A few things of note…

Hideeho friends,

Just a few things of note…

•The Carnival of Education has been in full swing over at my friend Loonyhiker Pat’s Successful Teaching blog. I don’t have a post over there since my last post wasn’t education related, but you can read it here. But you really need to hop on over there, so you’ll know what’s going on in the EduSphere.

•Although I’m back from my beach vacation, I am headed out again on a girls’ trip for an almost week in the sun in celebration of two milestones––my eldest daughter’s graduation from Texas Tech and my youngest daughter’s graduation from high school and soon-to-be freshman in college.

•Because of all of that, I don’t plan on posting an education related entry unless, of course, I finish washing the South Padre sand out of our clothes, finish my errands and get everything repacked. The last time I opened the laundry room door and looked at my errand list, well, let’s just say, fat chance of any postings.

However, I did post a rather amusing entry called, “Goldilocks and the Shade Hijackers: My Beach Vacation” for BC magazine. That should keep you occupied while I am gone. You can read about it here. In fact, I would be ever so thrilled if you would go there, read it and even post a comment.

Sitting Bones, Sand & What I Learned On My Vacation

Before I left for the fabulous beach at South Padre Island, I told my exercise/yoga partner that she would have to forge ahead without me. I promised to hold my abs in (what’s left of them anyways), and I promised to grind my sitting bones into Mother Earth (as our yoga instructor admonishes us to do).

Now, my exercise buddy Becky and I aren’t entirely sure what our very lovely yoga instructor means by that grinding bones business, but I told my buddy Becky that if it even remotely meant plopping one’s rather large behind into the sand and grabbing some chips and salsa, well then, I had that part covered for the both of us.

So here I am at the beach violating Beach Rule #1 of remaining entirely unplugged during my South Padre week. At least I have been grinding my sitting bones into the sand while finishing two books that have sat on my “Things I Really Want To Read If I Only Had The Time” shelf. I’ve also spent time just sitting and watching things. And, of course, all this watching stuff got me to thinking about other important stuff like all the important things we can learn outside the classroom. And all of that got me to wondering if my principal will let me do all my in-service, professional development type training right here at the beach.

OK, so just maybe I’ve sat out in the sun too long.

Regardless of my sun exposure, I did learn a few things this week. I was going to tell you all about them, but my youngest daughter, (you know the one, the semi-fired VP of Humor Control) didn’t find any of them even mildly amusing. Now while I agree they weren’t necessarily laugh out loud funny, I thought they were insightful, and Jeez Louise, shouldn’t that account for something? My favorite one covered what I learned from watching dogs on the beach. It went something like this…If you make a mess, you really ought to pick it up instead of pretending like it’s not there or trying to hid it in the sand.

See what I mean? I thought it was an amusing little tidbit. I’d share a few more, but it’s time to do some more of that grinding one’s behind thing, along with the chip and salsa thing, and, oh yeah, that reading thing. Besides, I don’t want to get any more of that eye rolling thing from my semi-fired VP.

Rock Stars, Dr. Seuss & Why The Chicken and I Belong

Wowie zowie kowie.

Friday marked the very last day for teachers. I’d do a little dance of joy, but after my disastrous foray into the dancing Zumba realm, you’ll be lucky to get me to tap my toe.

Besides, those of us in the teaching biz (and especially those of us in the publications adviser biz) all know that there really never ever is a last day for teachers.

Good grief, already I’m bebopping up to school on Monday to teach a brief little in-service on blogging to the technology staff. (I trust the irony of me teaching an in-service isn’t lost on most of you. If so, go here to read about how swimmingly well that worked out for me the last time. Hails bails, just read the little promo blurb for my blog that begins with “One without the universe…)

Well, all this in-service talk got me to thinking (and we all know what happens when that happens) about my district’s end of the year shebang in the auditorium. While waiting for the show to get underway, I did what I always do--I started making a mental list of all the things I’d rather be doing and all the things I needed to be doing. You know, all those important things so I wouldn’t get any official looking thing stuffed into my “Things That Will Get You Fired” folder.

Except, of course, one of the things I was supposed to be doing was exactly what I was doing--sitting in the auditorium waiting for the end of the year shebang to get underway. Just when my head started to explode from my mental listmania, the smoke machine started, the lights dimmed, the music cranked up and the superintendent along with the principals from all the schools popped out on stage in full rock star make up and gear singing Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out!”

Here’s the picture of my principal to prove it…



I must admit I sang along to every word (and I wasn’t the only one either).

The next day we administered the last batch of semester exams. As with most schools, kiddos kept conning their teachers into letting them out of class once they completed their finals. Instead of issuing a snarly, snarky warning, one of the assistant principals sent out this email…

“Do not send them to the gym.
Do not send her out with him.
Do not send them to the john.
Do not send them to the lawn.
Do not send them here nor there.
Do not send them anywhere.
I know that this sounds like a real big bummer,
But we're trying to keep the lid on the boiling pot, just until SUMMER!”

When the dismissal bell rang, I found myself telling the kiddos (in Dr. Seuss Marvin K. Mooney fashion), “The time has come, the time is now, just go go go I don’t care how…”

The following day (Friday) was a teacher workday and the very “last day.” By the afternoon, the building was fairly deserted by the time I packed the five boxes of stuff I needed for the summer--stuff like the contest entries that needed mailing, stuff like permission forms for the 24 darlings I’m taking to summer workshop, stuff like the purchase orders I still needed to fill out for next year, stuff like the rectangular box of planning material for next year’s yearbook, stuff like my notes for Monday’s in-service.

You know, important stuff. (The other, really, really important stuff like my tiara and wand, I locked up in the cabinet.) Before I left though, I grabbed the rubber chicken and plopped him in the back of my trusty blue mini-van and thought, “Geewillikers, I really do love this job.”

No, really. I do.

No Naysaying Nellie here. No siree, Missy.

After the Rock Star thing and the Dr. Seuss thing (and in spite of all the other things), me and the chicken, well, we fit right in.

It’s Out--the 226th Carnival of Education

Just when you thought it was safe, it’s out--the 226 edition of the Carnival of Education––the Carnival of Summer Blockbusters hosted by my good cyperbuddy and very, very funny blogger Mr. Teacher over at Learn Me Good. My post, “R u OK, Volunteering & Dog Poop,” made the cut, but you don’t have to go there to read it here.

But if I were you (and aren’t you glad I’m not), I would trot on over there because the format is fab-u-lous. Even if you don’t read all the posts, you’ll want to read the Carnival. So what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Jeez Louise! Get going. If you’re like me these days, you’re already behind, and you haven’t even started!