The changing of the seasons

Happy fall, y'all!

Hope you're enjoying the beautiful colors of the changing of the leaves, the fields that have turned a gentle shade of brown, and the cooler temperatures that cause you to turn the heat on in the morning and the AC on in the afternoon.  I really miss Minnesota in the fall, especially after seeing Cassie's photos of the beautiful colors of Duluth!  Don't get me wrong, I actually hate most other things about fall, like being cold, not dressing appropriately because it warms up so much during the day and I'm dressed for winter, etc. But, I guess I'll take it because it means that Christmas music is right around the corner!

In working with my teachers, each Friday I send out an e-mail blast with information that is relevant to them and important announcements, etc.  I think the opening of my blast summarizes my thoughts from a couple of weeks ago and I'm going to recycle them here...

I have a confession, I REALLY want to be a blog reader.  I know that sounds so silly and strange, but it’s true.  I want to be in the habit of reading awesome blogs from people throughout the country or world, people that I might not even know, but am so captivated by their words that it doesn’t even matter. I’m obsessed with reading other people’s stories and learning about their lives and experiences.  I read 2 or 3 blogs on a semi-frequent basis, all people that I know.  In one of these, the message has had a resounding impact on me lately.  Her blog’s theme: love where you live.  This totally rings true.  For me, every place or situation I’ve been in thus far in my life, I’ve loved it. I loved high school and didn’t want to leave.  I felt the same about college.  I felt the same post-college.  And now I feel the same about the Delta.  However, there are days that I find myself racing home following afternoon meetings, only thinking about the e-mails that have accumulated in my inbox.  I sometimes regularly forget to slow down and enjoy the sights, sounds, and experiences around me.  

    Yesterday I took a vacation day and played in a fundraiser golf tournament.  Yes, it was 100 degrees outside and miserably hot.  However, even though I had a ton of e-mails and phone calls to respond to, and I didn’t work for a day and felt even more behind, I was suddenly overtaken by this beautiful, nostalgic feeling that I should spend more time looking at the world around me rather than only looking straight forward.  I decided to do just that and ended up taking a MUCH more round-about drive home stopping every so often to capture sights that I only glance at as I drive past.  I’m including one of the pictures here that I captured yesterday—use this as a reminder.  Slow down.  Enjoy your surroundings.  Explore. Sleep because you know you need it.   Laugh with your students.  Love what you’re doing.  You might not be perfect at this, no one is, but you’re making a difference and you need to tell yourself that.  And of course, love where you live.

While I recognize this blog is short and I do have a ton of e-mails and whatnot to be responding to.  I want to leave you with a few of my favorite shots from the last couple of weeks after I took the time to slow down and enjoy my surroundings.  I hope that you'll do the same.

 A perfect cloudy morning with the sun trying to shine through...

It's totally by chance that I entered Sunflower County at the same time as this crop duster.

One of my favorites and probably the last of the cotton season.  The same field that Ingrid, Sara, and I came upon while driving--so beautiful that you HAVE to stop and take pictures.

Sweet Summertime

What an absolutely exciting time of year it is--yes, I realize it is far from Christmas and that is clearly my favorite holiday, but June also provides much awesomeness of its own!  For starters, all of our new teachers came last week.  More than 300 folks are joining us in classrooms throughout the region for the next two years.  While I generally love induction (the 4 day span of introductory sessions), this year was especially exciting.  Everyone has their placement already, much sooner than normal.  This is both a good thing and a bad thing.  It's awesome that our teachers can spend all summer learning how to be a great teacher, without stressing about where/what they'll actually be teaching.  It's bad because not all schools have figured out the openings that they'll have, if all of their current teachers are coming back, etc.  Although my former school hired 2 new teachers, it looks like they still have 2 openings--hopefully NOT resulting in students having long-term subs for the school year again.  What's so inspiring about this group is how optimistic and enthusiastic they are.  When someone would get called to go sign their contract because a principal or superintendent showed up, everyone would burst into applause and cheers.  This was not a one-time coincidence, this happened repeatedly.  This crew is so supportive of each other and it gives me extremely high hopes for what they'll do for students here.

June is also exciting because HELLO, it's summer!  While this big-kid job doesn't exactly give me the summer off, it's still a change of pace from the school year.  I spend more time planning/revising sessions that we'll be using in July and wrapping up all of my data from last year.  And, tonight when I looked out the back window I saw a lightning bug in the yard!  I don't think I've really noticed them in Mississippi before!  It definitely takes me back to days Cassie and I would chase them throughout the yard, either capturing them in a glass jar or smearing the glowing guts on our arms.  Gross, I know.

Also, June means my return to Minnesota for a little over one glorious week!  Cannot wait to spend some time with my Winona friends, to see Cassie & Joe, and to hang out on a lake while celebrating America, in my american flag swimsuit of course.

Life in the Delta is changing dramatically.  My roommate left for a three week adventure home and elsewhere throughout the US.  She'll return before I am back.  By the time I get back from my conference and vacation, she'll be entirely moved out.  The same person I've lived with for the last 4 years, the one who also agrees that our landlord should let us have a cat, the one who doesn't laugh when I eat a bowl of strawberries for supper or that I refuse to go in the attic terrified of what might be up there.  While there are two others who are planning on moving in and I like them just fine, it isn't going to be the same.  I hate change.  I hate saying goodbye to people and I've done that far too many times these last two weeks.  Why am I constantly putting myself in a place in which there is high turnover, it doesn't make anything easy.  However, I know that people can't stay forever, I feel the same.  I guess I just want them to stay as long as I do so I don't have to adjust to this location without some of my close friends!  Here is a photo that Lois and I took this morning before she headed out to Florida.  We took a very similar picture 4 years ago in July when we first got to the Delta.  It was only fitting we did it again.

Did I mention that it was 7:45 in the morning and the sun was in our eyes?

The only other exciting thing that has been happening lately is of course the weather...what else do we talk about?  We had crazy storms come through on Monday evening.  I was driving back from Greenville and saw huge storm clouds, while I thought it was going to start downpouring as soon as I got closer, I realized that it was insane wind.  The weather reports said up to 70 mph wind.  There were black clouds being created from the wind blowing dirt up from open fields.  During one brief moment, I was worried that there was a tornado near me because the wind was blowing up so much dirt and dust that I couldn't see beyond it--no tornado though.  However, these cray storms lasted throughout the night, blowing the tin off of the factory roof next door to me, blowing down limbs, branches and in some cases entire trees.  Our yard was pretty much a mess with several large limbs down.  I spent a good hour picking up the front yard (all of that practice I had from picking up willow tree branches as a kid--still not my favorite task) and left the back yard for the yard man (there could be snakes back there).

Anyway, I'll be spending the next week involved in the chaos of writing final orientation sessions, doing a ton of prework for the conference I am going to, and getting packed both for the conference and for a week in Minnesota...it's going to be difficult to be productive with all of those exciting things on the mind!

GOOD LUCK this weekend to Jeannie who is running a 5K and Cassie who is running Grandma's Marathon in Duluth!  Run like the wind!

The show goes on alright...

Well, it's true.  The show goes on.  This song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmp6zIr5y4U&ob=av2n) really isn't relevant other than the fact that the show does go on.  For me, the show continues here in the Delta. I'm honestly surprised that I am writing those words, but after 4 LONG months of applications, talking to other regions, interviewing, and LOTS of phone calls--I've decided to stay.  Not stay because I'm tired of looking, but stay because I applied for and was given an opportunity to really focus on things that I love--elementary education, quality professional development, empowering leaders within this movement to stop being complacent and start fighting for the education that their kiddos deserve.  So with that, starting June 1st I will be the Director of Teaching and Learning.  It is a position that will let me work with and train our course leaders and learning team leaders who facilitate Professional Development once a month.  I'll also get to focus on region-wide professional development that our corps members will take part in.  And lastly, I'll still have some corps members that I manage--probably less than 10, all elementary teachers.  I'm secretly thrilled about this last part.  If I support corps members at my former school again, it means I'll have teachers who teach 3rd and 4th grade--they'll have all of my former students.  In many ways, it's a second chance to make sure I do things right for my kids.  And lord knows I love them.

A few updates on the last 5 months, as it really has been 5 months since my last blog, whoops.  I don't feel like much happened this spring.  Two friends/coworkers and I went to the Dominican Republic for spring break.  One of my friends was gifted a spot at a timeshare resort, so the three of us jetted out of the country for a bit.  We were welcomed to the DR with some random country tax--literally, you pay $10 to get into the country and a very confusing taxi ride from the airport--however, we were greeted with a two story hotel room, the upstairs bedroom had a gorgeous ocean view, and a week of all-inclusive, beach laying, pina coloada drinking vacation.  It was glorious.  We literally layed on the beach all week, venturing out of the resort once to go horseback riding on the beach.

For Easter weekend, Cassie came to the Delta!  She came down with Jeannie and Trevor when they moved all of my belongings, but I was still lost and homeless so it wasn't nearly as exciting!  I picked her up on Friday with my three favs and we headed for the Memphis Zoo!  From what I've heard, the Memphis Zoo is much better than Jackson, so we decided to spend the afternoon there.  People were right, the zoo was HUGE and had a ton of animals---and is pretty much smack in the middle of the city.  The kiddos loved it, although the long day with lots of walking and warm weather definitely took a toll on all of us!

You can't really see it, but there is a massive gorilla sitting right behind my right shoulder!  We literally saw everything from giraffes, to elephants, to farm animals.  However, we skipped the aquarium (it was SO hot in there) and the reptiles--for obvious reasons. And good news, we only lost one kid for 10 seconds in the ENTIRE day!  Success all around!

Cassie and I spent the weekend touring the Delta, shopping, eating catfish and crawfish, playing tennis, walks through Ruleville, getting tan, etc.  We even cooked a massive Easter Brunch for several of my corps members that were in town!  Together we learned that a spiral cut ham is the best thing since sliced bread.  We then ate ham and egg bake for the rest of her trip!  Here's a picture of us before our brunch...the background looks like my house is still stuck in the 70's.  Sweet birds.

Well, that pretty much sums up my excitement from the spring.  State tests are now over, teachers are giving final exams and I've started my End of Year Conversations with each person.  School is done next Wednesday, just in time for people to take off for Memorial Day.  Kids are anxious and teachers are ready. It's hard to believe the year is over already--as a student it NEVER went by this fast!

Before I finish, I'll leave you with a few things I'm looking forward to in/around the Delta next year!...

Mardi Gras---seriously SO much fun! And way more family friendly than I anticipated (as long as you stay out of the French Quarter)

Every small down Delta fall/spring festival!  This is a picture of our roommate reunion at Juke Joint in Clarksdale, MS several weeks ago!

 Of course I'm excited about another year in Ruleville!

Holiday traveler

49 lbs is what my suitcase weighed in...at home. Flying back from Thanksgiving I put it on the scale at the ticket counter at 6 a.m. and it was 57 lbs. My ultimatum was to either pay an extra $20 for an overweight bag or take something out. Well...lucky/unlucky for me I knew what I could take out. My new pyrex pans. Yes, I put glassware into my suitcase...it was worth running the risk of being overweight because then I had to carry the darn things in one of my carry on bags the rest of the day. This time I got lucky, the man lifted my bag and said, "oh, this isn't 50 lbs, you're good to go" and sent me to my gate without ever putting it on the scale. Merry Christmas to me!

I'm currently flying from Memphis to Minneapolis...I LOVE the holidays and sometimes getting free inflight wireless! Last year Delta offered free wifi on their flights. This year it isn't as great, but Ebay offers 30 minutes free if you enter an e-mail address. Yes, I'll definitely make up a new e-mail address every 30 minutes. Okay, I take that back, already got kicked off once--now I learned that I need to open a different web browser AND add a fake e-mail address every 30 minutes.

There are lots of children on this plane. Not babies...like 5 year olds.

So, a quick recap from Thanksgiving...although I think the only people that actually read this blog (my mom and grandma) already know these things. My November blues turned into November AND December blues...in the form of pneumonia. It was gross and I was disgusting. After I was finally able to breathe normally, I still had a head cold. For the most part that has cleared up...thank goodness. Better jump back on the gummy-vitamin train!

After Thanksgiving I was in Minneapolis/St. Paul for four more days doing interviews for new applicants. It was fun and I met a lot of great people! Minus being sick, it was a really great selection tour! By the time I got back to the Delta I literally had one full week of observations and meetings with teachers. Their quarters wrapped up this week and the majority of their time was spent giving 9 weeks test, preparing for Christmas programs/plays, holding holiday parties, and trying to keep kids calm and in control. I love the holidays, I DO NOT miss trying to manage children right before the holidays start.

I did a whirlwind Christmas shopping extravaganza this year. Literally. I went to the school on Tuesday to get names, sizes, and a rough idea of what kids would want. I shopped on Wednesday evening for several hours and got pretty much ALL of the toys and most of the clothing. Finished that up on Sunday afternoon, sorted everything Monday morning and a couple of gracious friends came over for dinner and to help wrap on Monday evening. Initially it was 16 kiddos (6 of whom I taught) but after I delivered presents this week I realized I had forgotten a couple of kids--or they were inadvertently left off the list because they weren't in elem school. So...back to the store I went and did some shopping for a 14 year old girl and two baby siblings of one of my former students. While I was at the school asking some of the kiddos what Santa was going to bring them, one of them (an 8 or 9 year old) was having a hard time coming up with anything. A sweet, sweet boy, he said, "well, I guess I hope that Santa will bring something nice that I can give my mom so she can have a blessed Christmas too." Oh my, yes sweet child, he will. Another one, who doesn't have a winter coat says, "hmm..at my grandma's house on Christmas she has this jar of chocolates that I really like. That would be something that I wish Santa might bring." I love them dearly and am so grateful to be given the opportunity to help them have a joyous, youthful Christmas. With that, I am so, SO grateful to anyone who has donated for these kids--whether it was this year or in the past. I wish you could meet each of them and know how big of an impact you have with such a simple gesture.

I want to close out with a pic of my two favorite kiddos from our adventures yesterday but apparently those pictures are still on my camera! Because yesterday was an early release day (they got out of school at 1)...I was able to pick them up and bake Christmas cookies quick before I left for the holidays! We had a HUGE mess in the kitchen, but it was amazing to see how great they were at rolling out the dough and decorating their cookies--especially compared to last year (that rolling pin was sought after but not effective in the least). We had a good time and I hope their 3 plates of cookies last until them until tomorrow or Monday :) I'll try and post a picture late this week!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! May your holidays be joyous and blessed! And that the real reason for Christmas is held in your heart. Yesterday when I asked the 7 year old what Christmas was celebrating he said, "Santa and Jesus." I'll live with that...

November Blues

It's because I was bragging. I should have known better. Last year I bragged alllll winter about never getting sick, hardly ever getting even as much as a snuffy nose...all because I was taking gummy vitamins. This year I resisted the last few (stale) gummies in the bottle and decided I could wait. Lo and behold...I now sound like a man, I can't breathe through my nose, and I cough in such a way that would probably make people mutter *gross* under their breath. I had one observation at a middle school this morning, luckily it happened to be the middle school right down the street. Because the Principal told me last week that she was concerned about this teacher--I didn't want to cancel it. However, as I was leaving his classroom, the Principal says, "Ms. Ward are you taking any medicine for that?" I responded, "yes ma'am" She said, "good, you sound awful." Point taken.

Enough complaining...about that subject at least. Where the heck has this year gone. It's already the middle of November...soon to be December, um what?! How is that even possible? Because the month of October was pretty much a wash: a week in Newark, a week in Columbus, a couple of days at a whole team retreat...these past couple of weeks have been really exciting. I'm seeing soooo many teachers really step up their game and develop into strong leaders of their classrooms. Students are being FORCED to think deeper about their classes and subject knowledge and articulate what they are learning. It's awesome. It's necessary. It's still not perfect.

Only a few more days until I'm back in Minnesota! I fly out on Saturday and am going to the Zac Brown Band concert with Sara--SOOOO EXCITED. I LOVEEEEE ZBB! That's why I have to kick this cold so I scream/sing EVERY WORD! I love having a week at Thanksgiving--even though I have work to get done te first couple of days next week, I'm still excited to be in a new location for a brief period of time!

Just heard on the news that the Obama's are going to see Justin Bieber Christmas Concert? Soooo many things I could say about that, the one that I'm going to leave you with: I wanna go :) NOT because it's Justin Bieber...only because it's Christmas :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Nothing about anything

An update of sorts...yeah, yeah, yeah, I haven't written in ages, I've updated once in the last year. I know. Maybe I'll write more regularly, maybe I won't. Still working in the same job...this year I have all new teachers and am supporting people closer to my house. I am also supporting the teachers who are at my old school which is exciting and makes my job feel extremly purposeful being that I know ALL of the kids and many of their families. The first time I walked into a classroom at the middle school an uproar ensued. I guess I didn't realize that I would know the 7th graders from my 2nd year of teaching (they were in 5th grade and I helped their class get ready for the May Day program) and they never expected to see me walk through the door. It's sometimes wonderful to feel like a celebrity in a town of 2,000 people ;)

It's definitely nice to feel more in control in this job, although I'm realizing that each day there is more and more that I need to learn. There are days that I feel like I'm brand spanking new at this, yet other days that things that might have upset me last year aren't anything to get worked up over now. I somehow always find myself behind and with a to-do list a mile long most of the time. I currently have 285 e-mails in my work e-mail...my goal is to get down to 10, by last weekend. Clearly I have some work to do. However, right now I'd rather lay on the couch and look up flights for Thanksgiving (more than $500 and it's still 2+ months away, ugh) and watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Last weekend I spent an entire day lounging and reading a book, the entire thing, it was GLORIOUS.

This is my warning to anyone/everyone...you have the rest of this school year to come and visit me in Mississippi...or it won't happen (and I'm going to reevaluate our friendship!). End of warning.

These next few weeks are going to be crazyyyy. Next week is PACKED for work. I have soooo many observations/meetings/sessions that I am leading, etc. It's good and I'm sure the week is going to FLY. Next weekend is an Ole Miss football game which will encompass my entire weekend--let's hope the weather is as mild as it has been the last couple of days. I take that back, it could be a little bit warmer next weekend for the game. The following week (last of Sept) Ingrid and Sara will be here for a long weekend! I am soooo excited and racking my brain trying to decide where we should eat--there are so many Delta-specific places/items that I want them to experience! The day that they leave I also fly out to Newark NJ for a conference for the majority of the week. October is also packed with a team retreat and the possibility of being gone for a week selecting the next group of corps members. Really, what I'm getting at is that it's practically already November...oh man.

Hope your life is fabulous where ever you are!

The lives that have impacted me...

Right now I'm supposed to be doing a multitude of things...prepping for some interviews that I have to do tomorrow night, reading a packet for our team meeting, sleeping, cleaning my mess of an e-mail inbox, responding to the 78 e-mails that are sitting in there, nahhhhh....I probably won't do any of those things tonight.

I realize I haven't blogged in a long time, I've decided that my job is significantly less interesting now that I am not spending 8 hours a day with 25 five-year olds. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am responsible for supporting 31 teachers to ensure that their kids perform at a rigorous level, however, I don't have the same experiences with kiddos now that I did before, definitely not the same ones day in and out. However, I love my corps members and do enjoy this job. I've committed to one more school year in the Delta...to figure things out and actually feel successful in this job. After days like today though..sometimes I can't imagine leaving.

This story is not one that is a common occurrence, nor is it one that is designed to generate a positive reaction or engage in a few laughs. However, it's reality, the stark reality for my kids. If you have read my blog from the beginning, you'll remember my "little lovely" who caused me grey hair and multiple bruises from the number of chairs he threw during my first year of teaching. Well, he went to first grade, was put on appropriate medicine, was deathly afraid of his teacher and didn't cause major problems (or not that we heard about). When I go back now to visit, I am immensely proud of him. He'll be in line with the other 2nd graders waiting to go to the bathroom and will stare at me until I notice him and he'll wave shyly. He never wants to get out of line or make a scene, but he's the first one to run up and give me a hug when he has the opportunity. I'm so incredibly proud of him and tell him that each and every time I see him. He is working hard in school and is on a much different life path than he was two short years ago.

Today I got a phone call from a teacher at the school saying he "had news. But not good news." My little lovely had brought a gun to school yesterday. He's in 2nd grade. It burns me to no end that he even had access to it. I have no idea where it came from or what it was. Apparently he was showing someone during recess or DEAR (drop everything and read) time. Another student went and told the security guard on campus. He was immediately escorted off campus and taken home. No one found out about it until today, not even HIS teacher. The rumor is that they are trying to keep it covered up so he isn't expelled. I can't even believe it. What if something horrible would have happened. He is in the 2nd grade. He shouldn't even be exposed to something like this, much less be able to put his hands on it. I'm an equal combination of disgusted and mortified. Not to mention having a heavy heart. Nothing horrific happened, thank goodness. But what if it had happened to one of my kids. One of the kids I spent an entire school year with. Ugh, this shows me more and more the risk that we endanger children in our country to. Transformative change. Putting kids on a different life path. Instilling habits, mindsets, and actions that prove we are changing the lives of children, for the better. This is why I am in this job. This is why I am responsible for indirectly impacting 3,090 lives, for the better I can only hope.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

The holiday season has come to Mississippi. Jack Frost decided to visit today bring with him temperatures in the 30s. The cold weather (although much warmer than Minnesota) isn't welcomed here.

Writing a quick update to ask for your support and prayers. Christmas is coming to Moorhead again, even though I am not teaching. I met with my principal and another school staff member last week about getting a list of some of my kids who were going to run the risk of not getting Christmas presents this year. They are going to put together a list for me. My principal told me that one family that was included on that list was that of my two favorite brothers that I taught each year. They are the kiddos that I still go back to see and take to McDonald's or to play tennis. It broke my heart to think that they are on that list this year of kids who might not have a happy Christmas. I inserted a picture of us from last year...it was taken one day after school when they stayed with me and did their homework or we worked on other school work. They are pretty much a hoot and have the funniest things to say/share. This fall we went to a high school football game (they had never been to one) and for part of it they were more engrossed in watching the cheerleaders do flips. I love them and will be back in the Delta to see them graduate, guaranteed.

Anyway...I got way off task. I would love your support in purchasing Christmas presents for adorable kids like these, monetary or prayers, I don't care which...just keep these kids and their families in your thoughts.

Thanksgiving break came and went far too quickly. It was a fun day with family at our house on Thanksgiving. Surprisingly we didn't play any games, however, I think we spent 4 hours looking through Black Friday advertisements....and eating all.day.long. Mom, Cassie and I did some shopping on Friday. Although we didn't go out in the middle of the night like Kayla, Gini, and Rachel...we left at an early 8 a.m. :) I think we did more shopping for ourselves because I still feel like there is a lot left to do! It's hard to get your Christmas shopping done when half of your family is with you and the other half don't give specific ideas. Trevor's idea of a Christmas list says--new jeans. When asked what size, he responds, "extra fat." Last I checked, Old Navy doesn't carry that size, but then again I haven't been there for awhile. I'm jealous of those who get all of their shopping done that day!

Only 13 more days until I'm back for the Christmas holidays! I'm excited to NOT spend so much time running around and hopefully more time with the family. It's hard to believe all of the little cousins are growing up. Arg, I'm old! Better get cracking on that family Christmas letter...

Happy holidays :)

Oldies but goodies

So, I never posted the quotes I kept from my kids my 2nd year of teaching. However, I kept all of them on numerous post-it notes in a plastic bag. I had it in my bag and on my way to Minnesota for Grandpa Black's funeral, I pulled it out on the plane and found myself laughing more than crying. Although I know the kids more...hopefully they are still funny to everyone else.

(B.W. and Mama came into the class with the little cousin)
B's mama: Say hey to Braxton's teacher
little cousin: waves and says, "white."

Student: They musta not bring your stuff back yet?
D.P: I know where you need put it? You need to put it in your house then nobody gone get it.

Ms. Ward: Lebruhnze, wake up and write your words.
L.G: (with a sigh) I'm tryin' have a dream.

Ms. Ward: Where you go fishing at?
L.G.: You know, where all the water be at.

Ms. Ward: /f/ /i/ /l/ fill. Who can give me a sentence with the word fill in it?
T.T: You can fill a boy.
Ms. Ward: (thought for a second) ugh, no. this is fill not feel.

Ms. Ward: What kind of animal am I counting? (Pointing to a bird)
D.P: A parrot!
Ms. Ward: right! How do you know that?
D.P: Cause that what a parrot look like
Ms. Ward: how do you know?
D.P: I just know.

(after Mrs. Beamon returned from having previous day off)
Ms. Ward: Turn to Mrs. Beamon and tell her we missed her yesterday
class: We missed you!
A.M: Ms. Ward was crying! (That was the truth)

Ms. Ward: Two things special about today. It's the last day of the month and it's my friend's birthday.
Student: I know your boyfriend. His name is Jarrius.
(Jarrius is a first grader)

(Making predictions about where Mrs. Beamon is)
1. Mrs Swamp got her (from the book Mrs. Nelson is Missing)
2. She went to Mrs. Swamp's house
3. She sick
4. She at the bad school. You know Mrs. Swamps school. Yeah and she gave that boy wood to eat cause he be hungry.
(then they looked out the window and found Mrs. Beamon in a tree apparently)

Ms. Ward: which word has the same beginning sounds: puzzle, pumpkin
K.W. (points to puppy)
Ms. Ward: Good, circle it
K.W.: Muh Ward, I like puppies.

Mrs. Hanken (cafeteria worker) asks why I don't eat their food.
Me: I brought my lunch!....(I leave to sit with my class)
Mrs. Barner: she's trying to stay skinny
Mrs. Hanken (yells out the cafeteria door): Ms. Ward, black people food WILL make you fat!

D.P: Man, what's this doing in my pocket? (as he pulls lint out of his pocket)

Ms. Ward (holds up letter M): what letter is this?
D.P: U
B.W: That's not a U
Ms. Ward: What letter is this?
B.W: U
NO!

Ms. Ward: Quit pickin your nose.
D.P: All I tryin to do is get it out my nose
Ms. Ward: Quit. Get your finger out of your nose

Ms. Ward: what starts with /m/
T.T: Dog
Ms. Ward: Does dog start with /m/
T.T: No
D.P: Then why you say it?

Student: you musta got new nails put on? (after painting my nails for Ingrid's wedding)

Student: Muh Ward, someone betta do sumpton bout that boy.
Ms. Ward: who?
Student: Him, naw, that one (pointing at L.S.)
Ms. Ward: Why?
Student: He be getting in trouble all da time...

Ms. Ward: What's this? (holds up a picture of a wig)
T.T: a wig.....my mama wear a wig!

Ms. Ward: I didn't hear anyone say the ending sound!
D.P: You didn't hear me Muh Ward. I didn't hear me either.

A.M: Muh Ward, you all look alike (in reference to my mom, grandma and grandpa)
Ms. Ward: really? why?
A.M: cause you all white

K.B: They said he lives in the L.G
Ms. Ward: What's the L.G?
K.B: I don't know. I live in Mo'head.

J.P: What's wrong with your head? (I was wearing a headband that day)

L.G: There are two Michael Jacksons. A black one and a white one.

F.E: (in reference to Sara visiting and working with them in our classroom library) she talks like you.
Ms. Ward: What does that mean?
A.M: (to herself) like Chinese

Ms. Ward: My pants are too tight
Z.B: Just like apple-bottom jeans.

B.W.: My mama says she be sad when I'm on red
Ms. Ward: oh yeah? me too.
B. W: And my auntie sad and my granddad. My granddad dead.
Ms. Ward: Oh? I'm sorry.
B.W.: I forgive you
(apparently we were working on our manners)

Ms. Ward: Did everybody eat a good breakfast so you're ready for May Day?
Student: I tore that corndog up

L.G is mad because he lost his recess. Looks across the table to B.W. (also lost recess) and starts laughing, hard.
Ms. Ward: What's so funny?
L.G: he said he was being good (proceeded to laugh hysterically)
B.W starts laughing as a result. I'm laughing obviously.
B.W to L.G: I'm gonna tell your mama, I'm gonna tell her.

L.G: Muh Ward, what they be calling you at home?
Ms. Ward: why?
L.G: cause I jus wanna know. I know what they call Ms. Davis.
Ms. Ward: Oh yeah? What?
L.G: (confidently) Stephanie. (her name is Jessica. I find this hysterical mostly because I think she just played a REALLY good joke on him!)

his greatest contribution is the ones you leave behind, raised on the ways of gentle kindness

The one thing that I worry about most....having something horrible happen at home when I am more than 900 miles away. check. Grandpa Black passed away, I'm sitting in the Memphis airport waiting for my flight to board, it's horribly surreal. There were 3 people at my gate, I sat facing the windows, not in the mood to bother trying to people watch. It's a cloudy and overcast day (a rarity) except for one spot in the sky. No clouds, no gray, the sun shining through. It's 7 a.m. and I'm crying in a public place. Damn, Grandpa is up there probably shaking his head popping unsalted peanuts thinking, "oh cripes. get a grip, Kami."

There are so many things I kept thinking about this week....and it always came back to the same thing, it was his time and God thought so too, he was ready. I was not. We were not. I think the longer he was in the hospital, the more he was trying to prepare us for that reality and not get our hopes up because it was okay, he is going to a better place.

I've learned so much from Grandpa and Grandma. They spent almost all of their time over last 56 years together. I can't even fathom the amount of time, memories and stories that they created and shared. Without a doubt, Grandma can. Their relationship defines what it means to love, to share your life with someone and I admire that immensely.

Being in the Delta hasn't let me laugh about the good times that we have shared. Although I'm SUPER glad that Grandpa was able to come visit last year, despite the dog stuck below our house directly under the bed they were sleeping in, the first ice storm in Mississippi in the last two years happening that weekend, the lack of electricity in our bathroom for things like shaving, etc. And to top it off, I think I gained four pounds from eating the candy that he happened to find during frequent trips in Wal-Mart. I'll forever laugh thinking about his "ring" from his "Mississippi girlfriend" that had my roommates and I cracking up during breakfast one morning. When I called Grandpa after his survey he answered the phone saying, "well, you're calling from a long ways away." And although he was probably bitter about only eating ice chips at the time, he still chatted about Mississippi, my job, and the horrendous weather. I'll forever cherish that conversation.

And although he wasn't a southern man, this Alan Jackson song is phrases things all too well. Word to the wise...don't read an obituary in an airport. I'm debating posting this and I might delete it later. My G key isn't working very well so I wonder how many words are missing that letter that I didn't catch. Anyway, getting ready for my last leg of this trip...ready to be home for a bit. I tried sleeping on the last flight but only ended up head-bobbing which always looks cool. Better do a little people watching, this guy next to me is eating ice cream (it's 10:30 in the morning). I'm sure there are other awesome things I can spot.

Love,

Kami

Dog Days of Summer

Wow so much has changed these last few months. I am currently in one of the warmest most humid places on earth. The heat index is on average 110 degrees. There is NEVER any wind, it's stifling. It's dangerous to not wear pants at night because the bugs will eat you alive in a matter of seconds. You take a sweater everywhere you go because you'll freeze in doors. And to top it off, the mosquito problem in doors is outrageous. And in true Minnesota fashion, I talked about the weather first...

So, a recap of my last month or so....I was home for the month of June enjoying every minute of my time spent in Minnesota. The weather, family, friends, etc. were amazing and made it incredibly hard to come back to the delta after only 4 weeks, particularly because I spent all of my time working on grad school or new PD work or something. However, I made the choice to take a new job, guess I have to own it. I drove back to Mississippi on July 5 and started my job on the 6th. It was pretty much a whirlwind for a few days as I was behind and felt like I didn't know anything, which was pretty much the case. However, that Monday all of the new program directors flew to Chicago for a New PD conference. We were there until Thursday then came back and had to get ready for two big days of orientation on Sunday and Monday. All of the new corps members finished institute that Friday and our orientation was getting them ready for the first days of school, planning for the year, etc. It was chaotic running between sessions facilitating sessions that I didn't really know much about, ha ha but still turned out okay. One of my sessions was to the elem, art, music and social studies teachers in Arkansas.

From there work has been CRAZY busy. I was assigned a "summer PD group" which would last until about the first week of school. This means I was responsible for a lot of the lower elementary folks, those who teach Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd. Because we still had a number of people not placed, we were each given a few unplaced folks as well. My people ended up getting elem positions that spanned into 5th grade so I had a wide range of people. AND as more and more people were placed kinder and 1st grade, I also obtained them. It was a little crazy, I felt as if I was constantly getting new people but never giving anyone away! I was responsible for looking at all of their foundational documents and giving feedback. These include their big goal, long term plan, unit assessment and unit plan. I didn't realize how long it takes to look at all of these documents. During the day we were busy with meetings and whatnot so I would be holed up in my room or office doing this until the wee hours of the night. It was exhausting but also important. As of last Thursday we now have our official PD groups that we will be with for the entire year. My group is in the Greenwood area and encompasses 3 school districts there. I have 31 people that grange from Kindergarten to high school english. However, the majority are elementary placements and am really looking forward to getting into their classrooms this week doing pop in visits.

Because we have been working on the weekends so much lately, we had a comp day on Friday. I spent the morning in Moorhead visiting my kiddos. I spent some time with my first year favorite L.G. in first grade. He didn't pass last year :( and I told him I was going to be stopping in. In fact, I missed this kid so much I took him out for lunch the week before school started, even by himself he was a handful! I do not envy the kindergarten teachers right now, they both have 29 kids in their rooms and have 3 severely special ed students. There aren't enough chairs for that many kids much less places for them to sit. It was mild chaos the entire time, but I guess you'll have to deal with that with so many students. However, my Principal just hired another teacher, a new corps member actually, she started today. That still makes 20 kids in each room which is plenty! While I missed my kiddos who are now in first and second grade, I don't miss all of the hitting, fighting and lack of listening from kindergartners. The toughest part about Kindergarten is teaching them how to act right, when they've gotten away with it for the last 5 years. The best part of the day was when I peeked into the 2nd grade room across the hall from mine (that teacher is one of my friends) and half the kids saw me and yelled, "Muh Ward's HERE!!" At that point I had to go in, but luckily they were just getting ready to go to the bathroom! I think I can say that I miss my kids more than I miss the classroom.

Changing the subject, I went to a new church yesterday. Someone stopped at our house this week and dropped off a loaf of bread they had made and invited us to their church in town here. While I really like my church in Cleveland, I decided I would check this one out. I really don't know anyone in this town and I have lived here for 2 years, that's pretty sad. Anyway, when I was walking up I realized I was about to stick out like a sore thumb. This is a Methodist church (don't worry Grandma, I'm not giving up on the Lutherans) and everyone walking in was over the age of 70. I sat in the pew for about 4 minutes before people were sitting next to me wondering who I was, where I was from, etc. They were all SUPER nice. The "Preacher" is an older woman who made me feel super comfortable and gave a great sermon (I generally have a hard time paying attention to sermons...actually make that every time). Although it was a small congregation (between 30 and 40 people probably), I'm pretty sure I met 90% of them by the time I left. The hilarity of this is that they asked me to spell my name so they could add me to facebook. I didn't realize so many grandparents were on facebook. I also got asked if I was a yankee or a damn yankee (this was by a spitfire woman from Iowa, so it was okay!) but I can't remember the difference right now. It has something to do with staying or visiting.

While it's been mostly work around here, there has been a little time for "play" as well. Last weekend after working all day on Saturday, a few of my friends packed up and headed for a friend's lake house in Arkansas. We stayed until early Tuesday morning. The beauty of this job is the ability to work remotely, so we all worked on Monday even though we were lounging around the lake house. At the last minute I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go. My Grandpa Black has been in the hospital after having survey the weekend before and took a turn for the worst. Being 900+ miles away from home, this is without a doubt the worst thing that can possibly happen. However, my friends were incredibly supportive and convinced me that being with them would be better than sitting in my house alone. Grandpa was moved out of but now back in to the ICU. While he may think he is ready to go meet God, I'm not sure if the rest of us are ready to let him. I know I'm not. Please pray for him and my Grandma.

Southern girl by Amos Lee

Look at that...less than a month since I wrote last. I'm proud of myself, even if everyone else thinks it is far too long. So much has happened in the last month, I don't even know where to begin.

School finished up last Tuesday, with teachers finishing report cards/folders/etc. on Wednesday. I made a huge choice last Friday and decided with a heavy heart that I was not going to be returning to my classroom in the fall. I was offered a job with Teach For America to work as a program director here. While I hadn't seriously considered being a PD until the week prior after a conversation with the head person here, I decided that it might be the best decision for me to see if the classroom is where I should be in the future. I told my principal that I really hate who I am in the classroom. I don't like yelling, I don't like the idea that yelling is the only thing that gets through to some kids, I don't like going home and hating who I am and how I have ot act in order to teach the lesson. She understood and agrees that I did not come in with the personality and mentality of other teachers in the delta. Therefore, this opportunity could show me if I belong in the classroom or if teaching maybe isn't for me. The role basically involves managing a cohort of 30 corps members in their 1st and 2nd year of teaching, observing them and problem solving around their data to ensure that they meet their goals. It is an honor that others think I would be good at this job, because I'm neverous about basically sucking at it. ha ha...however, I know it's going to give me good experience and I look forward to working on staff as TFA doubles again in the delta.

The end of the year finished up strong. We did our final assessments and ROCKED the math summative with a 94% on all skills taught during the year. We also had a reading growth of 1.40 years. I'm excited to hear how they do next year in first grade. My class is definitely further this year than my first year.

Summer is here and Mississippi isn't lacking heat or humidity. I spent a few hours outside sweating buckets this afternoon. I'm coming home for the month of June and will be venturing north on Tuesday. Therefore, if you're bored/free...please call me, I'll be driving for 14 long hours! I'm excited for summer, but know I'm going to stay plenty busy. Trevor's graduation at the end of the week. I'm taking two grad classes. I'm trying to finish that darn thesis. And I'm going to do roughly 8 hours of PD work a week. This is all on top of spending my time rollerblading, playing tennis, fishing, being on the lake, going to parades, and enjoying the Minnesota sunshine. I cannot wait!

Yay for summer :) :) :)

The Final Four

Easter was only a couple of weeks ago, therefore, no one can get too worked up about me not blogging for awhile! Each weekend of April was crazy hectic, so without a lot going on this weekend, I'm twisting my thumbs and pretending to be productive to ward off the spring fever!

Here is a recap of the last few weeks. Easter came and went...and was amazing. The following week Erik came to visit the dirty, dirty Delta. It was crazy! We had a bonfire on Friday night that ended with a lot of beer consumed and a nerf gun rifle fight in the kitchen at 2 a.m. The rest of the weekend involved more alcohol, leaving groceries in the car for a few hours too long, a whole LOT of tennis, another bonfire, some Mississippi sunshine for the pasty from Minnesota, an afternoon cookout that turned into a Sunday night of drinking. Phew...it was a crazy but oh so fun! I love when my Minnesota friends get along so well with this crazy Mississippi crew :) (Picture is of my roommates and I out after our professional saturday)

The following weekend was the HUGE Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale. We ran a 5K in Cleveland in the morning, beat our time from last year by at least 5 minutes, haha. I guess that's what happens when you don't walk parts of it. Juke Joint was crazyyy. It's basically another reason to drink all day and listen to blues music at different venues all morning/afternoon/night. The weekend was GORGEOUS...I love getting sunburnt in mid-April. Heck, anytime of the year is suitable for me!

Last weekend started a little rough, tornadoes and storms across the state. The kids were loading the buses when the sirens went off so they had to come in and put their heads down in the hot, overpacked hallway. It was a mess but eventually everyone made it home safe. It has now been two weeks in a row that the sky opens and it downpours right at 3:15 when I am outside on bus duty. I'm going to start bringing my rainboots for Friday duty. Last Sunday I went to Oxford (home of Ole Miss) for Double Decker their annual art and music festival. I cannot wait to go to an Ole Miss football game this fall....Oxford was great. Ole Miss was great. While it's not in the Delta, it still makes me realize that Mississippi is great too!

Now onto the important stuff....my classroom. So far we have grown 1.2 years in reading. This is okay...could be better. We want to get closer to 1.5 years of growth by the end of the year. We will be close...it's things like this that make me nervous for the last weeks of school but force me to constantly stay productive! I just started giving our big math test that determines how we did overall. It's a 16 page test, clear to see that we are going to spend a good 5 days or so taking it! My kids did their end of the year DIBBELS test last week and kicked the **** out of it! I had 12 students that were considered "at risk" at the beginning of the year (that is NOT a good thing) and I finished with 3 that were only scoring in "some risk." Definite improvements. Many of my kids had phenomenal scores. I even baked them brownies on Friday because I was so proud of them!

Our district has been in an absolute mess all year. I've tried to refrain from complaining too much (because I wanted to keep my job) but now all bets are off. Before spring break, parents lodged a protest and didn't send their kids to school for two days. The state finally realized there was a problem. They brought 50-60 members of the state department to the district for a week to do a FULL audit. Their report was concluded 30 days later and was more than 300 pages long. Our superintendent was fired. The school board was removed. The state took over. They issued a conservator to be in charge of our district to straighten us out. It could take months but more likely years before the state will remove the conservator and allow us to function independently again. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There are 37 qualifications for accreditation that must be met in entirety across the district. We did not meet any. It was severe. However, spirits are rejuvenated and people are happy again. All is starting to become peaceful again in the land of sunflowers.

I have another little lovely (no one is sure how I got so lucky two years in a row). This one is worse in many ways. When I give him ANY instructions (sit down, get in line, etc.) he does the opposite. A clear case of oppositional defiance. When he gets mad (many, many times a day) he does bodily harm to himself. Scratches his arms and face. Tries to break his fingers. He has punched himself in the face. Other awful things. We are guaranteed to have some sort of blowout each day, you just never know when it's going to happen. Well, he went to the same behavioral treatment center for two weeks. He came back last Thursday WORSE THAN EVER. I cried in school more that once....I am NOT a sap, I NEVER cry in school. I didn't want to come to school on Friday, but knew that I couldn't do that to my assistant. Ugh. It was a nightmare. He is still bad and each day you never know what you are going to get. I try to get him through the day and will walk him home after school if he makes it all day...many times if he is sent to the office even the principal can't control him or keep him from hurting himself. It's a sad situation and one that makes me realize that the future of this Class of 2022 is not everything I wish for and work toward.

Enough of the sap....lets talk about animals, particularly ones that are in and around my school. There was a lizard in my classroom a few weeks ago. I made one of the kids kill it. Now I realize that might not have been my best move. The janitors killed two snakes climbing up the outside wall of my classroom two weeks ago (this was ON the playground mind you). They were not small but luckily not poisonous. (Picture is after they poured a little gasoline on them. Turns out gasoline makes them flip over and die instantly) The other day at recess one of my cute and hilarious girls told me there was a turtle by the door. I went to look and sure enough there was a big ol turtle right at the door. Its shell was probably 10 inches or so! A bigun'. Anyway...the kids all screamed when we walked past it just because they can. I went out the back door an hour later to get something and saw the turtle had dug a hole and was laying eggs next to the school. My co-teacher and I quickly got groups of kids to come out back and watch. I thought it was SO COOL that my kids got to watch that...heck, I haven't ever seen a turtle lay eggs before! However, good thing I went to see The Last Song over Easter so Miley Cyrus could teach me a thing or two about turtles!

In one month I'll be home for the summer (or at least 6 weeks of it I guess). I cannot wait to enjoy the sunshine and some Minnesota lakes!! If anyone knows of any sand volleyball leagues around Amboy...please let me know...I really want to play :) ALSO...here is my plea...if anyone hits up any good garage sales and finds some Disney movies on VHS...please buy them for me! I'll pay you back, PROMISE :) We are getting a little sick of the ones we have and with the rain we've gotten lately, we haven't been able to go outside (mehhhhhh).

Hope Minnesota spring is FABULOUS! The humidity in the 'sip for the last two days has been at least 80%. Ridic. I just turned the air on because our house got up to 78 with TOTAL humidity!

Just less than four weeks left of my Teach For America commitment...who would have thought it would go this quickly....

Irons in the fire, dogs in the basement

Is that how the expression goes? I mean about the irons part? Either way, we no longer have dogs trapped under our house. I heard one while I was getting ready one weekend so we went out to the boarded up basement, took the board down and of course.....nothing. Well...we got smart and decided to get some old hotdogs (clearly we wouldn't waste good ones) and threw one under the house and left one at the opening. 10 minutes later, a black lassie was sitting in the yard chillin' like Bob Dylan. I started screaming since it was out my window...I ran around to get shoes to close the hole while my roommates stared out the window. Lo and behold, there was the brown one, the one who really had been under there for 4 weeks to the day....needless to say, we're not sure how he survived. Before I could close the board, the dumb thing went back under there. We threw the rest of the hotdogs all over our lawn so when he came out we were quickly able to board it back up and take a few pictures to prove to the plumber that we are not, in fact, crazy yankees.

The school sweetheart pageant came and went. No winners here. Oh well. Next year I am going to pick the bad kids to be in it because whoever is picked if they are good they turn bad; if they are bad, they stay bad. My king this year was super sweet, but suddenly turned into a big ol' baby. I don't DEAL with crying children. He crumpled up someone's paper, got his clip moved and cried for 30 minutes. My principal got sick of hearing him and wanted to whoop him or call his mama because he would not stop boo-who crying. I'm sick of babies crying--I make them go stand in the hallway to cry which usually gets them to stop before they get there. I have little sympathy for boo-who'ers. Makes you want me to teach your kids, huh?

The end of my two-year commitment to teach for america is almost up. Who would have thought. It has been a crazy ride, one I wouldn't trade for the world. Crazy enough in fact, I'm not quite done with the adventure. I'm staying here another year...finish this ed masters and get more teaching experiences under my belt. I love life here, not enough to live here forever, but it's pretty great right now. In fact, only one more professional Saturday left in my existence of needing to attend professional Saturdays! In February they announced that 20 of us or so were nominated for the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award. While I wasn't named a finalist, it was still an honor to be nominated by peers or other corps members.

And it's also official that I will be basking in the wonderful midwestern sun somewhere on the shores of a Minnesota lake this summer!! While I was ultimately rejected from a staff position that I had hoped for in the Delta, I am still excited at the thought of not being stressed out or crazy busy sitting on the lake. I.frickin.love.Minnesota.summers. Cannot wait.

Two weeks ago we enjoyed a mildly frigid spring break trip to Destin, Florida. We drove, it is roughly 7 hours. Somehow we made it take 11.5. I think this was because we went through Louisiana (completely unnecessary) and got stuck in standstill traffic outside of Mobile, Al (WHAT?!) in which we went 6 miles in 30 minutes. However, we had a great car ride/trip. Did you know IHOP DOES in fact have ice cream? Take that Erik Stonestrom and scarring me for life for never having been to an IHOP before. We rented a house in the middle of spring break spectacularness. It was a nice house, even for 9 people, despite the raccoons that took up residency on the second story deck outside of my bedroom (we found this out AFTER I left the door open for 30 minutes because it was hot). My kids would say, "they nasty." And they were. You should only see raccoons briefly before you run them over with your car. The temp in Florida didn't get over 65 and was plenty windy, but all in all, not bad. We drank too much, made bad choices, acted like college students...you know, typical teacher stuff. I spent the last weekend of break in Jackson enjoying the luxury of Redbox movies from the grocery store and reading outside getting one helluva suntan. Go fig that one would get more sun in the 'sip than they would in Florida. My Uncle Mike and I ran a St. Paddy's Day 5K around the capital building in Jackson on Saturday...we decided at 10 o'clock Friday night. It was great although I think next year we need costumes! I went to the parade in the afternoon to check out this sweet potato queen business....someone help me, how can I sign up to be one? My life long aspirations (they just started)....Lastly, the highlight of my weekend. A crawfish boil with Mike and Gretchen at their neighbors. I would stay in Mississippi FOREVER just for things like crawfish boils. It was amazing. And don't even think about judging it before you try it...I know, I know, I'm the LAST person that should be saying that.

Easter weekend is here...the last break of the school year, ugh. However, one perk of teaching in the south was the ability to teach my kids that Easter is not about eggs and candy! Throw in a bit of that religion and teach the real meaning of Easter. The big news from this week. Damn thieves visited my classroom in the form of 5 and 6 year-olds. Late last week my jump drive was taken. Now, on Tuesday, my eyebrow ring was taken off of my desk. UGH, I was PISSED! I didn't realize it until after kids left. My Principal told me to call a few parents before it got too far. So, I did that. Well, no luck. The next day, during a DRAMATIC display of lesson-learning, all children's clips were on red, I had the paddle from the office showing them just what it looked like (of course I didn't use it, "they know you ain't gonna use it, Ms. Ward. Until they think you gone use it, it won't make a bit of difference."). I hit it on the table hard enough for them to realize that it wasn't going to tickle. It's practically a 2x4 mind you, and is the smallest one I think she has. Anyway, during this charade, two girls raised their hands...one claiming my jump drive was on her mama's dresser, the other claiming my eyebrow ring was on top of her refrigerator. Well, they said they were willing to go to the office to call their mama's to bring it back right then. Let's be real, these are both children of parents I talked to the night before hearing every story from both parent and child about who had it. To make this longgg story shorter, all parents had meetings in the office with me, the principal and the student. One student lied that she had it as soon as we got to the office. Her mama is FURIOUS with me, but hey, I didn't ask her to raise her hand in front of the whole class saying she had it. Moral of the story, I didn't teach on Wednesday morning AT ALL. I was in the office most of the time. I have one parent that likes me and one that could care less if her daughter passes. I have kids lying to their parents about this, that, and the other thing. And to top it all off...I still don't have my jump drive or my eyebrow ring. Damn.

"Goin' to Jackson..." tomorrow to enjoy a little bit of my break. Need to run some errands (and buy a new jump drive and eyebrow ring) and I want to go see a movie. It's going to be a BIG weekend! We're having a little Delta family dinner on Sunday after church....so I won't be home and celebrating Easter, but I will be at church with all 12 other members and having egg bake for lunch, OBVIOUSLY. I love my life...and eggbake...and crawdads.....not together.

Over and out. It's late, I'm tired and my hair smells like bonfire and is making me sick. Happy belated birthday to Grandma Davis and Happy Easter to you all (all 3 people that still actually check this thing)!

Hater e-mails from immediate family

Someone drank the hateraid this morning...


5-2-08 to 12-31-2008 28 blogs
1-1-09 to 12-31-2009 23 blogs
1-1-10 to 3-26-201 1 blog

Do you see a trend??? And don't get all wound up and call me to tell me how busy you are (you know I just sit at home in a bean bag chair and eat cheetos). So go out and do something then write about it. Did you ever think for some of us that the only excitement we get is in your blog (pretty lame huh). See ya

Too cool for school

Yes, after a two month long hiatus, I have returned. You know it's bad when you get a valentine card that says "thinking of you and waiting for some blogs." Yeah, you know who you are. Anyway, I vow to not let it go for two months again, mostly because I can't stand the nagging :)

Anyway, yes, it did in fact get cold in Mississippi. In fact, for some people it was too cool for school, literally. Some kids did not come to school because it was too cold out. How do I know? Well, they are 5, they don't know what they should tell you and what they shouldn't.

These last two weeks have been crazy ones. The end of January I was visited by Jeannie, Delbert and Darlene. A few highlights from their trip:

* Visited school I was told, "you all look alike." I said, "really? why?" "Cause you all white."

* "Muh Ward, I like your mama's hair. I like your grandmama's hair." Then they started petting my mom.

* Ice/sleet/closures throughout Memphis. Drove to Tunica instead (16 miles south) for a visit to the casino and Paula Deen's restaurant. We drove over the bridge to Arkansas, although looking back on it, that bridge is the place people stay away from in bad weather.

* We putzed around the house, listened to the dog bark under the house, catfish museum, got ice cream from Sonic, the usual.

Then after a hectic three days of catching up and trying to get ahead on work and grad school, Sara came to visit. And back to the Jackson airport I went! She came to school on Friday and didn't put up with ANY crap from the kids (who got to dress out for the second time EVER and were wild as a pack of monkeys). She spent the morning reading with small groups and trying to keep them from crawling in her lap. During my planning period we frantically finished and submitted a paper/powerpoint by noon when it wasn't due until Midnight--masters professors need to learn am & pm. Friday night was a lazy night...Sara said kindergarten tuckered her out (the reason I have gray hair). That weekend we toured Cleveland and Indianola. We went out for crawdad's with a big crew and then to a place called the Pickled Okra for a night out with locals. Sunday, after a slow moving Kami got kicked in gear-Memphis! We had BBQ and catfish at a place we LOVED the last time we were on Beale and then went to the Peabody to see the ducks march. Home for more Sonic, papers to grade and the superbowl. Who dat? It was a great weekend and an AWESOME two weeks. I L.O.V.E. visitors!! hint, hint :)

In kindergarten we are 1/3 of the way through...holy cow! Some of my kids are progressing really well. We have grown .6 years in reading mainly this semester. However, we still have a long way to go and a lot of LOW kids to get moving. I'm starting to get antsy for summer or warm weather at least. It's currently snowing outside, where did I move to?? My summer plans are to either work in the delta for TFA during their summer institute or be back in Minnesota sitting on a lake. Either one sounds amazing right now.

A few shoutouts:

* Happy birthdays to Rachel, Dani and Craig...

* Thanks to the MPI crew for keeping me informed of your antics over the weekend despite being 900+ miles away, much appreciated!

* Congrats to Joe (or as Sugarland says JOEY!!!) for getting into pharmacy school! Woop, woop, DULUTH!

PS...for those of you that do not have to work tomorrow. Don't even think about calling me. Bitter Betty over here has to make up a snow-day when half of the schools in our district do not. I don't EVEN want to talk about it. Ilovemykids.Ilovemykids.Ilovemykids.Ilovemykids.

"Thank you Baylee!"

Santa be seein' you be'in bad. Oh yes, Santa is watching, ALL.OF.THE.TIME. However, for some reason the threat of Santa doesn't do much to tame down kids in elementary school. Heck, even an elf that moved places around the room each night didn't do much except cause a stir as kids came in the room and instantly looked around to find him. Mind you, the last few days before break, "he musta falled asleep cause he didn't be moved." Whoops, I may have forgot to move him those last two days.

Anyway, these three weeks following Thanksgiving break have been chaotic to say the least. It involved two weeks of instructional time and one solid week of testing. Because we have to give 5 tests, I tried to get started a day or two earlier, but of course, even on Monday morning (our original start date) the tests were still sitting on my Principal's desk, not copied. UGH, I was annoyed. We were already pressed for time to finish and that just added to the annoyance. But of course, it all worked out. The last week we were frantic to practice the Reindeer Pokey together to prepare for the Christmas program on Friday morning. Lo and behold we found out on Thursday at about 1:15 that we ALSO had to participate in the Thursday evening performance. We sent a note home, figured a few kids would show up and we would just do the best we could. Well, I ran to wal-mart after school and forgot to pick up lipstick to use for our red noses. We were a hurtin' unit. About 20 kids showed up, acted a fool in my classroom before the program, then got on stage and acted like they had no idea what was going on, thank you Kindertots, much appreciated. Friday's performance was much better.

18 kids and counting...not the tv show. Thanks to actions started last year by my co-teacher, I inherited shopping for families (kids) that would most likely not be able to afford Christmas presents this year. My principal and two other workers at school came up with the list of the families who needed the most. Thanks to two GENEROUS donors, I started shopping on Monday for 13 kids. In school on Tuesday I found out that my list had increased. One family had two younger children of non-school aged that couldn't be left out AND that family also stayed with another family of 3 children, therefore my list was up to 18 kids to shop for. I did the best I could to finish on Wednesday with the help of my roommate, we found shoes, shirts, uniform pants, socks, hats and mittens, not to mention toys for kids that were late additions. It took us almost as long to check out as it did to shop, thank you Wal-Mart. Following the Christmas program on Thursday, Lois and I spent a couple of hours wrapping and bagging presents by family and FILLING my jeep. As soon as kids got to school on Friday, I put in Home Alone (a debatable Christmas movie) and left my class with an assistant while another co-worker and I ran around town delivering the bags. It was truly heartfelt to see/hear the reactions of some of the families. As I left one house, the mother (whose daughter is in my class) could be heard outside screaming.

It's disheartening to realize that there are no Angel Trees around there...there are probably too many people who would qualify and not enough people to buy for them. It's sad to realize that many families are getting government assistance for one reason or another, while families with a working parent are making even less. While I am in a tough situation when it comes to debating government assistance, living in a rural area that literally LACKS jobs/factories makes it hard for one to even attempt to make a living for themselves.

Enough of that topic...let's talk about the selfless and generous people in this world...ie the topic of this post, "THANK YOU BAYLEE!" I think I've mentioned before, but my friend Sara's cousin Baylee raised money last year for my classroom. She is in 4-H and thought it would be a good youth leadership project...and her mom is a teacher in their community in Iowa, so education is incredibly important. Baylee raised money at her school and through her church. Soup dinner donations went to my classroom, she raised money by talking to people at her school, and got donations of school supplies. Baylee and her mom filled 24 NEW bookbags with books (at least 3 in each bag), construction paper, pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, erasers and a pencil sharpener. I acquired them this summer and made the decision that I would wait until Christmas to give them to the kids, mostly because about half the class would come to school WITH school supplies. But by Christmas, those that had bookbags might already be in store for a new one. Anyway, this HUGE box was on my table with a blanket over it on Friday morning for them to stare at. We made a big to-do about it and pulled the blanket off. They were smiling but not overly excited. THEN I opened one and pulled out the books (gasps) and plastic bag full of crayons, scissors, erasers, etc (more gasps), and finally I pulled out the handful of pencils (screams!). They were OVERJOYED. Each child got their bag and headed to the rug to take a picture. When they were released to their seats all I heard was, "muh ward, look at this!" "muh ward, we read this book!" "muh ward look!" "muh ward look!" OMG, they were in heaven. Because we were waiting for lunch at that point, I let them watch a movie and color on paper I had on their tables, I had to keep fussing at them to put their new things away, not to use their new crayons, take that stuff at home, etc. One boy didn't watch ANY of the movie, he read each and everyone of his books with SERIOUS intensity! Let's just say, Baylee.frickin.rocks :) Did I mention she is in the 5th grade? Love her!

**I'm going to try and make the video work, the kids are showing me what they got and saying thank you to Baylee, even though some of them were forgetting her name! PS..I was at the height of a cold and lost my voice that day, please don't judge! **

Well...Christmas is almost here and Minnesota has gotten snow everyday I've been home...amazing :) Although we don't have to travel on Christmas, I pray the roads aren't too bad and you are able to spend the holidays with the ones you love.
Gosh, I LOVE them :)


"Merry Christmas, thank you for the bookbags!"

Phat Pants

Happy December! I'm not sure if I was exhausted last year at this time, phew! Once again, I'm recapping the last few weeks but it's what I do. November came and the countdown started. We were more than ready for a break. Of course, on our last day we spent the afternoon in a healthy extravaganza carnival, eating nachos and chips while coloring pictures of fruits/veggies and playing tug of war. Not only is everyone already nutso because you can almost taste break, but lets add the rest of this hoopla to it. The very last activity we did was a fruit walk and multiple kids went back to the room bawling because they didn't win. Well, one little boy was so distraught that he went into the room and threw a folder and tipped over a chair with insane force. Don't worry, he got the first swat on the behind in my room with those actions. I told him I would just take him home after school for those actions and talk to his mama. He cried for the next 20 minutes knowing full well what it means to his mama for him to show up at home in the car of his teacher (he witnessed it first hand with his brother I had last year). ON bus duty, I told his brother (L.G. from last year) that I would take him home, so he went sprinting to my room not caring he was staying after school when break had officially started. They helped clean up and get ready for post-break class. Minus the earlier temper tantrum, these boys are the sweetest children on the planet. IN my car, I asked if they were both buckled up, even though I was pretty sure my ginormous duffel bag was on the middle seat belt. However, L.G. pushed his little brother back and instantly buckled them both into his seatbelt. Instantaneous heart melt. Down the road, L.G., who was struggled in first grade, says to me, "this is a jeep." I responded quite surprised because my vehicle is known to everyone as a "truck." I asked how he knew that and he simply pointed to the steering wheel as the source of information. I felt like a proud parent in that exact moment, I taught that child how to read. He didn't have to sound it out or blend it on his arm, he read it. At that moment, I thought I was a lifer in Moorhead.

Thanksgiving break was wonderful, enjoyed a lovely jaunt through Dallas, St. Louis and then Minneapolis before finally making it home. Got to see lots of friends, family, eat way too much food, did some shopping, put off school work, the usual. I'm not sure how the week went so fast or how I came back from break exhausted? It could have been from black Friday shopping at 3:38 a.m. with Jeannie. She wanted a laptop from Walk-Mart, so we went to Blue Earth. Instead of being a huge waste of space, I decided to find a line to stand in as well...so I bought myself a new tv. No worries, it'll be stuck in Amboy until I can figure out how to get it to the Delta. It was a fun morning though...we really did get some great deals. I bought a few movies for $2....seriously cheaper than renting it! I can't say I would necessarily need to do that every year because I never NEED any of the big items, but for one year it was fun.

Last weekend we went to Memphis at the crack of dawn on Saturday because my roommate Jenn ran in the half-marathon there. Lois and I drove around downtown catching her at a couple of spots on the route, it was fun, minus the early morning. We all went back to our hotel and napped that afternoon then ended up laying in bed watching tv for our evening rather than venturing down to Beale St. We decided it was too cold, it was like 30, really, too cold for going out!

The past two weeks in Kindergarten have been CRAZY! While I was leading my Kindergarten/pre-k learning team today for professional development I was telling the first year teachers that they are GOING to be crazy, come on, it's December, SANTA IS COMING! Over break I bought my class an Elf on a Shelf. It's a book with a creepy little elf that "shows up" on your shelf after reading the story. The story is that the elf flies to Santa every night and tells him what he saw. Then when he flies back, he sits in a new spot. Therefore, each evening I have to remember to move the elf before leaving school! Really though, it doesn't make the kids behave, they are just too excited to function at this point. I will admit that I am doing a better job of being a Kindergarten teacher this year, we have made Santa pictures and made reindeer last week and have a few other activities that they will make and take home for Christmas.

Starting first this Monday morning are our 9 weeks test. We have to give 5 tests, and a large chunk of them have to be done individually. The reading/language test is like 6 pages, woof. It's going to be a stressful week getting tests done, doing Christmas like activities and practicing the reindeer pokey for the Christmas program on Thursday evening/Friday morning. And we have short days on Wednesday AND Friday. Who made this bogus schedule???

I decided that during ANY down time or typical instructional time, I was going to let my assistant give them squares of colored paper and let them trace their hand and cut it out. They LOVE to trace and cut things and we practiced our hands the other day with mild disaster, but it'll keep them occupied!! I have 140 pieces of paper ready for them. Perhaps I'll make a wreath with the hands, perhaps I'll just send them home, who knows?!

Yesterday two of my boys got in trouble in the lunch line for talking. I asked what was going on and the girl in between them says, "he called you fat." Well, I'm pretty sure this was fat with an F and not ph (phat). Haha, I laughed. I shouldn't laugh. But I'm one of few people at my school that doesn't eat fried chicken on a weekly basis. I WAS wearing two pairs of pants yesterday, but I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with it. Ugh..maybe I'd better start training for a half-marathon too!!

I cannot believe Christmas break is in 5 VERY short days! I'm so excited, but nervous for everything to get done on time. I put in a request with a worker at my school to make a list of kids that were probably not getting Christmas presents this year. It's sad, but I haven't seen an angel tree or anything around here, probably because too many people need it. However, for kids in my class or kids I had last year...I want to make sure they get something.

Better jet, Lois and I are headed to a couple of parties tonight...we had a LONGGGG day of professional development today. But it was surprisingly a really good day and TFA provided some fun social events/dinner following pro sat. It's things like that which make me really love the delta and this sometimes harder than life situation.