Days 53 & 54 - A Lot to Do

Tuesday and Wednesday, May 5 & 6, 2020

Yup. I skipped a day of blogging. I was doing to do this EVERY day for posterity. For primary documents. Yesterday I was crashing from four hours in the classroom, and I decided it was better for my health if I skipped the blog post.

Yesterday I went to school for my four-hour slot, and I'm actually surprised I used the entire time. Half an hour was spent taking student binders off of our shelves and labeling them on the outside with tape and then putting them in alphabetical order. I then put these in a huge garbage bin which I took down to the gym. On my way there, it fell over. Ugh.

Once at the gym, I had to open each bag for each student's binder to be put in. This took a full hour. Some bags had twist ties (that we used to close them the day prior) that were breaking or twisted oddly, and some bags that were tied were very difficult to open. My back was aching. I felt like crud not writing a letter in each binder, but I didn't think of it ahead of time, and my slot to head into the classroom was early on in the month. Big sighs. This is when I feel I'm not doing "enough."

It was odd being in the classroom, but not too odd. I was actually happy when I threw out the seating charts, the questionnaires I gave students as to where they'd LIKE to sit, the sign out sheets, and homeroom papers we never got to. I was elated when I found a note from my students tucked away:

The front... Mr. Ron is a substitute/guest teacher.

The back...

I was able to share it with them on the video I made for them today. Then I got an email from one of the three on the front that said, "Did you like my note?" Yes. Yes, I did.

Today students are sharing their Genius Hour projects on our padlet!! I'm soooo excited to see engagement!! I guess the brainstorming the last few Wednesdays hasn't been their cup of tea, but it looks like it worked out for most of them so far!

I'm exhausted (for what reason, really?!) and Hubby and I were talking about how, if there wasn't a stay at home order, we'd be camping at the Taft campus. I looked at the time and thought about where we'd be. I'd be finishing dinner with 150 students and 20 or so staff, ready to go on our next activity, where we'd stay until snack time and night hike, or campfire and smore's. Until 10:00pm. Or later. I would NOT survive the first day of our Taft trip if I had to be there today.

Days 50 & 51 - Message from Taft

Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, 2020

Hubby and I took a drive to Oregon, IL, to Lowden Miller State Park on Saturday. It's adjacent to the Lorado Taft Campus that I normally go to next week with seventh graders for an overnight outdoor education experience.

Our morning announcements for the school next week will include FlipGrid challenges for the kids. So... I took one one for myself - to climb 203 stairs.

Here's the video I made for our morning announcements:

(By the way, at the end, I'm not saying "stupid house." I'm saying "stoop at your house." We've got a ranch, so I could only use the stoop if I was looking for a stair.)

I hope I got a good message across!

When we got home, we were wiped and it was decided we had "too much sun." It was actually allergies. Oh, well. That's fine by me.

More photos from this visit:

This is a new development on one of the paths!

I've never seen the gate to Taft closed...

It was a beautiful day (before the cold rain came the next day).

Three Bedtime Stories - For SEVENTH Graders!

Outdoor education - 
        with 7th graders - 
                for three days and two nights...

Tired just thinking about it? Me too! I used to be able to go the entire week, with both teams. That went on for eight years. I'm now in my fifth year of going just half of the week with my team. Although I may be used to sleeping without my family, many of these girls are not, and some are uncomfortable when it's time to go to sleep. The boys are in other dorms (oh, thank goodness!), and I'll bet some of them don't feel like going to sleep, either.

As I yawn writing this post, I need to get to WHY I'm writing. I want to share my favorite bedtime read alouds for seventh grade girls! A good friend / coworker told me about this idea two years ago, and I've now got my favorites to read. If you bring three books into a dorm room of eight to nine girls, they'll bug you until you read all three. This way, you can pretend to give in, while actually savoring reading each book.

Here are my three favorites, in order of how I would read them.

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Just the cover illustration is enough to pull you into this book. Those pleading eyes from both the llama and his stuffed bunny! The problem with reading to seventh grade girls in a dorm room is that I need it dark, so they lay there and don't have to crowd around to see the pics. This book has large pictures in it, however, so even if they're hanging over their bunks, they can see it. If not, heck, just start with them all around you. They can get in bed for the next one! The point of this story is that llama gets tucked in, but then wants water. His mother gets busy and doesn't get around to bringing it until he's all in a tizzy! A line near the end is what I love best - "Mama Llama's always near, even if she's not right here." Some of our students need to be reminded of this, as it's their first trip away from home.



Who Will Tuck Me in Tonight? by Carol Roth, Illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
This has another animal character, and it's Woolly, the little lamb. The sun is setting, Woolly is getting sleepy, but his mom is not home yet. When he asks, "Who will tuck me in tonight," various barn animals respond, but they just don't have his mother's touch. The pictures make me crack up, but the girls don't really need to see them in order to understand the story. Finally, his mother comes home and does everything just right. By now, the seventh graders should be ready to be in their bunks under the covers, as they think I'm leaving... but I can stay for "just one more."



It's Time to Sleep, My Love from Nancy Tillman (originally written by Eric Metaxas)
Although the illustrations are very rich, detailed, and vivid, I use this one so sing a lullaby. In the post I read about 40 bedtime stories (see below), she said she likes to sing this one to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Perfect. This also has the message at the end that "you are loved." Our kids need to know this.


I found these books from this blog post, and have finally been able to read them all and choose just three. Thank you, Allison McDonald!


Okay, okay, there IS one more that I love on that list that seems perfect for 7th grade girls...

Looking for Sleepy by Maribeth Boelts, Illustrated by Bernadette Pons
I might switch this one out for.... no. I don't think I can replace the other three. If it's a particularly feisty room of girls, I'll read this one first! ;)

My favorite part of reading to the girls each night? Hearing "I love you, Mrs. Kirr," and being able to tell them I love them right back.