Quote of the Week

The following is a dialogue shared with me by one of my student's mothers today. This conversation went down at the dinner table after her 5th grader's human sexuality talk yesterday...

Mom: I heard you talked about body parts today. What did you learn?

Kid: The boy's private part is called a dic.

Mom: What?

Kid: That's what the teacher said - the slang is penis and the scientific name is dic.

Mom: Ok...I think you may have misunderstood that one. Go with penis from here on out.

Kid: Ok.

Mom: What about the female anatomy? Did you all talk about that?

Kid: Yes. Their part is called javina.

Today I...

... introduced the concept of "Who really wrote Shakespeare?" to my kids (some say Francis Bacon but most believe in the power of Will :) )

...played dodge ball, sweated it out, and had loads of fun

...chatted with a little girl about a "bragon" in her story - a bird/dragon she created

...watched children sample 11 titles for Shakespeare book clubs with curiosity and silence

...caught up with a former student in town from NYC who studies at the SAB and Professional Children's School.

How cool is my job?

A Break from Charlotte...

This week was Spring Break and man, did I need a break from the normal. My dream was to get away from town, see the ocean, and read a book. Even though it was chilly, we did hit the beach and had some restful days with baby Robie.

Thanks to Kim and Caz and Susie for letting me join them in Atlantic Beach for two quick days. I felt so welcomed and the getaway was just what I needed.







BTW - for those of you iPhone users, you must check out the free Words with Friends app to play Scrabble long distance. The Stumpf girls introduced me and now I am obsessed. Truly.

As Seen on TV and With Me!

I hate mopping. Hate, hate, hate. Our kitchen and bathrooms are tile and I dread the days I have to get out the bucket and mop. For those of you who have visited here, you've seen the spots that prove my disdain.

In an act of desperation a few weeks back, I got online and searched for other ideas for tackling tile. Many, many cleaners out there suggested a steam mop.

So I took my little self to Target and purchased the Shark steam mop. The best thing is, it took 10 minutes to clean the whole room and it uses water - so no chemicals. Dude, does it work...check it out...I don't think my floors have ever been so clean.

The Raptor Report

I know you all didn't think I'd abandoned my love of birds of prey. Two cool, recent raptor things to note:

1) The Carolina Raptor Center (our 5th grade service partner and the reason my raptor fascination began) has a baby eaglet this season. You can check out the live web came to see his progress. For those of you with kids - this baby will grow and change like crazy every day - it may be fun to have your own daily raptor report for the next few weeks. Or not. (note that the cam isn't lighted, so night time viewing is a no-go)

Check baby Noah out at: http://www.wcnc.com/marketplace/microsite-content/wcnc-eagle-cam.html

2) We had a rehabilitated hawk released from school today in celebration of our physics and flight unit. I love that our school values serendipitous learning and that several classes came up to see the hawk take flight. The hawk sustained an eye injury from some sort of blunt force trauma and was in rehab for 41 days. It was so exciting to see him fly free again. Even my friend Denise (who HATES birds) thought it was pretty cool. Raptors forever!

Stalled

I am sitting here doing practically anything to not go and finish my grades. I don't think of myself as a procrastinator but for some reason when it comes to doing grades, I am the queen. I am thinking it has something to do with the fact that the work is so menial - so not what teaching is about.

So now I"m all philosophical ... or maybe I'm just stalled.