Let me see if I can do some justice to each of you in a short amount of time.....

Mouse- I completely agree with Melody about meeting someone right. Perhaps there is a singles group at a local synagogue. Any man worth his salt should be attracted to the beauty of your character and your love for life (both of which you score high on). I am glad that you are feeling better- and your energy will return. Hugs.....

Melody- a belated happy birthday! How did the mani/pedicure go? Bet it felt strange, right?????? I went for my first manicure (actually just got acrylic nails, mine break so easily) just before our vacation. I had a gift certificate given to me by a student, so it cost me nothing. It feels so odd......I am not used to pampering at all.

Kerry- what an awesome idea getting your Dh in your weight loss struggles too! Unfortunately, men lose more quickly than we do, and of course they do not usually have to cook, as we do. The temptations are different. But still, even if on some level you can get him involved- something to see how hard you are trying, well it has to help. Would he go to a TOPS meeting with you? Just ONE? (mine would never attend a WW meeting, so I know it is a pipe dream). Glad your day is going well. I can see on the bus too that the kids are settling down to a routine- and behavior is slipping. Crack that whip!

Angela- hope that you enjoyed that walk. Perhaps this week will be easier getting Jonathan on your schedule. Oh, I remember those days.....had to return to my job when my oldest was 6 weeks old. It was torture.

Trob- and when you finish cleaning your house, you can clean mine!
Hope you got all accomplished that you wanted to.

So far so good with my eating today. Gosh I wish I could be this consistent all the time. Got in a 20 minute walk this am, hope to sneak in another tonite. Had to go to the dermatologist this am for routine screening (with my Dm and now my sister having basal cell problems, I figured I'd better get looked at). I checked out fine........
Ok gotta go. See ya!
Ginny

Hope I did not miss anyone............Robyn, hang in there!

hello to all, had a pretty good day today ate my normal breakfast and lunch but am heading to an art teachers "eating" meeting tonight. maybe i won't overdo. i had a new student teacher start today and i think that she is going to be good. it is very hard for me to get used to having someone with me all day long. i am a very private person and she is sticking like glue.

hope everyone has a great day tomorrow, faculty meeting day for us and also 7:30am duty for me....going to make for a long day.

Evening, all.
Not having a break all day long is going to be really challenging, especially being really tired right now. My TA is still doing cafeteria duty, and I was glad to have those few minutes to myself. I have morning meetings tomorrow and wednesady, and after school stuff tomorrow and thursday. :sigh:
The kids got started on their scrapbook covers today, and they are all unique... I'll need to get more paper and stuff soon. I used some gold-paper with suns and moons on it for mine, then cut my letters out of aluminum foil. I won't do THAT again anytime soon... but it does look kinda neat.
2 people used computer letters, one student used the Ellison letter press in the library (and that is the one that looks most scrapbook-y), and one student just stenciled letters on her page and colored them in. I need to remember the photo paper tomorrow, so we can print out their pictures. And to get that order for the other stuff placed.
We also did a lot of the attendance cards (we have to make new ones each year... so we did the sticker-sticking and sorting by classroom). Hopefully we can finish that tomorrow. We don't start going on community instruction until next week. One of our first trips is going to be to Target to hit the scrapbook section, and then we're also working at a local Holiday Inn, and the Red Cross. The kids are also going to do the math assessment tomorrow. My new girl did the math and reading today... notable that she has sight words up to the middle school level (grade 6/7), and comprehension is solidly 4th grade. The comprehension issue seems to be a combination of short-term memory and background knowledge. You're supposed to check background knowledge before you give them the passage, but she has only been attending school for 4-5 years, and only 4 years in the US. She was worried when she couldn't do the last set of cards, and I said, "That's because those are HIGH SCHOOL words, and you're just now in 9th grade!" She also doesn't remember what she read, but she can find and give the answers pretty quickly if she is allowed to look back at the text.
Finally... she is the only student I have ever had in the 8 years I've been using this math assessment that asked for a ruler in order to solve the measurement problem! I have no idea how they ever identified this child (or my other girl who is similar) as having a cognitive deficit!
I'm going to go take a nap, I think. Its too early to go to sleep, but I don't feel much like looking through the math books.

Hi everyone,

Well, I am back on track today. One of my coworkers gave me some candy for my birthday, but I saved it and brought it home for R.J. My husband cooked tonight because it's his day off and he fried the pork chops with flour and oil, which is something I never do, but I ate just one thin one so I think it will be ok.

Tomorrow will be my long day...work 7:45-3:30 and graduate class 6-9. My class in 35 miles away so I will be really tired by the time I get home, but I do like this class. It's called "Current Trends in Reading".

Well, I hope all of you got your week started off right. Talk to you again soon.

Snuck in another walk this afternoon......

Melody- great action plan for the candy- give to someone else! Sorry tomorrow is so long for you- try to preplan your meals so that you do not stress eat.

Mouse- the scrapbooks sound neat.......lots of work for you but neat. Did you get that nap in?

Trob- I hope you ate wisely during that meeting. As far as your new student teacher goes, she is probably so afraid to mess up that she is sticking to you. Perhaps when she feels useful and purposeful she will be less clingy.

Gotta go check Dd's math homework.
Nite.
Ginny

Melody,

The name of your graduate class caught my eye. I'd love to hear some about the research. I've taught Balanced Literacy and Direct Instruction for reading. Do they mention either of those?

Hi Lisa,

I have taught Direct Instruction, too. The class basically suggests you use a balanced approach between phonics and literature. I hated direct instruction. The kids only learn to regurgitiate material and then when they see the same concepts outside of the program they are lost. I am not familiar with the Balanced Literacy program, but I will check my books and see if it mentions it.

Evening, all.

I think, but I'm not sure, that balanced literacy is the new name for whole language... because most people never figured out that whole language and whole word were different. Whole word was invented to teach children with significant disabilities (and a lot of Deaf children) how to read English. Whole Language means using phonics AND literature to teach reading. I, too, hate direct instruction. That's how they usually teach my kids to read in a reading class in high schools. It drives me nuts because I get lots of really, really good phonetic readers who have 2nd or 3rd grade comprehension levels!
One of my students with autism tested at the 12th grade level (plus, as high as the test went!) in reading words, but 2nd grade for comprehension. He even had good reading fluency! But he could read a book upside down and never notice, and never used a book-mark... he just picked up the book, flipped it open, and read... when it was time to stop, he'd close the book.
As for me... I saw the dermatologist today. I don't have to go back, and I'm glad... but I didn't get any of the test results back. She never talked to my endocrinologist (she said she called her but they never called back...), and she had talked to my primary care doctor, but didn't have the tests. They're pretty sure it was just an allergic reaction to something at the hospital because it didn't spread farther than my legs. And while I've had some new ones show up, they're much smaller and a lot of the other ones are flattened and healing. They said new ones could continue to show for weeks, and the discoloration could take months to go away... but that I can swim as soon as all the ones are flat, and I've had no new ones for a week.
Ginny: The scrapbooks are looking good. Everybody made a good start on the covers today, and we printed pictures for everybody. I made an instruction sheet with pictures for the kids so they can print their pictures independently... And we've just about finished our name quilts too. Most of them are glued down, and we only need to glue 1 or 2 more down to finish.
I brought in the scrapbook that I made when I started teaching to show them... my first 3 years we did scrapbooking, and then I moved to the porfolios. That was too difficult for the kids last year, though... my middle school kids got it, but they'd had a really good elementary school teacher... these guys haven't had that, and the portfolio is just too restrictive for them. Too much reading and writing. The scrapbook I'm requiring captions for items, but they can be much less than a portfolio. The scrapbooks are also something they can always work on themselves if they have downtime. I need to make a poster of choices for them if they finish work early ...

Need some spelling word games/activities (quietly within a group) for 1st grade. We did matching game today. We've started an ABC dictionary (to learn ABC word order). We've played Sparkle (as a class) and Bingo.

We have a chocolate basket at work. I am a "everything in moderation" gal. Well I researched how much those tiny peices were and found out I ate about 600 calories in chocolate alone today! I could have had a WHOLE candy bar for much less. EEKK.

We leave for dh's class reunion in 1.5 weeks. 2.5 days without kids and half of it enclosed in close quarters (he'll have to listen then..lol.).

Yes, Casey, chocolate is a killer. If you truly have a hankering for the stuff, there are some very good Weight Watchers chocolates available in most stores (Whitman's makes them). The great thing about them is that they are calorie controlled/portion controlled....a wee bit of damage control in the realm of chocolate. The other good chocolate treat is Kudo's M&M granola bars.....well they are not really granola, but again there is just enough chocolate on them to silence the craving. So don't sweat it......eat well the rest of the week. One bad day will not kill you!

Mouse- scrap books sound great......and even better that your students can work on them independantly. (think most students would enjoy working on that). Great news about the rash. You have a sensitive system, so I guess this should be no huge surprise to you. Bet you can't wait to get swimming!

Well, the perpetually late mother (leaves me hanging at the stop in the pm) is back in form........please remind me I wanted this route?! And another new mother (2 kids, 2nd and K) is proving to be troublesome. They just moved from out of state, and her not so charming (actually obnoxious) 2nd grader has told me how awful his bus driver was in the other state. So of course now I am stuck in that mold........gotta work my way out of it. She seems like a tough nut to crack(the mother) and is already showing signs of the "not my kid and you are always wrong " syndrome. Bring on the advil.

Got a walk in, and my WW tape. Dh actually went on the walk with me! Tomorrow is my WW meeting........this has been a tough week- so I do not think I gained or lost. My scale here reads pretty much the same.

Better go........Kerry, tonite is your WI- and TOPS meeting. Hope you had a great meeting. Robyn- keep thinking about you. Nite all!
Ginny

Evening All,
Sounds like everyone was going to have a very long day today. We had Back to School Night at my school this evening. So that meant I was at school from 7:45 this morning until 5 working straight through with only 30 minutes for lunch. Ran into town to get a taco salad from the one pizza shop and treated myself to a small piece of cheesecake. Then had to rush back to school to be there at 6 for the open house. Finally got to leave at 7:30 to come home. Trying to relax a little bit before going to bed. My school has been in a lockdown mode for the last two days, due to a child who got taken from another one of the schools in my district. He was able to get away from the person a short while later and ran home. So we have had some long stressful days already this week. Looking forward to the weekend. Just can't wait for it to get here.
Mouse glad to hear that your rash is clearing up. That must be comforting news to you. So here shortly you should be able to go swimming again. Sounds like your kids are loving to scrapbook.
Casey, so where is your dh's class reunion at? Sounds like you could really use a mini vacation. I loved your comment about the chocolate basket. That is true about eating the candy bar though. I decided to treat myself to the cheesecake tonight since I had a long day and haven't really had any treats for a while. I thought the cheesecake would be better than the peanut butter pie or the chocolate scoop cake with ice cream. My school this year has adopted the Wellness Policy. So we are not allowed to have sweets, junk food or pop in our school. So that has cut down on the sweets people bring to school and put in the office. Maybe that will help shrink my stomach. Just can't eat another sweet thing this week.
Trob, hope you made it though your long day. Hope you can get use to having a student teacher. Maybe once she feels comfortable being there, she won't be soo clingy. I have always wanted to have a student teacher, but have never been brave enough to have one. Maybe one of these years I will be brave and get one. Hope tomorrow is an easier and shorter day for you.
Melody, hope you had a nice day today. Do you just have your grad class once a week? That sure does make for a long day. That was a neat idea about the box of chocolates. I am afraid that I would have kept them and ended up eating them over the course of a few days. So I am very proud of you for sharing them with your son. Hope you have a shorter day tomorrow.
Ginny, I can't get my dh to go to TOPS with me. He thinks he is perfectly fine because as he puts it God blessed him with a high metabolism. So far it has worked with including him in the planning of my meals. I did get him to go for a short walk with me last night. I had hope to go for one tonight with him, but we have had rain all day long plus he was not home when I got home. So I guess I will have to try for tomorrow evening if it is not raining when I get home. Glad to hear that your kids are settling into a routine on the bus. Sounds like you have a good group of kids this year.
Angela, how is your second week back to school going for you? Is your baby getting use to mommy having to work yet? I hope you are able to get the much needed rest. Does your oldest like going to the babysitters again? Hope you have an easy week at school and home.
Well I think I am going to go and read a few pages in my novel that i have been reading for the last month. I can tell school started back because it takes me about a month and a half to read a 364 page novel. But I like to read to relax and escape from the real world every once in a while.
Hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow! Just think we will be half way done with the week tomorrow.
Take care,
Kerry

Kerry, sure sounds like a long day to me! Bet you are glad it is over. I too can't wait for the weekend, but that is busy for me too. Don't sweat the cheesecake......one small piece won't hurt (you probably burned it off anyway). Heck, I could not get my husband to a WW meeting......stinks that men get the high metabolism, doesn't it? Glad he went for a short walk with you. Good for both of you and your relationship. Must have been something in the air last nite, my husband went for a walk with me too!

Up .2 at WW......two tenths of a # is nothing, so I am not upset.
Got a walk in this am..
Better go back to the salt mine.
See ya!
Ginny

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a good Wednesday. Mine was fine except for getting up late. I still made it to work on time, but I had to rush and I don't like to rush in the morning.

Kerry, yes I have graduate class once per week on Tuesday nights. I go to a school with trimesters so each course lasts 10 weeks. Class is supposed to be from 6pm-9:45, but we are usually out before 8:30 and then I have a 40 minutue drive home.

Kerry and ECmom, I wish I could get my husband to diet with me. He weighs about 350, is diabetic and has high cholesterol, but he cannot imagine giving up cheeseburgers, fries, etc. He eats fast food for breakfast and lunch everyday while I always eat cereal for breakfast and a slimfast bar for lunch. He only works about 5 minutes from where we live and since he can leave for lunch I wish he would come home and eat something better than fast food. He does eat whatever I cook for supper which is always healthy. He won't exercise either. He is on his feet walking all day at work so he thinks that is enough exercise. I am on my feet a lot too and go up and down a flight of stairs 3 times per day, but I still know I need other exercise, too, but I haven't done much walking lately...especially after finding out there is an alligator in one of the ponds in our neighborhood...my neighborhood association is supposed to be having it relocated soon... and then I won't wory about walking near the ponds.

The scale was down about 2 pounds from what it was averaging last week. It was 243 this morning. I need to lose 4 more to get below 240! I hope I can get into the 230's within 1-2 weeks.

smart- when i taught first we had word races to learn our sight words. the kids would take home a list to study and then i would time them reading the same words only mixed up. they loved it. i didn't give prizes or anything and we didn't compare times, the kids were always trying to beat their best time. i think that you could do spelling the same way.

sounds like everyone is having a long week. i am glad that it is almost over. my student teacher is really turning out to be a lot of help. she has been up and doing things today before i even think about it. i am a little worried about how the kids will behave for her when she is in charge of the class. she is very soft spoken and very nervous when speaking in front of them. i am having her introduce herself and tell a little about herself to each of my classes this week while i give the evil eye to those who dare to act up.
well, i gotta run. both of my kids have huge tests tomorrow and neither of them think that their dad is qualified to help them study.

Melody, as far as excercise goes, Kerry and I love the Leslie Sansone walking tapes (she has about 20 of them, all pretty good). They are low impact, and varying in length for those days when you only have a short amount of time.
Sorry that your Dh won't do anything about his weight. (men can be SO stubborn). Congrats on the 2# loss........you will be in the 230's soon!

Trob- glad that your student teacher is working out well. Did she overcome her clingyness? Perhaps when she gets in front of the class and catches her stride she will be fine.

Ok day here, it is raining. I have a cold. I'm pooped........want my thumb and blanket and a large cup of tea. Better go get dinner on. See ya!
Ginny