Life of the Party

     It never fails! Each week I sit for about an hours planning what we will be doing the following week. Well...... everything seems to fall through here lately. I literally sit and map out everything on scrap paper before transcribing it over into my official lesson plan book. I wanted my students to have opportunities to do more group work, but it seems that group work only makes our work take twice as long.        I promise to post pictures of their projects with in a week. I didn't get to see all of my classes as planned. I had forgot about an early release day and that this past week was our homecoming. 

      Getting my students to explore new books is like pulling teeth! I have learned that literature circles is the answer to my problem. They really like to work together and having a team mate to get things done with seems to ease the tension. We are currently reading the awesome book, War Horse . Most of my classes seem to really enjoy the book. I will be posting some of their projects. Hopefully we will have this book completed before the end of this month!         

It just isn't worth my time going out to these games.   I wanted to go and support my students, but nothing went was planned. A angry parent ruined my entire day.  Hopefully, I will never experience that kind of reception again. 

         Waiting on hold is not how I want to spend my Saturday morning.   When the Verison employee answered the phone I was completely lost. First of all he didn't even understand my question and he didn't really seem to want to help me.   He was speaking in complete lingo so I was lost in translation.   Maybe it was his broken English/ misuse of vocabulary, or maybe it was my aggravation, but now I'm just mad! I vehemently called the customer service line!           I wasted two hours of my day to get one simple problem fixed. 

   I usually don't get caught up in TV shows, but a friend convinced me to watch True Blood. I was almost immediately hooked. I cannot believe that I have missed six seasons of this HBO show. I watched all six seasons within a month on my days off. My mom wouldn't approve and secretly this seems funny.      I would love to hear other people's insight about this show. 

     It's a few weeks before school starts back and I'm once again caught in that awkward moment of wanting to extend summer and wanting school to start back. I spent most of the day out in our old fishing boat with my dad, and before you ask ( YES ) it was blazing hot. The figs weren't biting, but our conversations were genuine. It's during these random moments that I treasure having the choice of summers without work.       There wasn't many people out enjoying lake Fontana today, but that was just fine by me. I hate sharing anyways. We rode all the way down to the dam and only saw a hand full of boats.     When school starts there will be no time for fishing and tanning out on the boat. I will not be battling endless misquotes and flies. I will not be listening to the distant sound of a humming boat nod wishing it was us riding around. I will not be stalking fish with my dad while listening to his old fishing tales. I will be in my classroo...

     Sometimes I believe I'm indecisive. I was going to spend my summer on the lake and working my part time job, but things have changed. I am currently participating in Cultural Summer School. I have the luxury of working in a community that values their past and will embellish their students in it. This year the program has offered native plants as a topic. Of course this is what I was wanting to help with. We have discovered what plants can be used as medicine, editable, or for dyeing.      Our students had to go out and collect samples from outside to add to their plant books. They learned that Maples can be used as food and that the leaves can be brewed. I looked this up on the internet and couldn't find this information anywhere, but our fellow instructor insured us that this is true. My students ranged from first to seventh grade and we had all ability groups. I was lucky enough to have two students that I have previously taught this year....

    I just want to say that I'm truly thankful for my job and its location. As I was leaving campus I had the chance to see the elk. They are so graceful and have learned to completely ignore the cars. These comedians held traffic up for nearly thirty minutes.             Some of the younger ones weren't tagged or collared for data information. I think these were last year's babies. Normally, they travel in larger herds, but these guys seem to be okay in this small group. These pictures were taken directly in front of the school.            This is a picture of the entire herd. This is the smallest herd that I have seen this year. Most of the herd consisted of young elks. When we tried to get by them they would just out in front of the car. I had the chance to observe their aggressive behavior, when a motorist beeped their horn the elk charged the car. These elegant creatures make appearances daily and...

     I was always taught that there were two types of trout in the creek. A trout was either a stock fish or a native one. Stock fish are seen as the "lesser fish" and they are usually very small and sickly. My grandmother decided to go fishing without me and caught her limit. her biggest fish was a native that is worth mentioning. Below you find a picture of it.        The fish is mostly brown hence the name, "brown trout." This native trout is going to be the bulk of our conversations for months. She was smiling ear to ear when she walked through the door. We are outdoor people who enjoy fishing and getting dirty.  Grandma has spent her evenings looking for green worms on trees for days. She finally had a bucket full of them and this is the result of hard work. 

      Every year my grandmother has made her famous strawberry jam. It isn't really famous, but we have called it this for years. She spends hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove and pressure cooker.  Every small town has it's (set in stone) traditions and my families just happens to be jam. This year will be different, and somehow I feel incomplete. Strawberries will not be ripe for a few more weeks, but we have already started the process of finding containers and making sure they are all clean.       Grandma starts out collecting sugar in small batches. They local grocery store always gives her a hassle if she buys the sugar in bulk. They think she might be using it for something illegal. Come on now! Really? She is a little old white haired frail woman who wants to cook in quantity. Once she has her sugar, she beings looking for local farmers who have surplus berries. I have been on several outings where we have done nothing but talk to p...