Finished Deep Dream

I officially am DONE with Deep Dream of the Rain Forest by Malcolm Bosse. Since there is always a positive in something negative, I will say that I can use this as an example of an author "telling not showing." I'm going to get a copy of Walkabout and find similar events or encounters to use alongside excerpts I pull from this book. Internal conflict for Harry is, of course, a crucial part of the story. He is torn between staying with the Iban and returning to life in England. He's torn between seeing the native tribes as uncivilized colonial possessions and seeing them as human beings who are bound closely with nature and respect for life. HOWEVER, surely Bosse could have woven this into a STORY rather than a report!
I'm on my way to Daddy's now. I'll finish this later and maybe have a Daddy story to document.
Later....
Back from Daddy's. But I'm not in the mood to review that book.
Looking forward to our Harrison-side Thanksgiving tomorrow. I brought home a bag of potatoes from the apple house to make mashed potatoes. I've made a quick and easy pumpkin pie. My jobs for tomorrow: ham, g-beans, mashed potatoes, dressing, and rolls.
Even later....
Been to WalMart, stopped at Goose's to pick up the ham and a pan of rolls. I'm all set. And now I'm going to bed.

Random Saturday

So here I am - ruminating - feeling rather bovine after stuffing myself at the BMSmokehouse. It was the ice cream that did it! I enjoyed the time with Goose, Larry, and Sam - but definitely have that over-stuffed feeling.
Spent the day at Dad's. Helped with clothes and "cleaning." Picked up Jo and drove her to Meineke to get her car - $269 for a wheel bearing. Old people on fixed incomes should get some kind of half-price deal on everything. Civilizations are judged by how they treat their elderly. We're doomed.
Daddy and I shared an Italian BMT from Subway. He loves those things - be sure to get the jalepenos.
Watched Ken Burns' War - just Disk 2 with North Africa and Sicily and Italy. Daddy told a couple of his stories. His are SO much more entertaining than Ken Burns'. Ironically, Burns used Frank Sinatra songs as background music. Daddy explained how the soldiers hated Sinatra because he was a draft dodger. Men would write awful things on his pictures.
After the DVD, I cleaned Granny's gutters and then picked a bucket of Rusty Coats and a few Ben Davises. Yummy apples - even though they look a little rough. Heirlooms are SUPPOSED to look odd.
Daddy mentioned his old school teacher/coach Ralph Stansberry who gave him this quote: "When your liabilites exceed your assets, your ass sets in jail."
Took pictures of an 8-point buck that John the Painter had killed this morning. I was amazed that he could get a carcass that big into the back of an SUV. John's been hunting on Dad's land for over eleven years. He was effusive in his praise for Dad.
Came home after Dad had shaved and showered. LONG drive. Someone in a Ryder Rental tractor trailer who had very little driving experience was coming down the mountain-- SLOWLY. We had probably a 20-car parade from Glendale to Miller's Creek.
Kendal, you're following me. I am flattered and apologize. You don't have to follow this - I just do this for me. You are the only person who even knows I have a blog. You CAN come here for a boost to your writer's ego. You write SO well. I'm jealous of your talent and embarrassed that you read my writing.
I have taken my Ambien - early to bed tonight.

Current Kid Book

I'm reading Deep Dream of the Rain Forest, a book that Angie Lamb chose to require AG students to read. So far, I don't understand why. The book reminds me of Walkabout in that it is about an adolescent native walking around the country in pursuit of his dreams. The Australian aborigine in Walkabout encounters an American or British (?) sister and brother who are lost. Sister and brother are guided/saved by the aborigine's knowledge and skills and become tolerant of differences. Dream boy and his girl "guide" are from a tribe who were once headhunters (not too long ago). There is a parallel story (alternating chapters) of an orphaned British kid who is in the care of his uncle who works in the area of Borneo to try to keep the tribes from making trophies of each other. Of course, I anticipate that Harry and Bayang will meet at some point, Harry will acquire a deep understanding of a foreign culture and come away with a tolerance for differences.
The book is not well written (as if I'm any kind of literary critic). Bosse, the author, because he is trying to provide background knowledge for this story that is WAY out of range for the normal adolescent, has to tell far too much. Harry is supposed to develop a bond with the Iban tracker who is leading the expedition in search of a tribe that has fled deep into the jungle for some "mysterious" reason. Bosse writes, "Harry found himself looking for the little old tracker throughout the day." No bonding action - just author description via 3rd person omniscient. Perhaps 1st person would have drawn the reader in more - let the reader discover as Harry discovers. Same thing with Bayang. When Bayang sees something - the bird - readers have to be told the significance.
Reviews of the book compared it to Treasure Island and other classics. I hope that wasn't just a marketing ploy. I shall see.

On the flight of time

I had totally forgotten that I even had a blog. I actually started 3!!!!!!!!
Hmmm. Maybe if it weren't almost 10:30. Maybe if I weren't sleepy. Maybe if I had anything poignant to say, I would post something. Naw. Just read and go to sleep. Maybe tomorrow.

My hard drive is full.

Lynn and I used this metaphor way back when hard drives held way less than 40 mg - we were begging money so that we COULD buy a 40 mg hard drive so that we could have the kids keep electronic portfolios. Well, now hard drives are way up in the gigs (nanos even?), and the analogy is still valid: my hard drive is full.
My mind is in constant overdrive. Sleep is elusive. Maybe 4 hours at a time. School, home, family. The trilogy.
I've banged away at the NBPTS renewal all summer. I am constantly revising - that's my MO for just about everything. I use ALL the time allotted to do and re-do whatever it is. It's not procrastination - I have typed all 4 PGEs, but I just keep revising and revising and revising.
Guilt - I'm not sure that's the right emotion, but it feels as if that's what it is. I feel guilty that I don't do more to help Daddy. There are SO many things I could do. However, I walk a fine line between helping and imposing. He despises having anyone do anything FOR him, and he certainly won't ask unless he is absolutely unable to accomplish the task. I need to let this go and just enjoy listening to the stories.
Enough of this. Biggie needs meds and Willy is waiting for love and food.
After that, it's time for coffee - one cup of full-strength. More than that wires me up. I'm out of decaf.

Teaching things, ideas

I want to start the year with Whole Brain Teaching. The kids this year enjoyed the little bit that we did. As usual, the problems that I had with it resulted from my lack of preparation (lack of time to prepare). Color, Consistency, and Common Language - the 3 Cs of learning - are critical to success.
I need to print the directions for getting started and read them over and over. I need a game plan - literally. I especially want to use the Power Writing and the Power Vocab (I'll just adapt Power Spelling). I want to use the Power-Student-Olympics to help slow and ESL readers. The Power 100 and the Power 1000 will, I think, make a tremendous difference in their confidence and reading ability.
I want to set up the group work atmosphere right away with the tower building exercise.
Then we'll discuss the synergy that develops in groups.
We'll need to get this all set up in time to set and surpass goals at Camp Harrison.
1. Print directions
2. Print game rules
3. Print individual stars sheets for each kid on card stock
4. Print Power 100 and Power 1000 sight word lists

I'll begin with the Power 100. It's an easy list, but will allow students to set goals and reach them. Then, we'll move to Power Stems. I guess the rules will be similar to spelling - I'll need to check that out now.