My Bucket List

I am 32 years old.  I get a little choked up saying that.  Why does life seem to move so slowly when you are a child or a teen, but so quickly as an adult?  I can remember saying, "I can't wait for high school!", "I can't wait to drive!", "I can't wait to graduate!"  Little did I know that I was wishing my time away.  Time seems to speed up at the age of 21.  You hit that milestone (Some hit it a little harder than others!), and life moves at double time.  So, today I'm looking at my life in perspective.  I figure I have about 40 to 50 good years left.  It's time to make a bucket list.  I have my students create lists all year long in their writer's notebooks, and I have an abundance of lists in my notebook, but I've never created a bucket list.  If you don't know what a bucket list is, it is a list of things you would like to accomplish before you die.  I'm keeping it realistic.  Here it goes!

1. Visit Yellowstone
2.  Own a pool
3.  Tour Asia
4.  See a saguaro cactus
5.  Drink a cafe au lait in Paris
6. 

This was much harder than I expected.  It's definitely a work in progress.

Reflection

As suggested, today I am taking some time to reflect upon what I have written so far.  Before I began this challenge, I suspected that the majority of my writing would be based upon my family.  This week I am going to try and branch out.  In my classroom we try all kinds of writer's notebook entries, and my challenge, for the next ten days, is to try to include a notebook strategy each day.  Hopefully, by trying out these notebook strategies, I can come up with some clever ideas to write about for the next ten days.  I can feel the slump of day twelve.  Knowing that we are almost half way to our goal is a motivator.  On with the challenge!

On a different note I have given up sugar cold turkey.  Sugar and I have a love hate relationship.  I am the proud owner of an enlarged sweet tooth.  I blame my father.  It must be genetic.  My other problem is I love to bake.  Residing in my house, I have a husband who doesn't really care for sweets, a five year old who eats like a bird, and 14 month old who is lucky if she can get the food to her mouth.  Who ends up eating the sweets...me.  Enough is enough.  So, my second challenge this month is to dump the sweets.   Godspeed everyone!

Watching My Chick Fly

We had amazing weather today.  My family spent part of the day doing our usual Sunday grocery shopping, but the rest of the day we spent outside.  My husband fiddled with his new car stereo, and I tried to clean all of the french fries, straw wrappers, lost toys, and receipts off of the floor of my car.  Tatum and Tess played outside. 

Pretty soon, Tatum wanted to get her bike down from the bike rack.  When she hopped on her purple and pink princess bike, it was painfully obvious that she has done some growing of the winter.  Perhaps a new bike is in the works for her birthday.  Anyway she cruised around our driveway but informed us that there just wasn't enough space.  So, we allowed her to bike around the road in front of our house.  We live in a quiet, kid friendly subdivision, so we don't have many worries about people driving too fast or reckless.  Nearly everyone in our neighborhood has children.  Many other kids were out as well.  Tatum, my little chick, was ready to spread her wings and fly.  So, she asked if I would walk with her while she biked around the loop. We went for a quick stroll.   

As we were rounding the loop there was a little girl riding circles in front of our house.  I knew that she had seen Tatum out riding earlier, and was looking for a friend to ride with her.  I told Tatum that I think that little girl's name is Mya, and she is wanting to play with you.  I reminded Tatum to introduce herself and to play nice.  There was a little hesitation, and an awkward introduction, then they were off and running.  The next thing I new, my little chick was riding all over the neighborhood.  There was a group of about five young kids, riding and racing bikes around,  and Tatum was right in the middle.  Then there was a game of basketball, and of course sidewalk chalk.  She and Mya played for a couple of hours before it was supper time.  When we finally got Tatum inside, all she could talk about was Mya.  Hopefully something will blossom there.  I think this is the first summer where Tatum will be old enough to really get out there, and play with the other neighborhood kids. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of playing with my neighborhood friends.  I only hope Tatum can have those kind of memories.  

Ice Cream in a Bag

I tricked my third graders Friday.  Thursday was our last day of ISTEP testing...for now, but I decided to trick them into thinking that we had forgotten a section and had to make it up.  So, when they arrived back to the classroom after lunch, I had ISTEP written on the board.  They dutifully sat in their seat ready for more testing.  Then I began writing:
Ice Cream
So
Tasty
Everyone wants to
Party!

We made plastic bag ice cream.  If you have never done this with a class, it is a must.  We used it as an opportunity to brush up on following written directions, measuring, and science skills.  They loved it!  The first time I did this lesson was in college with a group of second grade students.  It didn't go so well.  As a matter of fact, my professor said something to the tune of, "Well, I bet you'll never do that again!"  But, you can't keep me down, I persevered and perfected this lesson.  Everyone had yummy ice cream to eat, and it was so relieving to see pure joy and fun in their eyes, after a week of hard work. 

Genealogy

Do you know your lineage?  Do you know where you come from?  I can honestly say that I don't know much about my family tree.  My maiden name is Kaffenberger, which I know is German, but that is as far as I can go with that.  There is a show on NBC called Who Do You Think You Are?  Every week a new celebrity goes on a trek to find out about their ancestry.  I think this show is fascinating, and every week it makes me want to learn more about who I am.  I think that knowing your history is important.

My mom is a history buff like me.  She really enjoys the show too.  Usually, we watch it, and then call each other to talk about it (She lives about 4 hours away from me.  I miss her!).  My mom is a retired teacher, with some free time on her hands, and I keep trying to talk her in to researching our family history.  Maybe for Mother's Day I will by her an Ancestry.com membership.  That's not obvious is it?  I keep telling her that currently, I am to busy creating and raising blood lines, to do any research about my blood lines. 

From talking with my maternal grandmother, who passed away 5 years ago, I know that somewhere in her lineage there is a relation to Rutherfor B. Hayes.  Her father was a newspaper man, and apparently a bookie too!  My maternal grandfather, who passed 7 years ago, was an extremely interesting man.  He was in Patton's army in WWII, as a radio man.  He was a fantastic story teller, and education and learning were important to him.  He wrote poetry and short stories.  He grew up on a small farm in Osgood, Indiana.  I remember visiting that farm once when I was a little girl.  Now when I remember back on it, the images I create are those of Dorothy's black and white farm in Kansas.  I wish I knew more about where these two amazing people came from.  Maybe I could find a little bit of myself in their histories. 


My husband's paternal family tree has been traced clear back to Ireland and Scotland.  With a name like McCauley, it wasn't hard to guess that that is where his roots would end up.  My husband's aunt did all of the research, and has created a DVD with history, documents, and pictures.  I think this is a great gift to the family.  My girls will some day be able to learn about their namesakes. 

Perhaps when I have more time this summer, I can get my mom to help me do some research.  I have this nagging voice inside my head that tells me I need to dig deep and find our family's secrets.  My gut says there is something out there to be found.  My past is calling.  It's time to answer!

Some Thoughts

I'm a single mom tonight.  My husband is off coaching a boys and girls club basketball team, so I'm just going to muse on some of today's events.

Sara Blakely, the maker of Spanx and my hero, has made the Forbes billionaires list.  Yes, that's billionaires with a "b".  She is the youngest woman to make the list without the help of a husband or an inheritance.  You go girl! 

My daughter, Tatum, has her first loose tooth. We were brushing her teeth this evening and low and behold the adult tooth is beginning to pop and both of her front bottom teeth are wiggly.  Is this normal?  I was not ready for this milestone.  Now all she can talk about is the Tooth Fairy.  I'm afraid she is going to yank her tooth out before it's time.  Talking with the kids at school, I know that the Tooth Fairy is paying a pretty hefty fee for teeth now a days.  Guess the economy is back on track?!

Finally, I have to say that I am relieved the applied skills portion of the ISTEP test wrapped up today.  By the end of the day the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers were looking like zombies.  My third grade students have a week off before we are yet again blasted with a standardized test.  This time it is the IREAD 3.  This test has pretty heavy consequences.  Those students who do not pass will be held back in third grade.  This is the dark cloud that has been casting shadows of doubt on some of my students this year.  I hope they can break through the cloud and see the light...I can.

The Oceans, Werewolves, and Third Graders

What do the Earth's oceans, werewolves, and third graders have in common?  They are all influenced by the moon.  I don't know if you know this or not, but tomorrow is a full moon.  "Ahhh!" you are saying. "Well, that explains_________"(there are many options to fill in this blank).  Apparently, there is some crazy solar flare stuff happening with the sun too!  So what happens when the two most constant and predictable features of our lives suddenly become less predictable?  The kids go crazy.

You have heard people say, "It must be a full moon!"  Some say that a full moon affects births, deaths, seizures, emergency room visits, and admissions to psychiatric hospitals.  Some people believe that the extra light the full moon provides interrupts human sleep behavior and therefore causes us to go off our rockers.  Of course the human body is mostly water, so perhaps it is just that the moon is causing strange and intensely pulling tides inside of our bodies. 

This week my third grade students have been a little nutty.  They can't seem to be settled, be quiet, or be responsible for their words or actions.  This is not normally a problem for our class.  It could be the change in our routine because of the ISTEP tests (I would like to thank them for the timing of this test) or it could be the approaching full moon.  I'm going with the full moon.  So, as people have done for hundreds of years, I look to the night sky for answers.  Aaaawooooo!  Howl with me now!