Pain, Tears, Anxiety, and Selling My Home

After 3 weeks of painting and primping, contractors and handymen, my home is finally ready to be listed.  The signs are up in the front yard, flyers are done, it's official.  

I've done the For Sale By Owner thing 

twice before, that's where the anxiety comes in.  

It's really tough-even with a 

retired realtor mom coaching me.

The pain?  Well that is purely physical.  I'd turn around to say hello to you, but I can't move my neck after painting the bathroom ceiling.   Why does my 47 year old self think that she can do the things that she could 20 or even 10 years ago?

Ouch! Another 800 ibuprofen please.

The tears come in from the overall frustration 

of wanting something so much 

(the new dream home that is probably 

just a tad out of my reach) 

and the reality of trying to sell a home 

for top dollar in a market that is 

still trying to recover.

So here is my darling family/dining area.  

I am going to relax in my recliner and 

spend the day binge watching MadMen 

and alternating heat and ice.  

Here's to a buyer with a lot of cash 

and a speedy escrow.

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What! No Party?

Halloween

Love the holiday…

but can’t stand to teach that day. 

I used to be on a track system that was off 

during that time and it was fabulous.  

But here I am looking it right in the face.  

It’s out there in just a few weeks and I will be expected, as any red blooded American teacher is, to somehow acknowledge it without wasting instructional minutes, upsetting various parents, or supplying my children with the banned treats that could get me in hot water with admin. 

The best news is that this year the 31^st is on a Friday, so I won’t have to deal with the effects of the dreaded “sugar hangover” that most children stagger in with on November 1^st.  

Don’t get me started on the parents who take
 their kids out of school so they can go to the 

Disneyland Halloween Celebration.  

Happens every year, and it’s always the 

kiddos who SOOOOOO should not

be missing any class time.  

But that is a rant for another day.

What to do about Halloween? 

I have kids from all over the world in my class.  It’s a culture clash of epic proportions. 

With that in mind, and in the name of all things Common Core and Rigorous, I put together a 

mini Halloween Unit that I can’t wait to use on the 31^st. It consists of several sources of informational text on the holiday as well as explanations involving how other cultures celebrate.

 It’s loaded with all kinds of reading, 

responding, analyzing, interpreting, 

and a fun little drawing project at the end.

For my kiddos who are used to cupcakes, crossword puzzles, and The Great Pumpkin video on Halloween it will be quite a shock.  

Sorry kids, it’s a new world out there.  I have to get you college and career ready. I’ll be getting several grades out of this unit.  Students will be actively engaged.  
Brains will be turned on! 

Not frightening at all.

Are you a Cat or a Dog Person?

I Really Like Cats!

Maybe a little too much.  

My mom says my first word 

was not "mom" or "dad", 

but "kitty".

My cat Marilyn had kittens 

in my hair when I was 3.

I named my a cat Harry 

after my dad so he would let me keep it.

How can you get rid of your namesake?

I don't trust people who hate cats.

My students always ask me if I am a 

crazy cat lady and I vehemently deny it.

However....I totally "get" the lady in this video.

The debate over cats and dogs always 

gets the fur flying and students excited.  

My Cats & Dogs Mini Unit 

has fun with this topic using

 three non fiction sources and an 

emphasis on defending your position.

Twist! Lick! Dunk!

Had a ball revamping my 

Oreo Cookie Mini Unit.  

Feeling nostalgic for the 

commercials of my childhood.  

Remember this Oreo cookie song?

It's surprising how engaged a child becomes 

when they are enticed by a cookie!

We're Reading What?

I remember it like it was yesterday.  

(cue weird time warp sound...)

It was my first year as a 3^rd grade teacher and I was teamed up with a fabulous partner.  

You know when you are lucky enough to just click with someone?  That was her.  

She was the yin to my yang, 

the peanut butter to my chocolate…

well you get the idea.  

Anyway, one day she tells me we are going to be reading Holes with our classes.  

She pretty much wrote my lesson plans

 back then so I was fine with it, but I had my doubts.  It didn't seem like a story I would 

like at all.  If I don’t like the story,

 it’s really hard for me to fake it. 

But in the name of peas and carrots 

I said, “I’m in”.

More than a decade later and I have 

read Holes with every class 

(except for that horrible year in first grade when I got all my gray hair).  

This story is super high interest.  

Bad Boys 

Fate 

Underdogs

 Buried Treasure

  

Even reluctant readers can’t wait to 

find out what happens to Zero and Stanley. 

I've revamped my Holes Novel Unit 

by adding more diverse responding activities (charts, thinking maps, etc.).  

I usually read this one at the end of the year 

as a sort of “send off”, but my class is going through novels so quickly this year 

I may have to bump it up in the rotation. 

So here’s to you TG! 

She’s still out there teaching, 

though sadly not with me or even at my school.  But I think of her often, 

and the teacher I am today 

is due in no small part to her influence.

Have you ever had that special partner 

who made you a better teacher?