November Update (even thought it's December)...

November was a difficult month.  The staff and students at our school are still reeling from the unbelievable amount of deaths, and severe illnesses that have struck our school family. It began early in the month with co-workers who lost family members.  Our assistant principal lost her mother, and then 2 weeks later lost her brother.  At the same time, one of the kindergarten teachers had a massive heart attack at school and was minutes from losing her life. Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quickly and got her to the hospital in time.  She has still not returned to school, and it is uncertain whether or not she will ever be able to do so.  Our counselors both suffered loss; one lost a brother and the other lost her mother-in-law.  And then, my former student, Alyssa, lost her mother.  All of these deaths and illnesses have been tragic, but the most devastating was the loss of Alyssa's mother.  I had a connection with that family that extended to my own family.  Alyssa's mother, Amy, was a co-worker of Leslie's and we were all so excited when Alyssa was placed in my class last year.  Each day that Amy picked up her daughter, we would spend a few minutes chatting about work, Leslie, the kids, school, and any other topic that seemed to bind our lives together.  Even when Alyssa moved on to third grade, we would see one another after school and catch up.  Amy died as a result of a brain hemorrhage that came on suddenly and violently.  She entered the hospital Friday after Thanksgiving, and was removed from life support on Monday morning.  Amy was a young, vibrant and beautiful woman who's loss has been felt throughout the school and community.
Most of these things started early in the month and by the time we got to Thanksgiving week, I was in need of a break.  Both Seth and Maggie attend school at different districts, which took the entire week of Thanksgiving off. I decided to take Monday-Tuesday as sick days just to spend some time with my grandchildren.  It gave me a much needed boost and when Amy passed away, I was so glad that I had put my priorities in order. When she passed, I was so very thankful I chose 2 extra days with my grandchildren instead of working.

Here is a brief rundown of how our days went:
Leslie dropped Maggie and Sophie off at my house Monday morning on her way to work.  We loaded up the Jetta and headed up to Gatesville where we picked up Seth.

Maggie, Seth, and Sophie eating lunch at The Junction...

After we got Seth, all of us headed over to a new restaurant in Gatesville called The Junction.  It is typical Gatesville food: lots of Country Fried items.  The atmosphere is unique and the service was good, so we had an enjoyable lunch.

Later that day, we drove home to Temple. After spending some time playing around the house, we decided to go to the Railroad Museum Park.  It is one of the nicest parks in Temple, and the kids love playing there.  We stayed all afternoon, and left only because it was getting dark and the kids were getting hungry.

Seth at the train park...

Sweet Sophie was recovering from an ear infection...

The BEST grandkids in the WORLD!!

Silly Maggie Lyn...

We spent the evening watching movies, snuggled up on the couch.  When they were ready for bed, they fell asleep so quickly because they were worn out.

The next day, we went to Belton and played along the creek near the Cotton Gin.  We took some bread to feed the ducks, snacks to eat, and introduced Boomer to the ducks.  He was pretty good around them!

That evening, Seth and the girls were picked up by their mothers. I hated to see them go home, but knew Thanksgiving was just a day away.

Snuggling up on the couch with Boomer...

Sophie Lyn...

Walking along Nolan Creek in Belton...

Maggie collecting feathers...

Sophie Lyn...

feeding the ducks...

more ducks...

More feathers!!

That evening, Seth and the girls were picked up by their mothers. I hated to see them go home, but knew Thanksgiving was just a day away.

Half-time entertainment at our house during the Ohio State game on Saturday.

 On a side note, the drought has brought an especially colorful fall (at least for Texas) this year.  Here are 2 pretty trees on our street.

Bubblegum, Razzleberry Pie, and the Cone of Shame...

When I started teaching, my wise mentor, Nita Benoit, told me that I should use my sick days and not let them accumulate.  She said that she wished she had had someone tell her that when she started teaching because she only had a few years to go before retirement and she had over 60 sick days that she would never use up.  Some districts will pay you a month's pay for 30 days when you either resign or retire; but, our district is not one of them.  So, Nita basically had to kiss those sick days goodbye when she retired.  I have taken her advice and have used my sick days for doctor's appointments AND what I call mental health days.  

At the beginning of the year, I arranged for a substitute for 2 days right away.  One, was a Friday before our stake women's conference. The other was my birthday.  Every year that is my birthday gift to me; a day off.

On my first mental health day, Ron, Boomer, and I walked over and picked up Maggie after school.  We hadn't told her that we would be picking her up so it was a surprise.  Ron has been up and picked her up before, but this was my first time.  We all walked back to our house, picked up some popsicles, and then drove Maggie down to her house.  I love the fact that they live so close and we can do simple things like this.

Maggie Lyn with her cute little back pack.

Maggie, Boomer and Poppy 

 Knowing that I would be taking my birthday off, I had Ron make an appointment on the Friday prior to get Boomer neutered.  I wanted to make sure someone was with him for the first few day, until we were sure he would be okay if we left him at home alone.  He moved a little slowly the first day, but by Saturday he was up and running around.  Ron said that the assistant that signed Boomer out at the vet's clinic told him we would have to leave the cone of shame on him until he went back to get the stitches out; in 2 weeks! I thought that was a little crazy, so we took it off of him yesterday just to see if he would mess with the stitches.  He doesn't even pay any attention to them so we left it off.  He sure was cute in that cone.

 When Ron asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I asked him if I could have anything I wanted.  He looked at me as said, "As long as I can afford it!" I assured him that it wouldn't cost him a thing.  I told him I wanted a birthday without a fuss, no presents, no cake, no party, no visitors... just a stay-cation where I could sit around in my p.j.'s all day and read, watch movies, do crafts, quilt, or nap.
He did make me agree to let him fix my favorite breakfast (french toast casserole).
It started out great.  Saturday, he went to serve court papers and I was puttering around in the office.  Before I knew what was happening, I hear some noise coming from the kitchen.  I went out to discover that Leslie and her family had come over with pizza & soda to watch the Ohio State football game.  Ron came home a little later and apologized all over himself. We ate some pizza, the girls went outside to play, and everyone settled in to watch the game.  Because I absolutely, positively HATE football, I decided to escape to my classroom for a few hours.
Our team has started a math fact fluency challenge called Bubble Gum Math.  We give them a set of flash cards each week to memorize, then they take a timed test on Friday.  If they get a 100, they put a gumball sticker in their gumball machine on the bulletin board and get a piece of bubble gum to chew in class.  I have been wanting to put up my bulletin board for a while, so the time I spent in my classroom provided me with the opportunity to get a few things taken care of.

My gumball math bulletin board.

 On the way home, I ran over to Michael's to get a few things to make my gumball machine.  I used to have one that a student's mother had made me years ago, but I must have given it away because I couldn't find it.  So Sunday, I made this one to replace it.  So cute!!!

On Sunday, Ron and I were lounging around watching movies in our jammies, (we had skipped church for our stay-cation) when I heard a car door outside.  It was about the time we would have gotten home from church, so I was afraid it might be someone from church stopping by to see if we were okay.  So I jumped up and ran to the back of the house. Ron went to the door to discover that the boys had decided to come over and cook dinner for me.
Ryan is the best in the family at cooking on the grill and Scott makes a mean macaroni salad.  Scott also knows that my FAVORITE, FAVORITE pie is Marie Calendar's Razzleberry Pie.
After seeing what was on the menu,  couldn't be mad at them for disturbing my stay-cation.

 So, Monday, my birthday came around and I finally got to celebrate it the way I wanted.  I ate Ron's delicious breakfast casserole, had some time to quilt, watched a movie, read a book, and finish up my gumball machine. Ron and I went over and spent some time with my Dad & Mom because Dad and I share a birthday. While I really wanted to stay home all day, I did make a run to Hobby Lobby with Leslie and Sophie, which is almost as much fun as going with Scott. But that is a story for another day.

Kidisms so far...

One of the greatest things about working with second graders is conversation.  Every day one of them will say something that either confuses, amazes, or entertains me.  I have always wanted to record the things they say; but, the crazy pace of the day often leaves me with good intentions and a blank tablet.  So, I thought I would at least begin this year following through.  Here are are a few of the best from this week.


Blake:  "Mrs. Searls, this is the best school I have ever been to in my entire life and it is because you are the best teacher I have ever had... in my entire life!!"  My response, "Now Blake, you know you said the same thing last year to your first grade teacher, and to your kindergarten teacher before that, and you will say the same thing to your third grade teacher next year."  He grins and says, "I know.  But, I really mean it this year."


Justin: "Mrs. Searls, what's forty?"  I say, "Forty?  What do you mean?" Justin than says very loudly,  because obviously I didn't hear him; "You know, FORTY!"  Dumbfounded, I reply, "Uh, ten, twenty, thirty, forty?  Four tens?"  Confused, Justin says, "NO, 4-D! You know, like 3-D!"

During a math lesson on the addition strategy doubles, I say, "Okay, help me decide if each card is the sum for a double or non-double."  I show the class an Ace.  Everyone shouts, "Non double!"  Except for Daniels, who says, "No, that's a double."  Confused, I ask him to explain.  "You know, 1/2 plus 1/2 makes 1 whole!"


Dominique, who is a former student that is now in 5th grade saw me at the end of school.  He asks, "Mrs. Searls, have you been promoted yet?" Startled, I ask, "What; you mean to third grade?"  He nods his head yes, so I say, "No.  They won't promote me."  His face is crestfallen and he says to me, "Man, I was really hoping they would promote you to middle school before I go there!"


Kathleen, who happens to be half of a set of twins in my class, reads her "All About Me" information to the class,  "One of the things I absolutely hate is playing cars with my brother."  Her brother, the other twin pipes up, "Well, it is a lot better than playing Barbies with you!"

Madelyn asks,  "Mrs. Searls, when is lunch?"  I answer, "Lunch is at 11:20." She responds, "No, when is it?"  Again I say, "Lunch is at 11:20."  Madelyn attempts to explain, "No, I know what time lunch is, I need to know when it is."  Confused (again) I ask, "What do you mean?"  She explains, "I can't tell time on that clock, (analog) so I need to know when lunch is!"  I tell her it is in about 45 minutes and add, "You know, you better know how to use that clock by the end of the year!"  Her response, "Man! I wish you had a microwave in here!"

In the middle of putting supplies away, and getting everything labeled, I tell the class that their 1 box of markers will last them all year if they keep the caps on them.  I explain that they are water based, and if they leave the cap off the water inside will evaporate.  One of my little friends, Tyler, says to his neighbor, "Huh.  I wonder why the air isn't the color of the marker."  Luckily, his friend is confused and asks, "What??"  Tyler than says, "You know, evaporation!  When water turns into air!  So when the water in my blue marker dried up last year, the air should be blue!"  His little friend then says "Huh" but this time with deep understanding.

Just a sampling of why I love teaching second grade!!