I'm busy this week and, frankly, kind of sick of blogging. I'll be back when I have something of interest to say– maybe in a week or so. So, I'm not dead or anything, just off living in the big, wide, real world.
I worked so long yesterday to get ready for this week. I was at school for about 4 hours and worked at home for about 3. I do believe that's a full day of work on a Sunday. I got four big boxes and filled them with materials for four different activities– one writing, one math, one geography, and one social studies. I also typed instructions for each activity and wrote worksheets for two. I split the kids into 4 groups and assigned each group to an activity. They'll rotate each day and by Thursday will have done all four activities. (I guess I could have done this in less time, but I made everything cute- decorated the bulletin board with little cards for each activity, put matching signs on the boxes, color-coded everything…)
I was pleased with how this worked out today, but it was so labor intensive for me that I'm hesitant to do it again. I suppose if I can establish a file of activities it will take a lot less work to set up, but I always think that things will take less planning in the future. In my third year I'm still putting as much time into planning as I did in my first. Hmm. Something tells me that this will always be a dilemma for me.
I had to laugh at the guy in the lane next to me at the pool tonight. He would sprint a 50 and then rest with his arms on the wall, panting. Then he'd do it again. Not that there's anything wrong with sprinting, but 20 minutes of stop and go isn't a workout. I used to make fun of all of the lap swimmers when I was a lifeguard. I hope they're not up on the stand making fun of me. Food for thought.
gargantuan salad and hurricane reunion
On Friday night my dad and uncle and I had dinner with my Uncle George and Aunt Joy. I saw them last in early August on the whirlwind bus trip. They took me and my friends to Luby's cafeteria for dinner. (They really were super nice to drive us around Kansas City and take us out to eat.) They were passing through here on their way to Mesa, Arizona. They are not to be believed. Joy has had the same haircut and enormous glasses since about 1953. George tells the world's longest stories about absolutely anything. My dad and uncle enjoy this because they can talk about "man" stuff– cars and the stock market and George's days in the Navy. (He did tell a pretty funny story about losing a bunch of money on Enron– he was trying to buy it at the lowest point but ended up losing money anyway. I didn't listen to the rest of the stories, really.)
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Scarpas, and Joy ordered the biggest salad I have ever seen. It really embarrassed her, I think. I watched as they brought it out and thought, "Please let that not be my dinner." I wish I'd had my camera.
My mom called last night. She's visiting my aunt (her sister) and uncle (other side of the family, if you're trying to keep track) in Florida. So far that hurricane out in the Gulf has missed them, but I guess they're getting afternoon showers every day. Lots of other family have been in and out and around, too, which I think has made it one of those vacations that doesn't really feel like a vacation. You know what I mean. But hey, she's in Florida.
That's been my weekend. I have to go set up for the week now. I'm going to try something new and different. We'll see how it goes…
Friday Five - keeping in touch
1. Would you say that you're good at keeping in touch with people?
Yes, or at least better than most. I put better effort into some people than I do into others. I really, really like to get mail, but I also really like sending it. I need to send out duplicates of my camp pictures, actually. I should do that this weekend.
2. Which communication method do you usually prefer/use: e-mail, telephone, snail mail, blog comments, or meeting in person? Why?
I loathe the phone. Loathe it. I only use it when absolutely necessary. I like email for convenience, though I haven't sent much email lately. I also really like snail mail. I send out a fair amount of funny cards and postcards. Wouldn't you like to get a random card from me in the mail?
3. Do you have an instant messenger program? How many? Why/why not? How often do you use it?
I hate instant messengers, too, but I use MSN sometimes. I just find that once I start talking to people I end up wasting so much time. That's the main reason I don't use them. That and I'm a misanthrope.
4. Do most of your close friends live nearby or far away?
Far away. I'd never complain about that for two reasons: 1) I am so lucky to have traveled and worked and met people from all over the world, and 2) more couches to hypothetically crash on when I travel the world.
5. Are you an "out of sight, out of mind" person, or do you believe that "distance makes the heart grow fonder"?
Isn't it absence makes the heart grow fonder? Whatever. I find that I think about faraway people all of the time, wonder what they're up to, if their lives are more interesting than mine, etc. I don't know if distance makes the heart grow fonder, but I think it's possible to care as much for someone who's far away. Not to mention that, while there are difficult things about long distance friendships, in a lot of ways they're easier to keep going. That's my experience, anyway.
The colonial houses turned out fantastic. They come up with the funniest things- miniature play dough plants in the garden, a well made from small stones and a cork, a tiny outhouse… I loved them. Some were obviously done by the kids themselves, some were done with help, and some appeared to be done entirely by the parents. I think the second group is best because the families are working together. I can tell which kids read and learn and travel with their families- they're much more curious and interested in learning than other kids. It's hard sometimes in Catholic school because the emphasis is on performance rather than learning. I try really hard to turn that around, but they still struggle with group activities and open projects and excel at horrible things like workbook pages. In the end I'm not sure which better prepares them for adulthood.
This was a lot of fun. We didn't get to measure trees today, so we'll have to do it tomorrow.
