Shut Up and Blog Challenge-Day 5: I'm Still Heeere!

Yes, I'm still blogging. Rather proud I have stuck with this for five days. However, anyone who knows me understands this may be a passing thang! I'll try, though.

This post is going to be really random because nothing out of the ordinary happened and I just don't feel like digging deep and finding something profound. Soooo....here is a picture of my latest fashion acquisition:

Attractive, huh? This lovely piece of fabric was purchased by my older sister, Linda who after hearing that my doctor said, "no outdoor activity for at least a month" because of my blasted allergies, didn't believe I would follow doctors orders. Somehow she thought I would wear this...and I did. When I go out without it, I spend my night coughing and tired the next day.

Yesterday was my first venture outside with it on. The kids, of course, were curious so I told them I was allergic to naughty children. Lol.  A fourth grader named Lane was concerned and I told him I was allergic to Trump lovers. He giggled. You see Lane and I have this joke going. He and his mama know I was a big Hillary supporter during the election and his family voted for Trump. Anytime Lane wears his Trump sock's, I act like it's my Kryptonite.

The first fifteen minutes wearing this thing were rather confusing. My glasses kept fogging up from my breath rising upward. It's hard to watch kinders with foggy glasses. Then I discovered, it can be tightened at the nose and all was well.

Well on another note, I took some pictures of my cats. I know totally random, right? I warned you. Anyway, I was hanging out with the prairie cats-our name for the outdoor cats we care for that roam the pastures near our house. Well, my indoor cats did not like it and gave the prairie cats and I the stink eye from the front door. Here is the evidence:

This is Graellyn and Moki. In the reflection, you can see Tripper (she likes to trip us when we walk outside) frolicking between my legs. Gracious, I'm wearing flip flops. Totally hope you can't see my funky toes. Anyway, this was my day and I need to go because my husband is giving me the stink eye. Even though he doesn't have anything much to talk about, he likes someone to snuggle with on the couch while he channel surfs. Have a great evening!

Shut Up & Blog Challenge-Day 4: Teaching is My Super Power!

I really love making these little pictures to go with my blog. They are super easy to make and so you will probably be seeing lots more of them with theme's that have nothing to do with what I am writing about. I'm a clipart freak and I love any reason to use the clipart I have bought over the years. 

Luckily, this picture kind of goes with my post. My super power. Hmmmm.... I think if I do have a super power, teaching may be it but today my powers failed me. 

My principal came to observe me this morning. In Oklahoma, teachers get observed twice and evaluated once. The evaluation is the big deal and the observations are like a practice run. I usually put on a dog and pony show but my dog and pony were tired and decided not to perform. I was just going to do what I would normally do during a Phonics lesson. 

I was pretty zen about the whole thing because I had done this type of lesson a bunch of times before and it always turned out great. The plan was to segment word families, review word families, build words with word families and then have the kids divide into groups of three to play a board game where they had to build and read words. Simple. Riiiiiiight. 

I was zipping along. I was in the teaching zone (a very cool place) when I looked up and saw my principal, Diane writing on her observation sheet. I suddenly got nervous and slightly off track. I couldn't concentrate and I even used a dry erase marker on our new Promethean board. Yikes! Reeling from the humiliation, my brain went into panic overload. 

Next, I divided the kids up into groups. We do small group activities quite a bit in my class. I usually make sure the groups have a good chemistry with at least one calm, responsible student in each group. Well I was nervous and didn't pay attention closely to who I was putting in what group. Two of my groups argued and tattled the whole time. I'm running around making sure everyone is on task and those two groups are eating each other up. Plus,  my aide wasn't there to help me run things. I felt like I was juggling plates. I would just get one group on track and then the other would start yelling "He cheated!" This three ring circus went on for fifteen minutes and when my principal left, I felt like taking a giant nap. I was feeling like a pretty lousy teacher at that point. 

Luckily, my kinders also have a super power. They can pick me up with the simplest words. Judah sat next to me and randomly said, "Mrs. Liddiard who do you think I love more? You or my family?" Of course, I said his family. You know what he said? "Yes but you're my family too Mrs. Liddiard, so I better love you too." I hugged him and he hugged me back. With those sweet little words, he erased all my misgivings and worry about the observation. Ten or twenty years from now no one will know or remember my evaluation was a flop but Judah Bear and his classmates will remember how much they loved me. 

Shut and Blog Challenge; Day 3: A Few Days in April

I'm rather proud of myself because I'm sticking to this blogging daily thing. Well enough of that.

Here is what is up with me. Last night, Seth and I were getting ready to listen to an audio book.  That is our nightly thing. Anyway, he asked what day it was. Hearing it was only Monday, he began bellyaching about the fact it was four days until Friday. Seth has never been a big fan of school. He's a good student and he has a wonderful teacher but he just gets bored easily. Unfortunately, Seth is part of a generation who has the world at its fingertips. What 3rd-grade teacher can compete with that? Seth's aversion to school has intensified lately and I've noticed he and his friends have a frenzied air about them. Wilder and rowdier. 

There is, I believe a cause and it is TEST PREP. For two months now, Seth's classmates, teacher and principal have devoted massive amounts of time and paper to preparing for the test they will take in April. Seth's poor teacher Mrs. Renfroe is beside herself devoting class time to test prep and tutors her students two days a week after school. Our principal, Mrs. Bejessie, though semi-retired (or so she says,) also spends two days a week tutoring a portion of the group. Every kid in Seth's class goes to after school tutorials. EVERY KID! Parents have to make arrangements to have their kids picked up when tutoring is over because buses have already run. Why all this effort for a three-day test in April? Because in Oklahoma, if a third grader doesn't pass "the test", they can be retained in third grade. 

 Now I could go into a full-tilt rant about this and I have in a previous blog post. For that, click here. What makes me sad is in Oklahoma, my bright child and his classmates worth is measured by what they do a few days in April. 

His teacher and our principal is right there with them. Can you imagine putting your heart and soul into bringing lessons that are engaging to students who have so many other distractions and then after all that work, your rating in the newspaper comes down to a letter grade in a column of data? 

I teach kindergarten so I have my own battles but I'm not sure I could do it every year. Further, I think I would have days that if I had a kid who just refused to be motivated, I would think, "Our class/school grade is being jeopardized by you???" Not a very nice thing to think but I bet there are good teachers in Oklahoma who find themselves thinking that and probably feel horrible for it. 

There is this ugly cycle going on in education. Our children's ability to pass that test isn't just affecting that child. There are high stakes here. Entire school districts are being threatened because of it with little regard to what is going on in that child's life. When you put a price tag on a child's ability to pass a test, the child is being cheated and the people who pass these laws, are painting Oklahoman's into an educational corner. 

I'm a believer in the ripple effect. When you label a kid a failure in third grade, where does she or he go from there? When does it stop and how many children will fail in this life because of a few days in April? I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below. 

Shut Up and Blog Challenge, Day 2; Listening to the Voices in My Head.

Well, I can't believe it. I'm actually blogging a second day in a row. Challenge accepted and so far, met. 

I couldn't sleep last night. My brain simply wouldn't shut down and go to sleep. I've had that problem a lot lately. I blame it on a creative writing class I'm taking from Wesleyan through Coursera. 

I've always wanted to write my mom's stories of her childhood during the Depression in Oklahoma.  I have even posted a few of these stories on my little blog but I just couldn't seem to stick with it. 

Recently on a whim, something, I am wont to do, I enrolled in this creative writing specialization on Coursera.  In the past two months, I have learned so much. Initially, I learned that I've been doing it all wrong...not really, but kinda. I've also unleashed the voices in my head. They have always been there. My whole life I've had a scene randomly pop in my head with dialogue and think, "Wow. Where did that come from? That would make a really cool scene in a movie!" 

These creative brain farts were random but since taking this course, the scenes are coming faster, getting bigger and the voices louder (and most with Southern accents and Texas drawls). I find I have a dozen stories I could easily develop except for one small problem. They all want to be heard! "Pick me, pick me! They are sneaky and if I allow them to, they can completely carry me away in a quiet moment. If only I could just concentrate on one, I might actually have a novel in there somewhere. 

One of my writing assignments: Write the same scene from different points of view.

Besides the voices in my head and the sometimes sleepless nights, I love my creative writing classes and the assignments. I am developing as a writer but only time will tell If I will be a published one. I'm not worried because for now, I love writing and all those voices are interesting and I get a kick out of opening the treasure chest occasionally and letting them have their say.  

Shut Up and Blog Challenge: Day 1

I have a confession. I love to write but I don't love to blog. Why? The pressure. For me, it's the perfect image, perfect words and socially accepted content. Blah. Blah. I know a fellow teacher who blogs all the time. I know for a fact that while her blogs are well thought out, she doesn't put in half the time and effort I do. You know what? Her posts are awesome. 

Well, I recently started a creative writing class and all the instructors and all the research says if you want to be a good writer you need to shut up and write. So this is what I'm going to do. I am challenging myself to blog daily. No pressure. Just a little line to say, "Hey this was my day..." This lets me off the hook and lets me do what I love. Writing. 

So hey, this is what is up with me today. I spent my entire day working on third nine-week report cards. The grades were the easy part. It's those stinking teacher comments that always get me. I know how important that kind of thing is to me as a parent so it's rather important I'm sincere and positive. Not always easy but I've got a pretty amazing class sooooo I'm done with report cards! 

I also worked on the script for the EC/Kinder play which they will be performing in about a month. Yikes! We have learned all 9 songs and now it is time to learn the lines. We are performing Willie Wonka and it's going to be adorable. If that is, BFF and fellow teacher Vanessa C and I don't kill each other. Well, that's it for this evening. Wow. That was easy....

The No Sew Bolster Pillow Cover

In less than three weeks, my kinders will be walking through my classroom door! I am infused with the energy I often feel at this time of year while getting things ready. My wonderful sister, Linda and her sweet husband, Jim have offered me an iron crib they bought a few years ago at an auction. Linda planned on making it into a garden decoration but never did so she suggested I re-purpose the crib into a little "sofa" for my class reading corner. What a cool idea! This weekend they are spray painting it my favorite turquoise. In anticipation, I ordered some minky material a few weeks ago to cover the mattress and pillows I bought. It is going to be so cute!

Well after reading about minky, I learned it is a bit slippery and difficult to handle. Yikes! I can sort of sew a straight stitch but that is about as far as my skills go on the sewing machine. The minky material has sat in my craft room for weeks. I've been too chicken to try to sew a cover. 

Today I was out and about and bought some bolster pillows. They were perfect for each end of my little reading "sofa." I just decided I was going to figure out a no sew method of making a bolster pillow cover. I looked on Pinterest but didn't really see anything I wanted to do. After some thought, I decided to make them like those knotted fleece blankets that were so popular ten years ago and it worked!

I think my kinders are going to love it them. If you would like to make them, below is a little step-by-step, pictorial, tutorial...thingy. I will post the pictures of the final result of the iron crib re-purpose in a couple of weeks when it is all done. 

More Oak Creek Tales

Three weeks ago I posted a story from the book of short stories that I am attempting (emphasis on attempting) to write called Oak Creek Tales. The stories are based on my mother's childhood and the many stories I heard growing up. My mother's was always a storyteller. Her stories weren't just popular with my family and cousins but with my sister's friends as well.

I can remember one night in the early 1970s when a large group of my sister's high school friends gathered in our kitchen. We had one of those tables with a semicircle booth around it. My sister's friends were all around the table and sitting on the floor. There were candles and incense burning-it was the '70s and mom was cool like that. Anyway, sitting in the middle of this group was my mom telling about the Crows, an odd family that lived across Oak Creek from her family in the 1930s. These high school kids who could have been out doing whatever had instead, chosen to sit and listen enraptured to my mother dramatically detailing the idiosyncrasies of this family.

It embarrassed my sister. Afterwards, whenever a big group of my sister's friends were over at our house, one of them would say, "Mrs. Monroe tell us about the Crows!" My mother, knowing it embarrassed Linda would decline. Being only six, I loved those stories and was a little angry to think Mom couldn't tell them and I wouldn't get to hear them. Years went by and my sister grew up and realized those stories were a family treasure. She would always say, "We need to write those down!" Well here I am recording those wonderful stories.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.  

One day, late in the summer of 1931, a part went out on our water well. Daddy went to Gotebo, a larger town ten miles south of us, to the  hardware store to get a part to fix it.  Being summer, the thought of being without water for a few hours made us especially thirsty. Momma, tired of hearing Otis and me complain about how thirsty we were, gave us a clean bucket and sent us to the Crows to ask for water from their well.

As we approached their yard, we heard the screech of their screen door's rusty spring as Mrs. Crow stepped out onto their porch. She greeted us happily in her scratchy little voice. “Otis and Mabel!” Otis stepped forward and in his polite manner said, “Miz Crow, our well broke and Daddy went to Gotebo to get us a part. Momma was wondering if we could get a bucket of water from you?”  

Mrs. Crow smiled, “Why shore you can! But come on into the house for a visit before you run off.” Obligingly, Otis and I followed her into their kitchen. 

Sitting in the middle of their scratched up wooden table was a newly frosted chocolate cake. Seeing us eyeing it, she asked, “You want a piece of cake? I just finished frostin’ it when I saw you walking up.”  Otis and I looked at each other with wide eyes. We knew our momma’s strict instructions about not eating any of the Crow's food. Momma said it was because we shouldn’t be taking from people who barely have enough to feed their own. We sensed there was more to it but we were never brave enough to ask momma the real reason.

I watched as Otis hesitated, looking at Mrs. Crow, then the cake and then back at Mrs. Crow. I about fell over when Otis said, “Well...I guess a piece of cake would be nice!” As Mrs. Crow turned to cut us each a slice, I mouthed, “Momma won’t like that!” Otis hushed me with a fierce look. When Mrs. Crow placed a large piece of cake in front of each of us, we could smell its chocolatey goodness and without hesitation, dug in. Though forbidden, it was delicious and Mrs. Crow cackled at how quickly we shoveled it in our mouths. “You like that, huh? Albert says I make the best chocolate cake he’s ever tasted. Guess I’ll tell him ya’ll agree!”

As we were eating our last bites we heard a scratching noise coming from the large flour bin in the Crow's cabinet. At our questioning looks, Mrs. Crow laughed. “Oh that silly rabbit of Buck’s. I swear that boy and his animals. It was driving me crazy runnin’ all over the place and under my feet. I fixed it. Stuck it in the flour bin!"  Oblivious to our horror, she laughed at her own cleverness. "It’s been real quiet too till now.” At that, she turned and pulled out the flour bin drawer and a flour covered rabbit jumped out and scurried off into the other part of the house. She yelled after it, “That’ll teach you to bother me when I’m cookin’!”

Otis dropped his fork and gave me a sick look. I felt the way he looked. The rabbit had been in the flour bin. There was flour in the cake! Otis stood up suddenly. “Miz Crow thank you for the cake but we’d best be gettin’ that water and headin’ home. Momma will be wondering what happened to us.” Mrs. Crow smiled and grabbed our bucket. We followed her out to their old well in the yard and watched as she attached our bucket to the crank and lowered it into the well. She was strong for her tiny size and in no time had the bucket filled and back up. "Here you go Otis. That ought to keep you cool until your daddy gets that well fixed." 

As she handed Otis the bucket, we saw our bucket was filled with cool water-with chicken feathers floating on the top! Our mouths dropped open. At our look, Mrs. Crow laughed. “Oh one of our silly chickens jumped in the well last week and Albert hasn’t gotten around to getting her out yet! Well it shore was nice seeing you two. You tell your momma I said hi!” Turning and heading back to the house, she missed the look we shot each other. What would momma say?

We walked quietly back toward home, each of us wondering what momma would do when she saw the contents of that bucket. As we crossed the bridge out of sight of the Crow house, Otis stopped me with a warning “You’re not to tell momma we ate any of that cake!” At my protest that it wasn’t my fault, he grabbed my arm. “You ate it too so you’re in just as much trouble as me. Keep your mouth shut! Ya hear?”  Keeping my mouth tightly closed, I nodded and we headed across the bridge and home.

I didn’t tell momma about the cake but we still got in trouble. Momma wasn’t happy about the chicken feathers in her bucket. “What would possess you to carry that bucket of water all the way home if it had chicken feathers in it? Momma asked. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well you wanted water." At her look, I knew I had really done it. “Not water with a dead chicken in it!” She was obviously exasperated that she had to point that out.  Momma made us take the bucket to the creek and pour it out. After all that and we still didn't have any water!