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An older and wiser friend of ours told us last week, "You bloom where you are planted."

Jay says it's a hippie way of looking at life, but I think it's kinda cool. I'm hoping that it doesn't matter where we're planted, because we're about to get uprooted!

(Sidenote: That came across WAY cornier than I wanted it to...sorry. I couldn't resist.)

Mr. Schmeebz accepted a new position within Deere earlier this week, and with the new position comes a transfer to a new (well...not exactly new...) city. That's right, Cedar Falls!

J will actually be headed there mid-March to begin his job, while I'll stay back and finish my year up at school. Oh yes, and sell the house. I'll follow after school is finished, and hopefully will find a job of my own in the Cedar Valley here sometime soon.
(If you know any district who is looking for a fabulous teacher with three years of experience, but relatively cheap on the pay scale, let me know....)

So our lives are about to get flipped upside down, and I don't have much to say about it beyond that. I don't need to bore you with my deeply optimistic views on how all the little details will fall into place, or my fears that they won't, so I'll leave it at that.

We're movin'!!

5th Grade Humor?

Some days as a teacher, I'm concerned for the youth of America. I have felt this concern overwhelming the past few days in my classroom, and I really needed to share my feelings with someone. Thanks for listening.

Why, you ask?

Let me start by saying that I consider myself pretty tuned-in to what kids (or tweens) are into these days. Knowing what my students are interested in helps me relate to them, and it allows me to reach them as learners. Fifth graders can be pretty random, but I find myself fairly tolerant. The past couple of days however, I have questioned the sanity of all 10 and 11 year-olds.

They have been walking around our classroom obnoxiously singing and saying the oddest things. (I'd tell you what, but it'd spoil the surprise!)

Finally, I asked them, "Where in the world is this coming from?"

"YouTube!!!" They announced with glee, and later, one of them emailed me this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFCSXr6qnv4&feature=related

Just watch it, and you'll understand why I'm having a hard time putting this all into words.

Are fifth graders odd for thinking this is the coolest thing ever, or am I bananas?

Dottie the bear hunter

I was sitting in my living room grading papers, when Dottie inspired me to be distracted. Her persistence in nudging me and overall cuteness coaxed me into a game of fetch, or "go get em,'" as we call it here in the Schmeebz household. Life shouldn't be all work and no play - right? Procrastination justified.


I was going to write this blog from the perspective of Dottie, then I stopped myself. Did I really want to go there? Did I really want to be that person who writes blogs from the perspective of their dog? No, not today anyway.

I ended up taking a series of pictures of our interaction, and didn't realize until later that it sequences perfectly this common occurrence.

Dottie found this festive doorknob cover somewhere in the Christmas stuff. She thinks it's her toy now. I mean, who wouldn't want the head of a bear dressed as Santa wearing a red bowtie as their plaything?

The drop in front of you is always the initiation of the game. She's giving me the eye as if to say, "game on."

I ignore her. (I'm such an attentive caretaker) So she nudges it closer, as if maybe I missed the first dropping of the top of a decapitated bear directly in front of me.

I still ignore her. So she beats up on Santa-tie-guy in front of me. Maybe I will step in and save this poor trunkless cub by chucking him through the air far away from the evil pup.

And yet I still ignore her. (Is that bad parenting?) So what does she do? Gives the old "cute face" to the one-who-always-caves. He is more commonly known as Jay, or the man with the large forehead.

Where did bust-of-hoho-bowbear go in this picture? Jay picked it up. The look works every time.

Finally, the little dipface brings her festivuscarnivorous back to me. The one who ignored her all along. I don't think we'll probably ever bring her hunting.

Digital Storytelling

This past month, my class had the unique opportunity to have access to a laptop cart with 20 MacBook computers on it. For anyone who knows my love affair with technology, you know that without a doubt, I had to come up with a fabulous project to seize this chance.

So...I decided to take our typical study of biographies, and give it a twist. First, students were assigned one of the six pillars of character - trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, or citizenship. Together with a partner they were to come up with a "definition" so to speak of that pillar of character. They were to decide what displaying that pillar looks like, sounds like, etc. We talked a lot about the difference between being a person who is famous and someone who is known for their leadership and character.

Next, students were to find a person that they felt was an outstanding example of that pillar of character. They had to show this through important events in the person's life, people who influenced them, and compassion they have shown for others.

Finally, students created a digital biography in iMovie. They took all of their information and created a storyboard and script, collected digital images, recorded sound and downloaded music.
For most of them, it was their first time working with multimedia and working with Macs.

I had such a blast working with my students on this project. I really have to admit, their final products were above and beyond my expectations! Here is a sampling of how they turned out:




I'm such a proud teacher!! Can you believe these are done by 10 year olds?

Anonymity

Two posts in two days - how did you get so lucky?

In fifth grade, my kids learn about author purpose and how to shape their writing based on their target audience. Jay, for example, writes his blog for an exclusively odd group of people who understand and appreciate his ramblings. (Which only includes me a small portion of the time).

I've always felt the purpose of my blog was shaped around informing my family and friends the happenings of my life. I think of it as a way to connect with many people without telling the same story over and over again. Those happenings don't change based on who my readers are, however, the examples I use and the stories I tell might differ based on who I know I'm connecting with.

I got an email today from my husband that said, "(Nameless coworker of his) thought your blog about me was hilarious!" (Surprise, surprise - Jay thinks something about himself is funny!)

"Oh really?" I responded, "I didn't know he read my blog."

This is not the first time in recent history this has happened to me. Over Christmas break, I got together with a group of old friends, many of whom, unbeknownst to me, read my blog! I didn't even know they knew my blog existed!!!

Does my family even read my blog? My mom does, but I only know that because she's told me so on the phone. Anyone else? Who knows. What about my friends? Apparently more do than I realized.

On one hand, I would be naive to think that no one is reading this. We live in an age where information on our friends and family is so easily accessible. I've got my blog address posted on my Facebook page, Jay has it linked to his blog, etc. So naturally, I assume people will run into it and occasionally read it.

On the other hand, I think it would be kind of nice to know who those people are! I admittedly really enjoy reading the comments people leave after they've read a post. It's always great to get feedback on anything you do - positive or negative - and sometimes it sparks ideas for future posts.

So readers and writers out there in blogworld - I want your opinion. Even if you've never left a comment on a blog before - it's not scary, take a chance and leave a message!

I SO don't know if this will work...BUT for my curiosity's sake...

Do you like to know who reads your blog or do you enjoy the mystery of the "public" domain?

Do you leave comments on the blogs you frequent or are you an illusive reader of rants?

And finally, if you are only a reader - do you know how to leave a comment even if you don't have a blogger profile? <- That's actually a trick question, because if you respond, you obviously know how. Hee hee hee.

That's all for now peeps. Let me know what you think.

Progress Reports

It's report card time! And it comes but thrice a year. I get overly stressed out about how each student in my class is performing or not performing, and put way too many hours into my job.

I've filled all the cards with M's, P's, and N's (Meets Expectations, Progressing, Needs Improvement). I've started to write the paragraph-long comments sections that have to but can't possibly sum up all we've accomplished in 60 days. So I feel I've gotten a good jump on things.

Currently, however, I'm procrastinating. I seem to work better under pressure, and since they're not due until Thursday, I've yet to feel pressure.

Sooooo...I decided to take the behavior/work habits section of our report card and fill it out for my dearest husband. The reason? He told me to not procrastinate and get my work done early for once. Nah, I think I'll write a blog instead.

The Report Card for:
Jay Vernum Michael Schmitz

Displays Trustworthiness - M - I can always trust that when given the choice, Jay would choose to eat a taco.

Follows Directions - M - If given a detailed list, yes.

Uses Time Effectively - M - Jay is an amazing multitasker. He can listen to a movie, write a blog, read a book, burn music, and watch an episode of something all at the same time.

Respects Others - P - Jay respects your opinion, unless he disagrees with it. Then he'll respectfully listen, then tear your argument to shreds with made up facts and all-around falsehoods.

Cooperates With Others - M - Jay and Dottie get along quite well. He cooperates when she wakes him (and only him) up in the middle of the night to pretend like she has to go outside. He even cooperates when she then steals his spot on the bed and hogs the covers. What a trooper.

Follows Rules - P - I have a very strict "don't hit the driver" rule while Jay is in the car with his brother. Although Dallas does many things that admitedly one would want to pummel him for... Jay has a very difficult time abiding by it - he needs to practice more self-control.

Demonstrates Fairness - N - I don't think Jay demonstrates fairness when he made the rule that we have to listen to his music and go by his temperature when we are in his car. We always drive his car, I'm cold, and I'm tired of Led Zeppelin.

Demonstrates Organizational Skills - M - Jay is WAY more organized than I am. Everything is alphabetized, excel spreadsheeted, and sorted. My slobbyness drives him nuts.

Resolves Conflicts Effictively - P - Jay is a peacemaker and doesn't like to fight. His strategy for resolving conflict however, often involves him forcing me to hug him until I "feel better about it".

Works for Quality and Accuracy - N - I'm pretty sure Jay's job title has something to do with "Quality in Packaging". How can you have accuracy and quality when you literally know nothing about packaging? Did you secretly study cardboard in college?

Accepts Responsibility - P - Once when we were watching TV, Jay accidentally farted and blamed the dog.

Good job on your report card, Jay! You are doing quite well this trimester. I love you lots and thanks for letting me pick on you. Although I have no previous marriage experience to compare it to, I think you're my favorite husband of 6 months I've ever had! You make me one happy girl! : )