Cabin Sleepover

Our friends came up for an overnight at the cabin. We had chocolate cake and played games and read in the rocking chairs; the girls did crafts and played at the creek; we took a walk to the cemetery and stayed up too late talking. 

Cabin Birthday Weekend

I took a half day and we picked Korra up from school 2 hours early so we could get up to the cabin early for a weekend of relaxation. 

Feedback

I got my first feedback from the Crisis Text Line. One of the people I texted with on Monday night said I was really helpful. That feels good. 

4 H Field Trip

Today I went on an extended day field trip with the 5th graders to a 4H camp about an hour outside the city. They caught critters in the pond, played games, and went canoeing. The pollen count was astronomical today, but otherwise it was a lovely, fun day. 

Capable Kids

Over the last few months, I've been impressed multiple times by what elementary students are capable of doing.  I'm not sure if it's from teaching middle school or the schools I was at, but we (I) just didn't trust or expect the kids to do a lot of things.  Yesterday, I watched a class of 2nd graders take down 14 long folding tables, move them across the gym, and stack them on the stage.  They were like an army of ants.  I love that my mind is shifting to expect more, to give kids more opportunities for responsibility and autonomy.

Crisis Text Line

For the past few weeks I've been taking a pretty intense training to be a volunteer crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line.  Last night I took my first shift.  Over 2 hours I chatted with 5 people who had texted in looking for support.  Even with the training, I feel like there's so much more to learn.  I can't say I enjoyed it, but I felt helpful and these are skills I'm looking forward to honing.  

9 mile morning ride

When I arrived at school this morning, I discovered that I forgot to put my clothes in my backpack.  I was wearing leggings and a brewery tshirt to ride into school, so I got back on my bike and went home to get them.  In total, it was 9 miles all before 8 am.

Georgia Food and Wine Festival

We went to the Georgia Food and Wine Festival again this year- this time with a friend!  It was fun!

Book Club #1 and Pollo Primo

Right after school I had my second book club meeting with some teacher friends. Boozy slushies on patio is a lovely way to end the week. 

Nate and I picked up one of my favorite dinners (Pollo Primo!) and then we had friends over to eat and play board games. 

Library Lunch

Today I had 12 second grade boys eat lunch with me in the library for my Teacher Time raffle. We had pizza and did Mad Libs. Obviously, all the suggested words were potty-humor related and everyone had a fantastic time. Also, at least 3 of the kids proclaimed that the Domino's pizza was "the best pizza ever."  

Book Club Dilemma

I'm in 3 book clubs and all 3 are meeting over the next 3 days.  I've finished all the books except for Saturday's meeting (I should be able to finish it by then).

The dilemma for me is that one of my coworkers, who is in tomorrow's book club, rarely reads the books.  She was telling me today that she just wants to come and hang out and doesn't understand why some people in the club are annoyed that she doesn't read the books.  I understand the occasional "I hated this book and couldn't bring myself to finish it" or "I ran out of time" but just "I don't want to read it but I do want to hang out"... every time?  I kind of want to tell her to just start a hang-out of her own (but who am I kidding- I'll never actually say that).

Student Authors

A 5th grader came to the library today to show me the comic books he's been making.  He has 10- each is about 10 pages long.  I made a copy of the first one and created a laminated cover and I created a "Student Author" section in the library where I'm displaying it.  He is absolutely thrilled and so am I.  These opportunities to help kids love learning, reading, and writing; to help them feel proud of themselves and the work they do; and to create a sense of belonging make me so, so happy.

My Seedlings

I've been growing tomato and cucumber plants from seeds for weeks.  Last night, Alex got into our bathroom where they've been safely growing and ate the leaves off almost all of them.  I'm so sad.

Bike Ride and Taco Tuesday

Today was a teacher work day. Right after work I joined a couple of teacher friends on a bike ride to the botanical gardens (10.5 miles total). The weather was gorgeous, though the pollen count is creeping up now. 

Todd and Sarah came over for tacos for dinner, rounding out a very pleasant Tuesday. 

Ropes Practice

About once a month, Korra's climbing team goes to a different gym to do ropes/belay practice. Her usual gym is bouldering (climbing without a harness/ropes) which has shorter climbs. This is where I found her when I went to pick her up today. 

While she was climbing, I had a lovely time at a park with friends and our godchildren. Even though the weather was terrible last night, it ended up being gorgeous today. 

Spring Planting

We went to the hardware store this morning to get some things for my container garden and I impulse-bought two hyacinths. They smell divine and make me so happy. 

March 13- 5 years

In my mind, March 13th will always be the anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic.  We went into school that Friday with the sole purpose of making sure Google classrooms were set up and to give out computers to all the kids for what we believed was 2 weeks of remote learning.  In an interesting coincidence, last night I ran into one of the students that I had 5 years ago and who I taught for the entire year of virtual school.  

It's good to remember we lived through really scary, uncertain, stressful times and that it didn't last forever.  It gives me a little hope for the future.

Georgia Charter School of the Year

We found out yesterday afternoon that my school has been awarded Georgia Charter School of the Year!  While this is a huge honor and super exciting, at this time it's also a little bit scary.  We don't really want outsiders looking too closely at what we're doing.  Turns out that while DEI related work makes your school literally the best, it also makes what you do somehow illegal and controversial.  

e-bike convert

Korra took my e-bike for a spin this evening. She was a like scared at first but now she's begging for her own.  I'm impressed that with the seat lowered my bike is only barely too big for her. 

Lots of Exercise Today

I biked to and from work. I did 30 minutes of yoga. I took a 2 mile walk while Korra had an appointment and then another mile walk with Nate after dinner. All the movement in the beautiful 70 degree weather is very good for me. 

Best Principal Ever

It's cold and rainy. It's the Monday after Daylight Savings Time. My amazing principal realized everyone is exhausted and cancelled the faculty meeting. 

Teacher Time

Part of the school fundraising event from Saturday was that parents could purchase raffle tickets to win "Teacher Time."  Teacher volunteered to plan an experience for the winning kid (or kids)- in my case, it was Library Lunch (pizza in the library).  I found out that there were 244 raffle tickets purchased for my teacher time raising $1220 for the school!  Whoop!

flamenco concert

The church Nate works for hosted a flamenco guitar concert this evening and I volunteered to help. The guitarist was amazing and the sanctuary was packed- 300 people exactly (counting was one of my jobs). 

In a strange turn of events, while I was taking tickets someone called my name and when I looked up, it was a guy who I went to church with for all of middle and high school! We haven't seen each other in 20+ years (I'm impressed he remembered and recognized me because while he looked familiar, it wasn't until I'd sat with his name for a full 30 minutes before I could place how I knew him even though he looks very similar to how he did in high school). It was neat to catch up a little after the concert, if a bit disorienting. 

Wonderball

This evening was the fundraising event from my school. It was part costume party, part silent auction. The theme this year was Time Traveler's Ball so naturally I dressed up as Hermione with a time-turner necklace. It was, as expected, loud and a little overwhelming. Thankfully the PTO provided a separate room for teachers to get away (that was also stocked with appetizers and wine!)

Scraplanta

 Remember how I said the co-working space my PD was held in was really cool?  It got even cooler today because a nonprofit that takes donations of craft supplies and resells them was open there today! I got an entire brown paper lunch bag filled with crayons of my choosing (almost entirely red because for some reason that's what color all the kindergarteners use up/break) for only $1!  I also grabbed some thread and bias tape for 25 cents each. It was so very cool and I can't wait to go back. 

Picnic for One

 During the training's lunch break today I walked about a mile each way to buy a sandwich and then eat it at a picnic table in a park. The weather was gorgeous and  the sandwich was delicious.

Something in my Bed

 I woke up with 9 bug bites on my left thigh. WTF was in my bed?! Changed the sheets and hoping whatever it was is gone. Also hoping I can resist scratching my thigh all day. 

Professional Development

Today and tomorrow I'm at a co-working space a few miles from the school for a training with a handful of coworkers.  The training is on Restorative Justice and Nonviolent Communication. The space is really cool and as of the first day, I'm really enjoying the content and practices. Feeling really grateful for authentic, useful, healthy professional development. 

Juxtaposition

The extreme juxtaposition of attending our school's Black History celebration performance today and my state and federal government trying to defund and even criminalize the teaching and celebration of diversity, equity, and inclusion... it has me reeling. I'm so scared. I'm so sad. 

Guess my age

After reading a story about Mary Walker who learned to read at age 118, two 1st graders tried to guess my age. One said 21. The other said 75.

Broken Dryer

It's only been a few months since our washing machine broke and had to be replaced and today when I went to use the dryer, it wouldn't start. Thankfully our wonderful neighbor let me use her dryer since I had a load of wet, clean clothes. 

In the past 2 years the homeowner has replaced the HVAC, the hot water heater, the refrigerator, the dryer, and the floors. I really hope they don't hike our rent significantly to compensate. 

First Class Oxymoron

Using my Spirit airline credits that were about to expire (from the canceled Maine trip last summer), I booked our flight to Boston, but because we want to go on a different airline home (due to flight times), I had more credit than the cost of the tickets, even including checked and carry on bags.  So... I booked first class tickets on Spirit.  It seems like an oxymoron, but we're going to give it a try!  Bigger seats with more leg-room, free wifi, snacks, drinks, and bags- certainly it should be the best Spirit flight ever!

Text Convo in Spanish

Yesterday Danny texted me, in Spanish, so I replied in Spanish.  We texted back and forth for at least 20 minutes- all in Spanish- with only a few double checks on Google Translate on my part.  Danny was pretty impressed and I was proud of myself, too!

Botanical Gardens

We took my parents to the Botanical Gardens today. The orchids were in bloom including the vanilla orchid and even though the weather was cooler than yesterday (55), it was still sunny and lovely. 

I made Kind Arthur's recipe of the year (focaccia) to go with chicken and broccoli Alfredo for dinner and hopefully we'll play a few games tonight before bedtime. 

Fun-Filled Saturday

This afternoon, we're meeting some friends to enjoy the sunshine at Georgia Beer Day.  After that, my parents are arriving for their visit and then Nate and I are going out with (one of) my book club(s) to see a hockey game! (yay for grandparent babysitters!)