this weekend

I need to finish my master's application

Fine arts in education - I think I found my match

happy friday

The wind left me feeling like this.

We'll be staying in tonight for sure.
Except for maybe hitting up the newest yogurt shop on the block.

this was probably taken in Bodega '09
the husband always catches me in my best light

What if?

so my april fool's project turned into this

what if poems are fun at any age I have found

Date night

 

it's amazing what you can find when you walk down a different alley

memory quilts

   

Time to get organized

For open house. My cabinets are busting with art so it is time to get ready for one last display.

yes, I'm a gleek

a day in the sun

 Things got very official this year.

 Neillo, not selling cars today.

and a couple taken by that pretty awesome husband of mine...

one day, this will be in my garage, or one like it

This day of fun was all for a great cause - Ride to Walk
Check out what they are all about here

just watched

You should too.

For all those people!

Are you sick of highly paid teachers?

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.

     That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).


     Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET'S SEE....

That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year 

(Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

     What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here!


       There sure is! The average teacher's salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they eveneducate your kids! WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Make a teacher smile; repost this to show appreciation for all educators.

I found this here

Her artwork is pretty awesome!

I'm a lucky girl

It's been 2 weeks

Due to the hearings and break it has been two weeks since I've been in the classroom. I'm ready to be back but my early morning routine is feeling a bit foreign. So I leave you with an adorable kitty to say happy Monday.

A very nice end

to a pretty great break.

Our loot

Never too old.

happy easter

Tupelo

A teachers best friend.

happy weekend

No I did not mean

to match my sofa pillows.

mmmmm....

why not?

                           

Hadn't dyed eggs since before I knew what "cage free" eggs were.

However, I didn't take into account that brown eggs

are not the best for dying.

So here are our cage free, brown eggs.

Also, the marbling technique with vegetable oil, not pretty.

Day of shopping

Many dressing rooms and countless home stores, and these were all I brought home with me! Today, coffee shop time.

Spring

Just another reason for cupcakes.

A college book I'm glad I kept

  So you know how you spend thousands of dollars on all those college textbooks, only to find you either sell them back for a ridiculous price, or keep them and run out of space on your bookshelf quickly?  Well, these are two books I'm glad I was forced to buy.  I have shared these books with so many of my teaching partners and they have found them just as valuable as me.

Why do they rock you may ask?  They are super user friendly.  You can throw one of these poems into your lesson plans without much prep or thought!  There is a type of poetry for all ages, all seasons, and themes.  Kids LOVE poetry, if it taught right, that is.  My kids LOVE getting the chance to write something shorter, and many times a piece that is a little more "free".   There is nothing better than seeing a kid smile because you say, yes, it is OK to not have periods.  This is a type of liberation any 10 year old can appreciate.

Oh, and grading poetry beats an essay any day.  Win, win.                                                                      

         

Thanks Professor Cecil!

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Poetry-Literacy-Scafolds-Extensions/dp/1895411874

My favs

Luna and creating a project that will make my kids love math for the day!

Gearing up for Open House

Time for a new silhouette project.

Currently my kiddos are scouring for their images.

Tracing begins after break, collaging the week after.

And sure, we'll throw a poem in as well.

show some...

By following my blog!

Why you may ask?  Here are some reasons.

#1 You are already reading it, so why not?

#2 You don't need a blog to follow a blog.  

Go figure. 

 Just an email address, and I'm pretty sure those are assigned at birth now.  

#3 Today has been a bit of a rough day for me, 

and a little extra blog lovin' would be nice.

#4 And last but not least, it will keep me motivated to keep the posting up!

Thanks for stopping by so frequently and letting me know you love what I do.

My classroom is my LIFE and sharing it with others is pretty cool.

Self portraits

Just a little art we did before we went to Point Bonita. They had to set goals for themselves that focussed on different parts of themselves. For instance, I will keep my hands to myself while on hikes (so a kid doesn't get pushed down the hillside). Setting expectations through a little art, yes please.

Field Trips - far and few between

If you haven't taken your class yet, and you teach in Northern California, you need to!

 

http://www.calacademy.org/
http://www.calacademy.org/teachers/plan_a_visit.php

My kids pretty much soaked up every inch of this place, and get this, forgot they were learning!

Different Kind of Anniversary

Two years ago the husband and myself went on one amazing road trip. We flew to Seattle, bought our GTI, and then drove home. Yes, we did break down twice, but it was an adventure of a lifetime. Here's one of my favorites from our trip. Happy two year anniversary to our '88, we have loved you even when the love has not been returned.

                                                          Probably somewhere in Oregon.

Just another reason...

I was born in the wrong decade, and so was my husband.

I was too excited that this was just added to Netflix instant play.

spring break

With a husband working insanely early hours, he needs a nap. I've already done two loads of laundry, the dishes, ran, went to the bank...so now I look through old pictures. Here's an oldie but a goodie. Us when we were just two young broke kids, living in the Alkali Flats. So I start my spring break realizing I'm pretty lucky to have this guy around. He takes better care of me than he realizes.

Oh my

Last week we had the pleasure of once again going to the layoff hearings. Now, these hearings are a time when I get to hang out with out friends, and listen to a lot of monotone conversations concerning adult ed, ROP, Avid, and "highly qualified". None of which concerns me, except for the fact that I am "highly qualified", just not on paper apparently. The beginning of the week we were all pretty scared for our jobs. Trying to image that in what should be our 5th year of teaching, we may be back on the sub list. Never knowing when we were working, and more importantly, never having our own class. Now yes, the thought of going into a classroom and leaving when the bell rings has some enticing qualities. However, seeing the faces on my kids when I was able to return to my class on Friday makes me realize that a shorter work day is NOT worth it.

So, I leave you with this. Something that any educator can appreciate.


HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER?

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words, "It's Ms/Mr. ______________" and you know you have been spotted.
4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch & prep period.
7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the teacher's lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says "must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off."... (without pay).
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!
18. You ask your friend if the left hand turn he just made was a "good choice or a bad choice".
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
Finally...
21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.

I can only imagine...

That this was given as a wedding gift to some amazing housewife who had too many salad serving bowls to choose from. Now it's mine and that works for me.

Today's Find

This salad set was too good to pass up. It had never been used and I even pulled the sticker off the main bowl this evening. Even though it was just me tonight, I couldn't let this bowl go another fifty years untouched. So now when I serve my favorite bag salad to guests, I can do it in style!

Point Bonita Art

This art project came from my awesome teaching partner and was what we did while teaching our kids about major landmarks and historical facts about San Francisco. We used a "tearing" technique to make the sky with color chalk. Then they went back and created their landmarks using construction paper. It was perfect for those last couple of days before we went to Point Bonita. There wasn't much else the kids could stand to do!

Our project on "the project"

Well our first Vw baby has been a constant work in progress. So when the paint on the hood began to go, what better way to fix it than with stickers. And when your wife teaches elementary shool you get a little help with placement of said stickers.

Caravan