little warmer than the country because our houses are closer together here in the city.

The other good thing is that we have school off again tomorrow and so I think I will be baking to help warm up the house. Think warm thoughts!!!

Happy 60th Anniversary

On Thursday, my grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. We had a small party for them today at their house. We saw some video footage of before they were married and another video of when my aunts and uncles were under 5 years of age. I can say that I really do look like my mom's side of the family.

You wouldn't mind one more...

I knew a week before school let out in December that I was getting one of the students from the other second grade class due to conflict of personalities with another student. However I was told not by my principal but by the other second grade teacher.

I was waiting all week for my principal to say something to me. Heck the student even knew and told everyone in his class. I kept telling the other teacher that it would be Monday morning when we returned from break that we were shoving his desk into my room.

Surprise, surprise..this morning I open my door and there is desk sitting in my doorway. The other teacher asked me if I was told yet and I shook my head. My principal only said something to me 10 minutes to 8 when the parent and the student were standing in my classroom.

Another teacher told me that I really do need to find another school where I am not stepped on. I guess part of that is my fault because I go with the punches and I am really too flexible.

Only 18 weeks until summer vacation. It should be a fun ride until we get there. Argh!

A new post for the new year!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year! We are currently in the process of getting an alarm system installed because my father says that we need one. Rosie's house was broken into back in October and so my father said that we were all getting an alarm system. Tony got his about a month ago, Rosie's was installed two days ago, and so today it is our turn.

The cats were curious when the alarm person came. Lucy was going bonkers with all of the new noises that were being made by the drilling and pulling of wires. I just had to snap this pic...

She looks like she is being terrorized by all of the wires. Goofy cat!