mama said there'd be days like this

I don't know. I have a messy cold. It's Thursday of a very long, snot-filled week. I have a million things to grade and no energy to grade them. I see my weekend before me. I need some medication, but none of the boxes sound quite right. Mark's mad at Dory. Sam needs books and money. Camille needs to be safe. I need a nap.

random thoughts

Went for a long walk with Dory this morning. We walked to the poetry station along the trail. There is a small book inside and you can leave a thought or two. Great idea. The temp was 52 when we left and that brought loads of joggers, walkers, runners, horses, dogs and one pack mule onto the trail. I took photos to share with the High Trails folks. This would be a great activity for the young campers. I may also see about doing this around school or in another park. This could be a terrific language arts/studio art collaboration.

Telltale signs

Fall is creeping into the forest. It's early yet, but there are signs. Walked to the pond early this morning with Dory, looking for the grey bird. The forest was misty and cool. No bird.

Zen

It's been a day of soft rain showers with a bit of thunder here and there. It is dusk and the light is beginning to fade. Chilly. Decided to walk Dory out to the pond before I change into warm pj's. We were walking out, looking at the mushrooms pushing their way through the forest floor. Silent. No sound of crunching pine needles. Nice. I heard a noise and looked up. From the pond flew a very large bird. I'm not sure if it was a Sandhill Crane, an egret, or a heron. Come back. I need more time. I was so enthralled with your beauthiful flight, I didn't look closely enough. I think you had that delicately curved neck and that would be an egret or a heron, but your color was greyish and blended with the grey sky.

We have been running the hose into the pond for an hour a day. This is the first year in a very long time that the frogs have half a chance to reproduce. I bought feeder goldfish to amuse myself and let them loose in the pond. There are loads of tadpoles, but I think the goldfish are gone. Eaten by a crane perhaps? I hope so. Order up for more feeder goldfish.

Fall is in the air.

Ideas

My students amazed me today. This is their first "Choice" project and they were bursting with innovation. Brain activity in my room today was on hyperspeed. We all started on the same page and now I've thrown the ball into their court...they are on the run and I love it!

The torn-paper portrait is from last year. I'll have to be sure to suggest this idea. Amazing, isn't it?

Shiny stuff

Today, I was showing my new students things I had collected. Bits of flotsam and jetsam from hikes and alleyways. I had an old, rusted, squashed chewing tobacco tin and I was showing it off. Yesterday, I showed them baskets with willow, elm, and rose bush cuttings. A young girl raised her hand and asked me if there was anything I didn't think was beautiful. She was very sincere.

Great question.

Cloudy Skies

Lots going on. Students come tomorrow and I have high hopes for the new program and jitters to go with the high hopes.

Wishful thinking.

Family issues.

Raindrops cling to the window.

Choice in the Art Studio

Had a teacher's in-service today...all day. It was about learning styles. I'm a "divergent" learner...no surprise there. My decision to jump into TAB-Teaching Artistic Behavior/Choice this school year is totally validated with the inherent differentiation possibilities offered through this methodology. I am pumped! The Art Studio is the perfect place in which to touch all learners.

liatris punctata

Beautiful colors, delicate petals, and as wild as can be.

August thoughts

It's August 7th and I go back to school tomorrow. I am excited about a new program I will introducing. I will use the ideas of Tab - Teaching Artistic Behavior garnered from several websites and a wonderful group of art instructors in a Yahoo group to which I belong.

And I think of the young children in Lebanon and Iraq and how I would love to have them create art in my classroom. What a joy it would be for them to paint and sing and live in peace. My daughter sent me the link to some very powerful blogs and I hope you will read them. http://beirutupdate.blogspot.com/
http://frombeirutwithlove.blogspot.com/

My students will come to school in new clothes, with lockers full of school supplies, bellies full of food, and many of them will whine about how hard their lives are. They have no idea. I have no idea. We are a spoiled lot.

Religious warfare. Such a waste.