Today's Schedule--Just Plain CRAZY.

That would be my description of today at school. I expected it to be chaotic, what with the district disaster drill and everything, but still....sheesh...

8:00-8:50am CELDT testing (for the ELD kids, which involved packing up half the class and taking them to the cafeteria...)

8:50-9:00am prepping for the drill--gathering things we needed to take outside and giving the kids a pep talk/minor threats on how to behave out on the field...

9:00-10:00 Disaster drill. OK, I guess it went as smooth as it "could have..." but you try keeping 32 kids still and quiet for an hour on the grass. I let them take out books. Not realistic, but we're talking about my sanity here, folks...

10:00-10:07 Back in the classroom and just about to "attempt" to be productive, and, no...wait...there was an announcement that everyone was going to have recess at 10am. (Ours is normally 10:15...)

10:10-10:25 Recess--hey, they announced it late and we're entitled to 15 minutes, so we took it.

10:25-11:25 Back in the classroom--wow...I actually got to have 60 uninterrupted minutes--the longest all day today. We corrected math homework, collected all homework, and took a spelling test. After the chaos outside during the drill, you could hear a pin drop during the spelling test. I think they wanted quiet as much as I did. We also corrected the test together.

11:30-12:15 Lunch (My 2 buddies, Ramona and Nancy, and I just sat and laughed about today. It was like a cartoon. And it would've really been funny if it wasn't so ridiculous and crazy.)

12:15-12:40 Read aloud and a few minutes of this wonderful IMAX ocean documentary, which looks AWESOME being projected on the Smartboard. It is like having a big-screen TV in the classroom. Plug in my speakers with their woofer and --wow. Instant theater.

12:40-1:10--Library for the kids/30 minutes to do some planning and run off copies for next week for me

1:10-1:45 More of the ocean documentary (called IMAX: Deep Sea--one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Highly, highly recommended. The kids were enthralled. That says a lot!)

1:50 Dismissal

1:50-2:30 Several kids stayed to play on the Smartboard while I cleaned up the room and got a few things ready for next week.

2:30-3:45 I went on the laptop (which the Smartboard is connected to) and entered the kids' spelling test grades and prepped for Monday morning, which is when we are supposed to start teaming for ELD for 45 minutes. It's going to be a circus those first several days...Fortunately, the majority of my group are my own kids and, also fortunately, I found some great online ELD interactive activities that we can do on the Smartboard. That will help those first few days as they (the office) iron out the wrinkles. And it is going to be pretty wrinkly...

3:45-4:10 Drove home

4:10-5:30 Played with Alexander at my mom's house. My brother came to pick him up and stayed for over an hour. We talked politics. He's got lots of very good insights.

6:00-8:00 My mom and I went to our Friday night sushi place--Zono, on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. After the crazy day today, I needed good food and good service.

And now...home sweet home.

Plans for this weekend? I need some pampering. A long-lost friend, who I found on Facebook and is also a massage therapist, is coming over in the morning to give me a good 90-minute massage. Oh, how I need one. My back is a sea of knots. Then maybe a showing of The Secret Life of Bees, and then popping over to the carnival at the church around the corner...

Small World...

...yes, that is kind of how my world is these days...

Things on my mind? In a nutshell: my students, learning about my Smartboard, tomorrow's huge district-wide disaster drill, my nephew and the next time I get to see him, the election, and the approaching holidays...

That's pretty much it. I need to expand, don't I?

So, since this is the first full week with the Smartboard in the classroom, I'll show more pictures. The more I learn about it, the more it becomes useful. I like how durable it is. I don't feel like I have to worry too much about how hard the kids tap on it (within limits...)

I had a meeting with the emergency committee after school today, but before that, I had 45 minutes for any of the kids who desired to stay and spend some time with the board. 6 of them did and we had a fun time. Thanks to a board trainer who found my blog yesterday and showed me a site he has, we have discovered a virtual treasure trove of new activities. The kids who stayed had a wonderful time using it, learning, and stayed engaged: (click to see full-sized)

We found an activity where they had to match equivalent fractions. They were working against the clock, which they always like...

Another activity had them naming state capitals and finding states sandwiched between other states. They were running back and forth between the board and the map. It was a lot of fun just to watch them. I look forward to doing this one with the entire class, since this was after school...

Some new adventures on the Smartboard...

When technology and I come in contact with each other, I become a little obsessive. I become determined to know how something works and I want to learn everything I can about it and be an instant expert.

And so it goes with the Smartboard...

I can see why some teachers have become very anti-Smartboard. It does take time and preparation to load something into the computer and get it set up. You need to be very knowledgeable to use it to its full advantage. As of yet, my school has not scheduled any formal trainings, so I'm lucky that I'm pretty technologically adept, but what about those who aren't?

Yesterday I decided to give myself some one-on-one time with the darn thing. I stayed after school for 2 hours working with it and then spent another 2 hours at home going through software to see what would be useful (or not) to use in the classroom. In the room I discovered that our entire math book and social studies book and all of their respective worksheets are on CD-rom. Cool. With the Smartboard you can project a worksheet and then either you or a student can "write" on it with the Smart markers.

I also created some Language Arts activities on the "smart" software that we could do today. Creating them on the board's software made it possible to be able to write on them with the "markers." I think. I haven't tried other word processing software, but I'm starting to get the feeling that it would be possible to write on them with the markers too.

At home I went through all of the math CD-roms. There are 4, and I wanted to see what would be useful for our everyday routine. The most useful is that all of the workmats are on CD-rom, so I can use those for demos, and all of the homework pages are there too.

This morning I felt confident that we could really put the Smartboard to use, so I missed the staff picture because I was setting things up. We corrected the math homework using the board. We did several language arts activities using the board. At the end of the day we did a Social Studies activity using it, and then--because my kids need SO much help with geography, we projected different maps from our text on the board and did a review of the difference between continents, countries, states, cities, etc. Last week I asked the class about a certain city and someone answered "Canada." If that isn't enough to scare a teacher, I don't know what is! 5th grade!

But aside from the cool visuals we were able to use all day, I was impressed with the kids' response. They were engaged, they were excited, hands were raised...this is NOT my class! So, obviously, there is something to this. And in an age where school has to compete with all the digital fun the kids go home to ("video games are evil"--that's my motto) school often falls short no matter how many cartwheels the teacher turns. It isn't enough anymore. Sad, but true.

There is still a lot to learn, but today was a good jump forward.

Here are some bad pictures I took with my cell phone. I need to take my camera and make a little video...I highly recommend clicking on the pictures so you can see them full-sized...

Working with sentences and identifying simple subjects and predicates and complete subjects and predicates. See that gray area at the bottom? That's called a shade, which can be raised or lowered to reveal one question at a time...very cool...

The kids worked in groups and came up with singular nouns to "stump" the rest of the class when we made them plural (some were better than others)...then they took turns coming up and writing the plural...a good opportunity to practice writing on the board...


Some geography review at the end of the day--much needed and very productive! This is a map from their books. They have little white boards and markers at their desks and we talked about different elements on the map, oceans, continents, and some longitude and latitude questions. They like those...

Life On Mars is looking very promising...

The promos were intriguing, so I decided to give the new show, Life On Mars, a try. It is a remake of a BBC version with the exact same concept.

I loved it!

Jason O'Mara (the dashing brain tumor victim on Grey's Anatomy,) is detective Sam Tyler. While following a serial killer who abducted his girlfriend, he is hit by a car and wakes up on the same street in 1973. Clue #1 is when he looks up and sees the Twin Towers standing and intact. He has no idea how he got there or why, but he has to deal with the adjustment of the time as well as the ideals of the people.

When he makes his way to his precinct, instead of computers, ethics, DNA testing, and equal opportunities for male and female cops, he is greeted by file cabinets, and a group of sexist cops who punch first and ask questions later (led by born-to-be-bad Harvey Keitel.) The one female cop, played by Gretchen Mol, is constantly abused and harrassed by her co-workers in a way that would never be tolerated today. Who knew that things could change so much in 30 years? And every time he mentions his cell phone, which he obviously doesn't have, he's asked "sell what?"

What I really liked about this show was the pacing and the point of view. It is a big puzzle and we don't know any more than Sam. What he does know is that there are clues surrounding him about the case he's working on in 2008, and that he hears random voices over the TV and radio suggesting that Sam Tyler is really in a vegetative state and that everything he's seeing in 1973 isn't real. He even crosses paths with the little boy who grows up to be the serial killer he was chasing before the car accident. He begins to wonder how much control he has over future events by being in the past.

Parts of the puzzle are solved, such as capturing a killer in 1973 who may have inspired the one in 2008, but many pieces are still missing. Mainly, why is Sam there and how does he get back? It certainly left me wanting to know more.

At ABC.com you can watch the entire first episode. Click the link and then "launch." You may need to install their plug-in, which is easily done. See what you think...

Once upon a time, there were some Slooks...

Back in 1989-1994, my life was all about being away at college--Brigham Young University. It was always my mom's and my dream that I go away to school and it turned out to be an amazing 5 years of growth and some very enduring friendships.

When you go away to school (I'm sure Emma will learn this) roommates--which are usually chosen for you--become an integral part of your life. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't, and sometimes you get EXTRA lucky...

I had a very nice roommate my freshman year in the dorms and there was a good group of us when I moved into an apartment of 6 girls my 2nd year. My 3rd year is the one I have repressed, because we had personality clashes the entire year.

By my 4th year--1992-1993--I needed a fresh new start. I was living off-campus in Regency, an all-girl building that I really liked, so I decided to go "pot luck" again and see who I ended up with.

That year, the Slook group was born:

Karen from Virginia
Andrea from Utah
Debbie from New York (and Andrea's cousin)
Sally from Oregon
Melanie from Oregon--1st semester (she and Sally were friends)
Trish from Utah--2nd semester
and me, from California

As soon as we met each other and started unpacking and setting up the apartment, we knew something was different. We weren't just roommates who had been thrown together, we really liked each other and enjoyed being together. It was like sextuplets who had been separated at birth coming together for the first time.

You're always a little cautious at first when you meet new roommates, but this was different, and a few weeks after the school year began we were all sitting in the living room being silly and kind of "feeling the love." We needed to celebrate, what could we do?....

We ended up looking at the calendar and discovering that it was Yom Kippur. Fine, we'd celebrate Yom Kippur in our non-Jewish way as well as our newfound roommate love. I think we piled into Debbie's blue Ford station wagon and drove a couple of blocks to Hardee's (hamburger joint) for some ice cream. Not just any ice cream--Twist cones! (1/2 chocolate, 1/2 vanilla.) From then on, I think all of us have thought as Yom Kippur as "our" holiday. I know I do!!

I think these pictures were from a later Twist Cone run, but this is an example of our silly escapades...
(top: Debbie, Melanie, Karen--bottom: me, Andrea, Sally)

That year, and probably my freshman year (for all of its newness and excitement) are my favorite years at BYU.

We went on trips, had carpet picnics in the living room, grocery shopped together, cooked together, did each other's hair, swapped clothes, went to movies, dances and church activities, we played some wicked practical jokes on each other and unsuspecting neighbors and friends. And we laughed. We were always laughing and doing silly stuff.

How was the name "Slook" born? (That's pronounced with a long "u" sound, in case you're interested..) I'm not sure of the exact origin of the word, but I know it was Debbie who came up with it, as well as the Slook language, which basically involves sticking an "sl" sound as the beginning consonant blend in strategic places while you're talking. I'm pretty certain that was all Debbie, who still, to this day, is the funniest person I have ever met.

The next year we were together only partially, because Trish, Debbie, and Andrea left for different (very valid) reason, like going on missions or getting married. Karen, Sally, and I stayed together, but it was not the same. I think I appreciated the bond from the previous year even more once the 6 of us weren't together.

I graduated in 1994 and the years rolled by as they do. We've tried to keep in touch, and we've done a pretty good job, considering that I haven't seen Debbie since before her mission in 1994 and the rest since around 1995 or 1996, and also considering that all of the Slooks except me do not live in their home state.

Shortly after graduation, we lost track of Sally. Sally, our science genius with the long black hair and a quirky sense of style that only she could make look good. I also seem to remember that she was always sticking things up her nose...hmmm...

The rest of us still emailed and sent Christmas cards. When my dad died in 2006 I received a lovely flower arrangement from them. That meant so much.

I never gave up hope that we would find Sally again, but the years kept going by and none of us knew where she was.

And then...fast forward to last Wednesday.

New to the Facebook site, I was looking for friends to add and I decided to try entering Sally's name. After a couple of wrong turns I saw her picture. My jaw practically dropped to the floor I was so surprised. We found her. After some emotional emails were passed around I've felt myself sighing a big sigh of relief. These girls/women/Slooky slooks are like my sisters. I don't want to lose track of any of them!

The Slooks are together again. And we smell better than ever. (private slook joke...) Now we need to plan a reunion.

So yes, college is a time of many things, but anyone should only hope to be so lucky as to find friends like these...

And now..the pictures of years gone by...

Karen and Debbie cleaning up from a massive confetti prank...

Sally in her thrift store dress and Doc Martins ready to go grocery shopping...isn't this how we all look when we're grocery shopping?

Debbie about to freak out her boyfriend into thinking she had cut her hair, which was really tucked convincingly into her collar...

Andrea and me at her parents' house in Salt Lake City...

Trish, me, Debbie, and Sal all dressed up for a 50's dance...

Sally trying to shave her legs the hard way....just kidding...it was fake blood leftover from Halloween...another April Fool's day prank...

Andrea and I have the same birthday--March 7--so Karen made us a chocolate spatula cake. (There was some silly rule about no open flames allowed in the apartments...)

Karen and me--folding laundry is boring, let's just throw it in the air instead...

Andrea, Karen, Debbie, and me on a ski trip...

Karen and Debbie trying to look gansta...

(above: Karen, Sally, me, Andrea, Melanie, Debbie--the semester 1 Slooks of Regency 52, 1992-1993)

(above: Debbie, me, Trish, Sally, Andrea, Karen--the semester 2 Slooks 1992-1993)

My Slooks! I love my sisters from another mother!

P.S. I just got off the phone with Sally. Our first time talking in around 13 years. It was great talking with you Sally!

Nature puts on a show...

This morning I was on the phone with my long-lost roommate, Sally, (see above post) and while standing at the door leading to my backyard I saw a big ol' praying mantis lounging on the side of one of the hummingbird feeders.

That was interesting enough, but then some hummingbirds came along looking for a meal and the mantis actually reached his little arms/paws out to them!

After I got off the phone I stood there waiting for another hummingbird to come along so I could get a picture. Here's what I saw. Click on the pictures to see them full-sized.

The Ultimate Baby Picture...

What can I say? This is hilarious.

I finally have a Smartboard...

About a year ago we had a staff meeting at my school that was an introduction to the Smartboard. We were all very excited and wondered when they would be distributed around the school. First we had only 2, then 10, and then 2 weeks ago we saw 20 of them in boxes outside the computer lab.

Our computer aide came to each class and asked if we wanted our Smartboard mounted on the wall or in a stand. I chose a stand because I wasn't quite ready to sacrifice wall space. Then one of my colleagues reminded me that when a Smartboard gets bumped it has to be realigned. That thought, plus the size of the stand when they finally delivered mine on Monday, made me rethink my decision.

Yesterday we had our computer lab time and I told our aide that I wanted it mounted on the wall instead. No problem. She also downloaded the software into my school laptop (I nicknamed it "little Mac,) and we got the projector. Before leaving yesterday, I left instructions on the white board about where I wanted the Smartboard mounted and the new places I wanted my maps moved. I need my maps.

This morning I was thrilled that all of my instructions had been followed to a tee (how often does that happen?) and I was very happy with the placement.

Now all I had to do was hook everything up. The computer aide offered to come in at recess, but I was getting impatient to get the blasted thing running and so were the kids.

I got it all hooked up except...I could not figure out how to connect the projector to the laptop. After popping nextdoor, my very helpful neighbor Ramona told me about a little adaptor that came with our laptop. I knew exactly which one she was talking about, it was one that I've been tripping over for the past 3 years and finally took out of the case. It was at home.

Mom to the rescue. I called her and she agreed to bring the adaptor. (I repaid her with a gourmet dinner from In n Out...)

Yay! We were up and running! The kids were so excited. We went onto Starfall.com and practiced manipulating the images on the screen. We can even use it to watch a DVD, and with a set of speakers I have in the room for my Mp3 player, it is like having our own movie theater.

While the kids were in the library later on in the afternoon (teacher planning time) I sat and worked with the software a little. There is, undoubtedly, a lot to learn, and my school currently has no trainings planned, so this is definitely going to have to be a do-it-yourself venture. That's OK. Most of my computer training has been through trial and error and it helps me retain the info better. It is just a little slower.

Still, I'm happy that, after all this time, our Smartboard is finally up. I'm looking forward to using it in the classroom...

Here's a classroom demo I found. Mine is mounted similarly to this one...:

Happy Birthday John Lennon...

The iconic performer would've been 68 today. Despite not being from the US, I'll bet he would have a lot to say about our country's current state...

This song was on the radio this morning.

Voice Your Opinions...

We're getting down to the wire with this election and things are really heating up!

I have 2 new polls on the right which I invite everyone to participate in.

And, no matter who you support, we're still lucky to live in a country where you can voice your opinion! VOTE

Look what I can do...

I can...

HOLD MY OWN BOTTLE

RATE A FILM

SUPPORT MY CANDIDATE
And I always look cute! I turn 8 months old on Monday, October 13th!

3 Open Houses...

For once, I'm not referring to school when I say "open house." Today, within a 2 block radius, there were 3 different open houses. I really enjoy open houses. They are great for decorating tips (or for what not to do,) and they usually serve as a satisfying reminder that my house is still the one that suits me the best.

What I found most interesting about the houses today was what they seemed to be trying to accomplish. I know that, for me, there are certain things that I look for in a house. And, despite the range in sizes and prices of today's 3 houses, only one of them met all my personal requirements.

This is what I look for:

1. A vintage feel and that the integrity of an older home has been preserved.
2. Lots of natural light.
3. Space (even a small house can have space.)
4. Serenity--I want my house to always have a cozy, welcoming feeling for myself and others.
5. A good floor plan--public areas on one side (living room, kitchen, family room, dining room) and private areas on the other (bedrooms, bathrooms, hallways.) If it is a 2-story house, then public down below and private upstairs, which most 2-stories naturally accomplish.
6. The house and decorating aren't trying to be more than they are--have you ever seen an older woman who dressed like a younger woman? Picture a house trying to do the same thing, whether it is decorated more modern or more ostentatious than necessary. There needs to be a feeling of consistency with the house.

Fortunately, my house (again, in my opinion) has 1-6. The ones today? Well, you be the judge.

HOUSE #1
This house is the one that got me to go see these open houses in the first place. I walk by it all the time with my dog and have always loved it, especially the turreted chimney. Asking price? A cool $3,650,000. No, that's not a type-o. This is Southern CA, and the house is in San Marino.

I know, right? Wouldn't you want to see the inside of this gorgeous home? Here's the back:
Yet, believe it or not, both my mom and I were unimpressed. Yes, it is huge (5,388 sq. feet) and plush and modernized, but it was not very welcoming or homey. All 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms were almost too perfect. It was too much and too big, even for a family with several children. Here are the living room and kitchen:
And, yes, a staging company had been brought in to give it a certain "look." Seriously, I felt like I was in a movie set. Styrofoam bread and fruit everywhere. (and don't get me started on the pyramid made of Campbell's soup cans...)

HOUSE #2
Just down the street from House 1 was this lovely Spanish style home built in 1928. You can move in here for a mere $1,450,000.
Now, I usually favor houses that have a front-facing door--just one of my "things," but this house was so wonderful inside that all was forgiven. I wish the flyer had better pictures. All hardwood floors, minimalistic decorating that was not staged, great combinations of plaids, florals, solids, and stripes. The living room was all off-white with light pink accents. The dining room was the opposite of the living room. The kitchen led right into a very spacious family room that was all off white with different accents and patterns in navy blue. Everything was done lightly, there was space and more space, and lots of welcoming conversations areas. I loved it. For the first time in my life my mom said that that was the kind of house she would be willing to give up her current house for. Now that is quite a house.

The winner of the day.

And then there was HOUSE #3, in Alhambra, going for $799,000 (overpriced, IMHO):
The outside looks cute enough, right? The inside was, well, interesting. If it is possible to be in a house and feel like you're in a hotel, then this house accomplishes that. I don't know the year it was built, but it was rebuilt from the foundation up a couple of years ago. There was no charm, no special touches, just a modern, joyless, sterile feeling. And the floorplan is the oddest floorplan I've ever seen:

You walk into the front door and you're in the living room, which gives way to the dining area (not a room, because they all share the same space.) On the left side of the living room there are 2 rooms and on the right side of the living room there are 2 rooms. The ones on the left are both bedrooms. One has an adjoining bathroom. The rooms on the right are a bedroom, with another bathroom, and the other one is the kitchen with an adjoining laundry room. And that's it--no family room, no entry hall, no hallway. It actually felt like a giant hotel suite, not like a house. And, like House #1, a staging company had come in and prepped the house for showing.

So there you go. 3 houses, 3 opinions, and only one really hitting the mark. All of them interesting!

This time they recruited a Queen...

As Katie Couric would say, "...not to belabor the point," but these SNL sketches with Tina Fey are so funny I have to post them.



And if you want to see the real thing in its entirety, click here.

A Gray Western Day...

Lots to talk about today--3 posts, I know.

Through a turn of events, my weekend plans changed. I was supposed to drive down to San Diego last night, spend the night at my cousin's, and go to the Miramar air show with my aunt nd uncle. Instead, my cousin drove up to LA and this morning she, my little cousin Cassidy, my aunt, and a friend went to the "Western Days" parade in San Dimas.

Unlike Wednesday's unspeakably hot weather, today has been overcast and drizzly. Great Disneyland weather if I hadn't let my pass expire!

The parade was a cute, local, homespun thing with horses, some high school bands, old cars, dance groups, and some Boy Scouts. My favorites were the big draft horses, the sheriff that was riding a camel instead of a horse, and the 4 guys whose western dress resembled that of the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday in Tombstone (my favorite modern western.)
(Yes, they looked just like this. "I'm here, Huckleberry...")

After the parade we went to Denny's and had the kind of big, greasy breakfast that today's weather makes you crave.

The drive home was very rainy, and when I got to my house I took some pictures of my newly planted flowers in the backyard. I love my backyard.

I even got a couple of great shots of my dog, Bailey. (click on photos to see them *slightly* bigger...)

Weekends are always welcome, especially when they are relaxing, the weather is good, and you get to see some family.

Karma--Right back at ya...

OJ and "guilty" are finally, finally sharing a sentence (no pun intended) in a court of law. This is the weirdest, most-roundabout way for him to get what he deserved 13 years ago, but, hey, it is still a means to an end. I for one, will not miss the smugness he has displayed over the years.

As one message board comment said, "I guess now he won't be able to go from golf course to golf course looking for the 'real' killer..."

Some pictures of our little big boy...

Yesterday my mom babysat my nephew, Alexander. He is getting so big! It is amazing to watch his growth. He's got teeth, he's experimenting with his voice and moving his tongue around, and he LOVES being outside.

When he's outside he's completely different. He notices everything indoors too, but outside he becomes a "serious observer." Yesterday we were showing him how to pick little pieces of grass and bark that were on the ground. Of course, his first instinct was to put everything in his mouth, but after a few "no, no's," he understood.

He'll be 8 months old on October 13--we love our little guy!

Naturally, we watch everything he does and speculate about his future. Based on these pictures, we're thinking that he could have possible careers in:

HORTICULTURE

Or maybe...PUBLIC SPEAKING

And if that doesn't pan out, there's always CIRQUE DE SOLEIL. I'll keep you posted!

A scary thought...

All I can say is, if McCain is elected, I'll be praying for his health. Can you imagine the US in this woman's hands? Nightmare.


Compare the real thing to this...

Lock Down...

Once in a while we get blaring reminders that the neighborhood where I work is not that safe. They usually come in the form of lock downs, which we had today.

A lock down means that there is police activity in the area and that staying inside is the safest place to be. We have to lock the doors, and no one goes out and no one comes in (even if someone is knocking) until we get the "all clear" announcement from the office. Sometimes we will hear sirens and helicopters outside and sometimes nothing at all. Lock downs are communicated to the office by the local police and usually last around half an hour. Two years ago, however, we had a lock down that was several hours long and went 90 minutes beyond the dismissal time at the end of the day. We are not allowed to release students for ANY reason during a lock down and many parents were very upset. That experience was very interesting.

The kids usually take lock downs seriously, although there are always a few that have seen way too many action movies and let their imaginations run wild. I know that I take them very seriously because my classroom is on the end of campus, which is "L-shaped." We're on the tip of the L and separated from the street by only a shoulder-high gate.

Today's lock down started around 9:55am and lasted until 10:30am. Our recess is 10:15-10:30 and I've learned that the best thing for the kids during a lock down is to give them something fun to do. I gave them some puzzle/game time in the room during their recess time inside, but the office arranged for postponed recess times and they were able to play outside anyway.

The reason for the lock down? It turns out that a man was running around wielding a knife at the park across the street from our school. Never a dull moment!

A little catching up...

OK, my blog entries have been pretty frivolous the past couple of days. I'm going to blame it on the heat, because here in Southern CA it has been uncomfortably hot all week. I think global warming is working overtime here.

Aside from that, the things that are on my mind are the same things that a lot of people are thinking about: the upcoming election, the economy that is in the crapper right now, and the general state of our country.

As a teacher, you need to be able to save money, and the economic state of things is weighing on a lot of minds. People's houses are losing a lot of their value (thank goodness mine is hanging in there for now,) banks are cutting down on the available loans, and a lot of colleagues are talking about refinancing--and most of us have been living off of our savings for the past 3 months. It's scary. And, yes, so the Senate passed the tweaked version of the bill that is supposed to "help," but we all know where that $700 billion is going to come from. And we also know that whoever is elected is going to be handed a mop and a pail of dirty water to continue to clean up this mess. Yet in the end, all of us are going to be paying for a long time.

So those are the kinds of things that are on my mind these days. With the 100 degree heat today and the severely weakened economy, they are strong reminders of the kinds of environmental and financial issues our next generation is going to inherit one day. How sad. This country is circling the drain right now.