I One Upped Taryn

The ear piercing peal of the weather alert radio woke me up from a headache enriched sleep at the lovely hour of 4:30 a.m. I intended to roll over and hopefully get another 1.5 hours of fitful sleep before the alert was upgraded to a tornado warning and the radio would shriek once more. But then, I checked my phone to see what/if any texts came in from the news weather watch. None from them, but some from Taryn.

She was awoken last night by phone calls from security. From the sound of it, I believe it took two calls to get her to consciousness. That sounds about right. She reported that she was safe in the basement with her infamous flood flashlight, her sherpa blanket (we love those!) and her kindle. Oh, and that due to the dedicated security team she had just enough time to put on a bra, find her flashlight and get out of her dorm room. What more does one need? Water bottle? Maybe it was too insignificant to mention. I am a proud mama though that she took the flashlight I forced on my college girls for emergencies. Oh, and I'm proud that a bra is important too.

As I was trying to stop shaking from the radio alarm and the sound was still reverberating in my ears, I thought to myself, with this headache, and knowing that what passes through Missouri hits us too, I will most likely be in tornado lockdown today. And not only will I want my bra but a shower would be good too. Some people say "like mother like daughter" and while that is certainly true with my girls, I also like give 'em a "haha suckaaaaas!". Even if the sun hasn't come up yet, and my brain feels like it will burst sometime later today, I still got it in me!

Kay - I got lots of "made you look" double takes yesterday, followed by snickering, as teachers walked by catching a glimpse of the crown of dreads. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't a photo taken whether I want one or not!

The kiddos put their names in sticky foam letters on their crowns and we had fun cutting yarn. I turned the sand table lid into a cutting table on the ground and marked two sides for cutting with colored masking tape. I told them to measure from red to purple, or green to yellow depending on which side they were on. The actual length doesn't matter at all, it's the exercise of measuring I was sneaking in. I saw many kids hacking away at what was once a long piece. That's OK we need bangs too. After school I spent a long time cutting more. It will take hundreds of pieces of yarn. And no, I didn't measure :)

Today we tape on dreads and paint our cat in the hat stripes on the bag that will go on top. We will work and play all day, stopping only to read Dr. Seuss everytime the timer goes off in class :) Tomorrow we feather, glitter and sequin the crown just in time for a birthday party for Dr. Seuss! I sure hope a tornado warning doesn't mess with my art project! Uh-oh, I just realized that because parents are bringing in cupcakes and juice, I will have an adult audience.

Sending love to Taryn who has classes from 10 am to 7:30 today. Sure hope she got some sleep after security let them out of the basement. Wait a minute, it's Taryn - of course she went back to sleep!!!

Man oh Man!

There's books about the zoo, there's books about a Who, there's books about wockets, and books in pockets. I've dozens to spare. In fact, there's even one about hair. But for Gertrude McFuzz - well she isn't anywhere.

I have to tell you a funny quote from preschool and the bird nest discussion last week. I asked at lunch what kind of things the kiddos thought birds used to build their nests. One little guy started ticking off all the things that came to mind - "grass, mud, sticks, man hair....horse hair..... "(long pause....probably because I was alternating between laughing and gagging on my lunch, and he was really watching my expression) "hay, dirt...."

Tonight, I tried out a new and improved version of the hat I was going to make for the McFuzz story. I'm thinking I can tie it into The Hair Book. Think paper birthday crown meets dreadlocks. I put alot of long and short pieces of yarn on the inside; you flip it out through the top of the crown and when you wear it it looks like dreads. Feathers, sequins and glitter on the outside will finish the look. Wonder how long it will take my 4's to make such a creation? It may be an ongoing project this week. Whatever! I ought to post a pic of me in mine, but you know how it goes.... what happens in preschool stays in preschool.

I had another thought - which is why I would rather support than teach - my brain just never turns off! I think I will set the 30 minute lunch timer continuously throughout the day and each time it goes off we stop everything and read another Dr. Seuss. How great is that?!?!?! Two days in a row! Maybe even next week. I put in about 20 Dr. Seuss books in the class library center so might as well. The only thing set in stone is Wacky Wednesday and Leap Year. Can't mess with that day!

The best part about today? I got to go shopping for preschool pretties. Man oh Man! (not to be confused with man hair) - I love new fuzzy and shiny and pretty things! Thanks to my mom for sewing our cute new kitchen aprons and for donating all her yarn. Technicolor dreadlocks - mixed with man hair - coming to a preschool near you.

All that Glitters

When Taryn was young she completed the quote "all that glitters is..... GREAT!". Taryn would love to be in my preschool class this week.

What I like about subbing is I can be loosey-goosey with the teacher's lesson plan and wing it. What I don't like about teaching on a long term basis is having to make my own plans ahead of time in order to accomplish preschool learning goals. When I sub, the lesson plan is up in the air; but when I plan, there is a tendency to try to do oh, let's just say TWO activities in a day and it ends up that really only one should have been attempted. That's why I like better going with the flow and just doing whatever when I step in. But it looks like I will be teaching for at least a month and possibly the rest of the year.

This week we will finish and get the record for covering birds in 3 days. I could have spent longer on it, but the teacher has her supplies at her house I think and Dr. Seuss has a birthday this week. So we are going to have 2 days of nothing but Seuss. That should wear us all out.

After that I am planning on spending 2 weeks on weather. We go to school 3 days a week, so that's really only 5 days on clouds, wind, and rain and then we'll go green for St. Pat's.

I am about to head out the door to get a bunch of stuff. The cupboards are BARE around here and I need to pick up things for preschool snacks. We are making all our own this week. I must have been hungry when I planned it.

Bird nests tomorrow - we will mold the shape out of rice crispy treats I will make ahead in muffin tins and put in candy eggs and a birdie Peep on top. We're also reading Gertrude McFuzz to tie in with our bird theme and making our own hats with feathers, sequins, and glitter. That should be wild. Wonder how many kids will end up with a feather in their rice crispy treat.

Wednesday is Feb 29 and we will have Wacky Wednesday, and Fox on Sox. We re wearing pj's and silly socks (maybe both) to school. Coincidentally last year I subbed and made my own Wacky Wednesday. Sure wonder what I did. I just remember the kids loving it. I'm reading the story to all 3 classes during our normal chapel time. The teacher who is out on bereavement leave is also our chapel teacher. We'll return to more chapel-worthy lessons next week, I'm sure. We'll have a Wacky Walk where all sorts of wacky stuff will be placed around school to find. My class will make Leap Year Pizza, discussing why we add an extra day to our calendar every 4 years. We will divide our pizza into fourths with different toppings on each - like pepperoni triangles for fall, olives for winter, cheese for spring, and pineapple for summer. We'll talk about how the earth goes around the sun in 365 and 1/4 days and so if we didn't add this extra day pretty soon (like 700 years) our summer weather would happen in December. That's pretty wacky all right.

Thursday ends Dr. Suess fun with Oh the Places You'll Go and 1 fish 2 fish, red fish blue fish. Naturally we are having colored gold fish for snack. We are wearing red, blue or a t-shirt from someplace you went to with your family. We'll journal the answers of where they went and why it was fun. We'll break out the glitter and make colored fish to hold up by wide popsicle sticks for interactive story time.

I promised my director this week was a fluke and we'll go back to boring old goldfish and chex mix for snacks from school. Oh, except the day when we make cool whip clouds, freeze 'em, and eat with vanilla wafers. Maybe if I spend too much they won't want me to be a permanent teacher. We are all on pins and needles to see if our beloved coworker will be able to stay with us next year or not. She is a guiding light at our school and we're all shaken up and sad.

With all the art projects going on in the next 3 weeks, I'm pretty sure we'll be finding feathers, sequins and glitter in the classroom for a long time to come!

Inspiration

I am so thankful for inspiration! I am one who relies on inspiration all the time. And I get such a huge kick when I receive a good one!

Today I got a big dose of it just when it was needed most. I dropped Mariah off at school and planned to hang out in the parking lot and read until our appointment 45 minutes later to sign up for high school classes. We have poured over the class catalog so many times, but I felt inspired to take one more look. I was texting my visiting teacher who had an appt after me and sent her my notes from orientation night that I had promised her earlier in the week. While doing so, I noticed a fact that escaped my attention, probably because it contradicts what the school says is required. Only 3 credits of social studies required to graduate, not 4 as it it written in black & white but apparently not in stone. I had also luckily grabbed an extra blank copy of our 4 yr plan worksheets and quickly started on a new Plan C. I had just enough time to read course descriptions again, and found an awesome social studies class I hadn't noticed which Mariah would love to take in place of World Geography (it's AP Human Geography). She ended up with the best plan of all!!! And technically, she will have 4 social studies classes because AP Psychology counts as one, even though the high school considers it an elective. It's listed under social studies, so it's the 4th extra credit according to my book.

Mariah gets to skip science and social studies in the 9th grade, and still got in Theatre, Fashion Design, Spanish II, and study hall! The guidance counselor was taken aback at the unorthodox schedule but couldn't see why not. It has to get approval because it is so uncommon, and if Theatre is full she won't get it, but I think it will work out. Prayers please!

Mariah will have all the credits needed, and graduation requirements will be met, they are just being met in an unconventional way. Welcome to my world. New motto: If it's not worth doing unconventionally it isn't worth doing at all: Be above normal.

On a more somber note, I relied on faith and inspiration alot this past week. I will need tons more in months to come as I take over a preschool class for a coworker whose husband died. I will, as par for the course with me, just "wing it" and see what I am inspired to do with the 4 yr olds. Lesson plans are pretty loosey-goosey things with me. It's been a very sad time, and I am so thankful for so many things.

At my preschool we already knew how blessed we were to have a group of such loving, compassionate, and caring women working together who get hugs from kids all day long as part of the job. Where do you find a group of 12 women in the workplace who get along so well and are just like family? That was proved many times over in the past week and will continue to be evident as we lift each other up and support one another no matter what. It was quite evident when at the funeral we filled an entire row of about 20 chairs with coworkers and a few parents, and then squished together even more to make room for a couple more. Somebody behind us remarked, "looking at y'all, this is my favorite row in the whole church". My mom house-sat for the family at my coworkers home, and was relieved by my visiting teacher who is the RS President and I'm sure she has a full plate. I joined her an hour later, skipping the burial service and staff lunch afterwards so I could be of service to my friend.

I have felt the peace of prayers and cannot say how much I appreciate God's love and mercy given freely to all. I know I was inspired to take that job at the preschool. Many things have happened since then that I was guided through with the same loving inspiration and understanding from my Heavenly Father.

It's a good day.

Above Normal

Tonight Mariah and I attended Freshman Orientation at the high school we are assuming she will go to. Hopefully our request to attend there despite being rezoned will be approved in the next few days. I was told by the superintendent himself that it was pretty much a given if her brother goes there, so will she. And my unspoken question is "and why do you rezone and split the feeder pattern then?" (when a good number of kids will have a sibling getting them into the school anyway). By the way, Mariah really enjoyed her shadow day. She was intrigued by the Fashion Design class they saw and that snowballed and changed everything.

After the spiel, we signed up for registration day and slipped in with a tour group. Asked a bunch of questions as we stewed over what Mariah will do for her Elective Focus aka High School Major. The problem is that she wants Art, Theater and Fashion Design and guess what? You can't do all three. You can't even take one fashion class unless it's your focus. Hate that!! Can't say it enough. There are some amazing business, media, and digital design classes that are out of reach. We pro'd and con'd our options, spent some time talking with two guidance counselors while everyone else was leaving to see what the chances were that they would do something out of the ordinary with her class line up for the next 4 years. Mariah finally decided on.....

FASHION DESIGN in the Career and Technological Education Focus. I have 2 possible 4 year plans. I hope they don't shoot us down right out of the gate. If I get our way, Mariah will be able to take theatre and fashion together as a freshman. But the only way to get it is to give up study hall and move science off a year and take it 10-12 when the traditional route is 9-11. One counselor was pretty much all NO but she asked another and she said she has a student who did it but they prefer that all the grades stay together, and Mariah would be taking science with underclassmen. Ack - who cares? She'll be able to ACT like it doesn't matter. On the line titled "career aspirations" I am inserting Costume/Fashion Design, even though it made Mariah's eyes cross and plenty of objections to me planning her life tried to work their way out but she was too overwhelmed to speak. I told her this was my best strategy to get what she wants. It doesn't matter what you put down in 2012 for the career you think you'll want in 2020! This is still America and we can make this stuff up.

Sadly, art got the heave-ho. Mariah will probably get to take Visual Art I in 10th grade, and we decided she could join Art Club (along with the 6 other clubs she is interested in) and still get an infusion of artistic creativity and maybe some portfolio pieces for her college applications. Gotta think that far ahead!

All the what if's and stress of choosing and selecting classes for 4 years sent a pale Mariah to bed with a headache.

It's just not easy when you're above normal. I like the sound of that. So much better than "not normal".

More Please

Just the usual....

Mike and I went to Outback for Valentines day. Gib and Mariah went to Steak & Shake. Guess canned soup wasn't an option they were willing to consider. I got a kick out of them taking off together for sustenance on a "couples date night".

Yesterday was a high school shadow day for Mariah. Gib was an awesome big brother and took her where she needed to go. It was so nice to know he was looking out for her. I told him that even if he walked ahead and they pretended not to know each other, I wanted her escorted to where she needed to be. Mariah said it wouldn't matter; they look too much like siblings. Gib was either trying to ignore me, or it was too early for him to do more than grunt, so I mentioned that chicks think caring big brothers are hot. Gib just shook his head at me, but promised to take care of his sister. Even having to get up earlier than usual didn't cause him to complain. He is such a great guy. At times like this I get a big glimpse of my dad in him. It's a wonderful thing.

Mariah has a birthday coming up this weekend. She found out she shares the birthday with yet another cool person - the new youth leader. I took in a special birthday dinner last night for the youth group. Chick Fil-A, homemade macaroni & cheese, salad, and cheesecake. The salad was virtually untouched. Hahaha. It made for a big rush to finish after work, and luckily my mom helped with cooking the pasta and getting milk warmed before I got home. Later, Mike and I watched American Idol which is a favorite way to unwind around here. We also noted with excitement that the new season of Survivor! starts next week.

When the kids came home from church, Gib worked on his computer in the dining room. I don't know how he could be doing about 3 things at once a few feet away from the TV but he did. The important work was writing the bill he and a friend will submit today for the Youth Government conference. I'm not sure when it takes place, but I imagine Gib will let me know when it comes time to pay for the hotel weekend. I gotta say though, I had a hard time paying attention to Idol when I kept hearing words like preschool, child care centers, and CPR. The day before, Gib had a few questions for me in the drafting of this bill, and I was proud that I had a little bit of knowledge he actually wanted to know :) Their bill is about requiring all child care providers being CPR certified. Right now, state law only requires one individual per child care center to be CPR certified. That's crazy. I suggested they consider every child care center also having an AED (automated external defibrillator) on site because more likely than not, if CPR had to be performed it would be on an adult dropping off or picking up a child. What if the one person who knew CPR was sick that day, stuck in a classroom until another worker could trade places, or what if they freaked out under pressure and couldn't handle it? Even more likely, what if they tired while doing CPR and needed someone to take a turn? I know when we get certified, we have to do CPR on the dummy for a full minute and it is exhausting on the arms and back. Your knees get kinda sore too. At least they do when they're 46 years old. It's gonna take alot longer than a minute for emergency responders to arrive. I think it's a good premise for a bill and hope they do well.

Mike's workload is pretty heavy right now. It's a good thing he is still there doing what he does! It's his first week on the job as their guy and it's been a doozy. He is proving his worth many times over.

I helped teach kids to tally by hashmarks and count by 5's yesterday. Then I helped get them rolling and flipping during recess. I was amazed that some needed to be taught, step by step, how to do a somersault. We teachers remarked we should have started this sooner for a few of them. I had fun teaching cartwheels and handstands. My best advice I thought was "don't think about it - just do it! And do it fast!". The kids were soooo proud of themselves and loved it when I told them things like "that was your best one so far!" The other teachers were amazed.... that I didn't go home with a black eye. I was pretty tired at the end of the night though! And now it's time for me to head on to work. Wonder what I'll do today?

Best Laid Plans

The Good News: The tunnel trick worked.
The Bad News: Its intended victim was busy in the morning with the Littles, and the gal who helped me set it said "she had to do the toys herself after all". I'm not buying that. Bleedin' heart softie! She even admitted she felt bad for my victim because she was out sick on Tuesday. C'mon man!!!!

Next time, I'm setting the trap up without help. I have no such qualms. If you're not well enough to handle a 6' tunnel popping out of a dark closet at you, then you are NOT well enough to deal with preschoolers. So, somebody's getting it, I will just bide my time and let fate decide who will Release the Kraken.

This weekend is pretty busy. Mariah had play practice for Music Man. Sadly, for her, she didn't make it into the rep theater's Aladdin but doing two plays at once would have been challenging so we're/I'm taking it in stride. Today Mariah has a mega practice for Forensics. They will feed the kids pizza for dinner. She'll probably be home around 7 pm. And then back at school at 4 AM to leave for the Memphis tournament. Now that we're down to just one play, Volleyball may be back on the table. Wears me out just thinking about it.

Gib is taking the ACT tomorrow morning. He is full of joy and anticipation. He takes it again next month during high school. After speaking with some of the college people, I think it would be a good idea to take the SAT at least once more too so they can superscore his numbers. He doesn't know it yet, but he'll be taking these tests several times before next December. heh heh

I'm praying they both do well tomorrow! I'll be sitting in front of my space heater. It'll be too cold to do anything else. We're supposed to get a "snow event" = anything over 1/2". So on top of well wishes for test takers and performers, prayers for safe travel too!

Can of Worms

Heh Heh Heh :)))

You know those trick can of worms that fly out and scare ya when you unscrew the lid?!
Well, we have something that always makes me think of that at preschool. It's the tunnel. Constructed of nylon and metal spirals, it's 6 feet long, and for some reason no longer has the ties that allowed it to be collapsed into the size of a hula hoop.

The Assistant Director and I were putting up all the toys like we do every day after recess. Everything has to go just so into the closet to fit. As I was trying to find a new place for a 6' boingy tunnel, I had a moment of sheer genius.

It took 4 hands to accomplish it, but tomorrow when the other Teacher Assistant opens the toy closet ---- BOING!!!!!! That sucker is gonna come flying out at her right at knee level.

We giggled for the rest of the day. Now we just have to remember not to be the first ones to open that door. And try to keep a straight face during morning staff meeting. I'd really love to hover around to see it happen, and I've even dreamed up setting it up to be better by telling her that I think I heard rats or something in there yesterday. But she might refuse to open the door then and I'm not sure my dimples won't give me away. I'll probably be in a classroom and miss it, but as long as it works, it's all goooooood.

God Is Gone

Funny preschool story:

Next to the glass double doors to the gym where my Pre-K kiddos come and go all the time, there is a 5'x6' area that the church had a hard time keeping anything alive in - partially due to little helpers. So the church secretary created a rock garden full of beautiful river rock and she put in a St. Francis statue complete with little bunny and bird statues too. Like THAT didn't attract unwanted attention! So everyday there is a kid in there going after rocks or animals. Especially the Littles.

I don't know what happened, but one day St. Francis wasn't there. I imagine it broke from 2 yr olds climbing on him. Heh heh. Or somebody saved him.

So one of our 5 yr olds tells his mom as they were leaving, "Mom! God is Gone!"