Halloween

Korra decided to go trick-or-treating with a friend from school instead of with the us and our friends. 

Quiet Morning

This school does not celebrate Halloween.  No class parties or costumes- not even a Book Character Day.  That does not change the fact that today (and tomorrow) the kids are more hyped up than usual.  The kindergarten class I just had was barely contained chaos and I imagine the 2nd graders I'll have at the end of the day will be about the same.  That being said, I had an extremely quiet morning where I repaired some books, reorganized the 500s (Dewey Decimal system- sciences), planned a Blackout Poetry lesson for 5th grade, and starting working on the Winter Wonderland program for the chorus teacher.  

Still so hot

The daily highs continue to be in the upper 70s and it's supposed to be like that for at least the next week.  It's just way too hot for autumn, even for Georgia. I want to wear my sweaters. 

Zoo Field Trip

Today I got to spend two hours at the zoo (it's right across the street from our school and we get to go free any time!) with the 5th graders sketching the animals. It was lovely!

Unprepared

I had an awful dream last night. I dreamed we were moving and family showed up to help us move, but I hadn't even booked a moving truck yet.  I couldn't figure out how to book the truck on my phone and kept getting distracted because I realized there was another entire floor of the house that we'd forgotten to pack. Plus, there was still wet laundry in the dryer and the dishwasher was running so I'd forgotten those things too.  Then I realized we were moving from this big house to a smaller house and I hadn't thought about what to do with all the extra stuff AND I had somehow forgotten to try to sell this giant house we were moving out of.

4:50 Wake Up

At 4:50 this morning, someone set off a bunch of fireworks.  In my dream-addled state, I thought someone was pounding at our door and jumped out of bed.  Once I realized it was nothing, I was too amped up to go back to sleep.  So I've ordered a bunch of Christmas presents and sewed a candy bag to match Korra's Halloween costume. 

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

I had NO idea what a big deal our Grandparents and Special Friends Day was until I experienced it today.  We had two sessions (one for the lower grades, and one for the upper grades) and STILL filled the auditorium with standing room only both times (We have 396 students total and probably had 300+ people at each session).  Grandparents came from out of state, and we even had grandparents from Nepal, Japan, and Germany.  

I had a table for bookplate donations.  We got 52 bookplates ("This book is donated in honor of ... by..." that the kid gets to put in their favorite book) and collected over $1000.  

Since a lot of the kids got checked out early, we combined classes for the afternoon and I got to spend 45 minutes outside on the playground with kindergarten where I had 4+ kids hugging me/holding my hand/sitting on me at any given moment and where I witnessed one kiddo lick his hands after using chalk, resulting in a rainbow colored mouth.

Mural Project

 For a math project, Korra needed pictures of herself next to 4 murals around the city (she could pick which ones). I picked her up from school and we headed out on our bikes and in less than a mile and a half we found 10!  I had no idea how many murals there are in our neighborhood. 

Physical

I had my annual physical today and because I scheduled it when I still had my old job, it was right in the middle of the school day so I had to take the whole day off. 

I'm super proud because I got blood drawn without getting even a little queasy! I ate an hour before my appointment, I bought ice water, an ice pack (that i put on the back of my neck), and hard candy. I asked to lay down and then told the nurse directly that my hand had better veins than my arm. Only one poke and it was done!

Now to spend some time reading in the hammock on the balcony!

Book Suggestions

Here are some of the book suggestions from my suggestion box:

Beetlejuice

Big Nate (graphic novels)

Babysitters Club (graphic novels)

Pokemon

Minecraft

Roblox

How to play rock music

Does it fart?  (I looked this up and it's a real book!)

Calvin and Hobbes

World Records 2024

Totoro

Wings of Fire (graphic novels)

Gymnastics

47 degrees

First below 50 degrees bike ride to school this morning and it wasn't too bad. 

It’s Monday Morning

I closed the locked door on my glove and had to get my keys out to unlock the door to free myself. 

Project Physically Exhaust Korra

This morning Korra had a 2 hour climbing team practice. After a quick lunch we took a 7 mile bike ride to take advantage of Streets Alive (when they shut down a big portion of a street for a few hours to cars). 

Korra has had the double whammy of fall break and Mountain time that have completely thrown off her sleep schedule. Hopefully all this physical activity will help her go to sleep on time and be ready for going back to school tomorrow. 

Sweatpants Day

I got a lot of things done today AND watched a lot of Abbott Elementary.  I picked up the groceries, mopped, baked cookies, finished a crochet project, did yoga, folded laundry, changed out our summer wardrobes for fall/winter, took a walk, and trimmed Korra's hair. 

Teacher Work Day

One of the reasons Korra and I had to come back from Colorado is that I have to work today.  We had a 2 hour staff meeting from 9-11 and now we have a few hours to work in our rooms.  I appreciate how low-key this is since I'm running on about 5 hours of sleep.  Going to pick up groceries on the way home and then take a nap!

Colorado Day 5

We spent the morning at Dinosaur Ridge. It was a 3 mile walk/hike where we got to see dinosaur footprints. 

Afterwards, we had absolutely delicious puposas for lunch and then went to a brewery to play games for a while before we handed Nate off to his friends for his conference and Korra and I went to the airport. 

Our flight was uneventful and thanks to the time change, we arrived in Atlanta after midnight. Korra and I were exhausted but happy to be home. 

Colorado Day 4

In the morning we went on a tour of the Hammond Candy factory (the Oops! section of discount candy was a definite highlight). We went to an AMAZING deli (Leven) for lunch and walked around downtown Denver for a little bit before heading over to the Natural History Museum. 

I especially enjoyed the Egyptian mummy exhibit and the exhibit about poisons. Nate, of course, loved the dinosaurs. Korra loved posing with various animal statues. 

We stayed at the museum for almost 3 hours and still didn't get to see a couple of exhibits!  For dinner we met friends at a brewery and since it was trivia night, decided to play. In a complete surprise to all of us, we won first place!  

Colorado Day 3

 This morning we went to tour the Manitou Cliff Dwellings and then to the Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs.

We drove back to Colorado Springs to meet my uncle at the Air Force Academy planetarium where we watched a cool show before walking around the Academy grounds a little. 

For dinner we met my college roommate Noelle and her son at Ivywild and had a lovely time catching up!

Colorado Day 2

After a lazy morning at the house (Korra and I are putting the foosball table to good use), we went for a hike at Castlewood Canyon.

We stopped at Sonic on the way back (happy hour limeades!) and then took a little nap before dinner. We had enchiladas with my aunt and uncle and then played a couple rounds of Trouble at Pikes Peak Brewery. 

Colorado Day 1

We got up at 5 am and made it to Denver by 9:30 (thanks to the 2 hour time difference). After picking up the rental car, we drove to my aunt's house for lunch. Korra enjoyed playing with their dog and nerf guns. Nate enjoyed laying in the hammock with a beer. I enjoyed Speed Scrabble and catching up. 

Afterwards, Nate went to try out a local brewery and I took Korra next door to a climbing gym. We purchased a day pass and she proceeded to put it to good use!  Not only did she climb most of their beginner bouldering courses, she then went on to do all 3 of their auto-belay climbs, including making it to the top of one of the 50 foot tall ones!  She was so proud of herself!

Denver Bound

Dinner Guests

Korra has a friend over and Nate's parents are passing through on the way to the cabin so we had a full house for Friday night pizza. Great way to start our fall break!

I Just Want to Wear a Hoodie

We're going to Colorado next week, where it's not uncommon to get snow in October. But you know what?  It's going to be 15 degrees hotter in Denver than in Atlanta but only during the time were there.  What the heck?!?

Too Much Kindergarten

My kindergarten class in the library went really well today- best ever for this particular class. One little boy who previously shut down on me repeatedly decided today that he loves me. He kept giving me thumbs up, sat in my lap, held my hand, and gave me 3 hugs when it was time to leave. 

Immediately after that, I covered another kindergarten class for 2 hours(their teachers had a training to attend). 

The good news:

I was asked if I could help and no was absolutely a choice (I can't remember ever having so many choices and respect of my time and responsibilities)

There was an aide in the room with me. 

All children were still alive and conscious at the end of the day. 

I'm not a full time kindergarten teacher

The less good news:

2 kids cried

1 had to go to the principal for hitting his classmates on the head as he ran around the room

2 wouldn't do the assignment the teacher left

It was exhausting. 

Massage

For teacher wellness today, the school brought in massage therapists for 15 minute sessions. It was amazing. 

That's a New One

I witnessed (and had to stop) a kindergartener who was trying to untie his knotted shoelaces WITH HIS TEETH (while his shoes were still on his feet AND during story time).

Music Teacher

The art teacher is out sick and the music teacher is on a field trip to the orchestra so I offered to help cover a 4th grade music class. The kids were fun and we played the boomwhackers!  I definitely couldn't be a music teacher full time but it was fun for one class!

Sleepy Headache

I'm so sleepy today and I can't shake a headache.  I took a nap yesterday and went to bed pretty early so I'm not sure what my deal is.  Getting through the faculty meeting this afternoon is going to be a slog.  

Speed Scrabble

Korra just kicked my butt in Speed Scrabble with the word "otherworldly."

Kayaking

Korra and I roasted halloumi and pizza dough over the campfire last night for dinner and then tried different Halloween candy in our s'mores. After packing up this morning, we went on a 2 hour kayaking adventure. We saw a heron, geese, ducks, turtles, and deer. We got to listen to the carillon 

https://stonemountainpark.com/activity/history-nature/carillon/ and went under 2 bridges. I think we'll both have sore arms tomorrow but we had a great time. 

Camping with Korra

We took a hike through the bird sanctuary and read for a couple hours in hammocks by the lake, then I took Korra a birthday party while I went home to check on the cats and take a little nap. Perks of camping only 30 minutes from home!

Very Different Weekend Plans

Nate left yesterday morning for a 3 day long music festival with 3 of his friends. Lots of mosh pits. 

Korra and I on the other hand drove to the Stone Mountain campground after school and spent our evening roasting marshmallows. 

GatorWine

I forgot to post last night, but we had GatorWine with dinner.  It's exactly what you think it is and tastes about what you'd expect.  

CD Players and Lizards

A tiny lizard got into the library.  A 3rd grader caught it for us and released it back into the farm.  

I purchased a walkman CD player so that one of our ESOL students can listen to audiobooks and read along at home.  We have over 100 books on CD so not only does this help him with his literacy skills, it makes use of a resource we already have.  It was funny teaching him how to use a CD player- he'd never seen one before!

Bike to School Playlist

Why, yes, I did make a playlist just for biking to school with the Bike Bus, which I blasted from the speaker in my basket.

Mystery Moisture: A Multiple Choice Quiz

Why was the kindergartener who just hugged me wet?

a) snotty nose wiped on sleeve

b) saliva from sucking on shirt sleeve

c) spilled juice from snack

d) all of the above

Guests at the School

It's an exciting day at school!  In the auditorium we have Jim Sawgrass presenting and his son did some absolutely AMAZING dancing (he's a world champion Hoop dancer).  

In the library we have therapy dogs visiting (they're usually outside, but the fumes from the chemical fire in Conyers have blown back our way) and at the middle camps, they have an author visiting!

Joke of the Day

I put a joke on my board every day.  Hardly any kids laugh, even after I explained it. They just don't get them, mostly because of their limited vocabulary. 

Here are few examples:

How much does a rainbow weigh?

Not much, it's pretty light

Why is Saturday stronger than Tuesday?

Because Tuesday is a weak day!

How do you mend a broken jack-o-lantern?

With a pumpkin patch!

Hilarious, right?