The Crawfish

A few crawfish are coming to live in Room 200.  Not sure what to do about that.  They've donated their lives for science education.  I wish they could be free, so I may release them to our playground creek. On an unrelated note, I'm looking for cat ears.  Today's Picture Day.

The Money

We read about advertising and the ways ads are targeted to kids.  I was working with 2 Thirdlanders who were having trouble getting along.  To distract them from glowering at one another, I read an interesting fact listed under the subheading, Kid Power.  "Look here.  It says elementary age kids spend fifteen billion dollars a year."

"I don't spend nearly that much," said Thirdlander One.
"Me either.  I don't have that kind of money," replied the other.

I explained to them that the writer didn't mean each kid spent 15 billion dollars a year, and they seemed to understand.  They got moving with their sketch notes, at any rate.  I left them, in search of others who might need assistance or clarification.

The Land

I've been inside today.  It's cool in here and I'm grading papers and doing lesson plans and drinking tea and enjoying the quiet.

But let me tell you something, dear reader, on this very morning my ear was hurting horribly.  I was concerned, but the doctor had said that I would feel worse before I would feel better.  He said that I shouldn't expect my ear to feel better until late Wednesday.  I was skeptical as the worsening throbbing pain, resembling a knife being repeatedly thrust into the side of my head, greatly concerned me.  I'm not going to lie.  I even wondered if I might secure some pain meds if I drove over to the ER.  But because of my inner fortitude, I stuck it out and the pain has dissipated quite a bit.  At least we're going in the right direction now.  We're in the Land of Less Pain.  This is a Labor Day for the Ages.  I've been singing to my ear the classic Labor union song, Which Side Are You On???

The Labor

We went on a hike yesterday at Trevlac Bluffs.  We saw two frogs and a turtle shell.  We also saw a wild turkey on the drive over there.  Later, we had dinner with Nancer and KR.  Then we saw Marc Maron at the Comedy Attic.  So yesterday was good.  But today has been a wash out.  Started off the day at the clinic because of a bad ear ache.  Come to find out, the doctor thinks I have cellulitis behind my ear.  Cellulitis is nothing to fool around with.  Then I went to school to work.  I lost the file I was working on and that put me into a bit of a sad sack funk.  I had spent 2 hours on that file.  So who could blame me?

I'm turning it around. Husbandman and I are heading out to dinner.  I'm going to pretend we're in NYC, out on the town.  I'll make comments about the exhibits we saw at MOMA and chat about the awesome actors in the brilliant Broadway play we attended.  I wonder how long it will take Husbandman to figure out what's going on.  

The Power

Kids sign up to share relevant topics at morning meeting.  We've discussed the meaning of relevant --- "the quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate."  We're learning about all kinds of wellness with our IB unit, so I believe it's relevant for kids to share about their soccer games or their chess tournaments.  We're learning about book blurbs, so of course it's relevant for kids to recommend books. We've gone outside to write haiku, so signing up to talk about a bug you found in your yard is relevant.  You get the idea.

On Friday, a Thirdlander shared this, "My mom bought me a new Nintendo Switch yesterday."  I asked, "How is that relevant? Does it connect to anything we've discussed or dealt with?"  In retrospect, the Switch purchase probably made this kid extremely happy and met some of his wellness needs for love and belonging, since it was a special gift from a parent.  But, I don't like this kind of share at morning meeting, so I put the kibosh on it and termed it irrelevant.  He had already told everyone about it, including me, before morning meeting started anyway.  I told him to tell his friends about it in the cafeteria.  It feels a little mean, but if I don't make this choice, Morning Meeting quickly devolves into show and tell.  I'm trying to use my power for good.

Unrelated Sidenote:  A Thirdlander told me this week, "I want a ferret so badly, but my dad says I'm not responsible enough yet."  I'm thinking of getting her a ferret this weekend, habitat and all.  She is responsible as all get out and she deserves that ferret.  She's going to be surprised and probably super happy. Again, power for good.