A different feel to a new school year.  Now appearing in a new location: room 806.  It's a good place to be.  I'm lucky to have escaped the chaos created by the no-team teaming in 7th grade.  I'm especially glad that I am with Kendal.  Missing Dianna's quiet humor and Mollie's loud juxtaposition.
I'm trying to return to what works.  It's more difficult than one might assume.  I have to juggle the tested benchmark standards among my plans for reading and writing.  IF the kids had had a solid foundation in writing and reading prior to now, things wouldn't be so hard.  It's a fine line between mandating a curriculum and ensuring kids have consistency and continuity in learning. The standards are still way too broad given what the kids have had in the preceding years.

I want to start a system of greater accountability for independent reading.  It needs to be manageable, and I need to actually have the time to teach/model it for the kids.  WHEN??

I need to teach some argument writing stuff. Need to get that together tonight.

Happy Birthday, Daddy

What a great birthday party for Daddy on his 90th birthday. Goose and I had been cautiously apprehensive about the attendance - due to distances as well as the weather during the previous week. Our worries were swept away. The weather was perfect, and people came from all over - Azalea, Gary, and Gleason were a big surprise. Azalea had written Daddy a letter detailing her physical challenges over the past few months and explaining that she would not be able to come. Gary lives in Winston, but we had not seen him in ages, Gleason lives in Virginia. They came. Bobby Cale and Pat came with Mark and John from Virginia. Bruce came from Charlotte. The neighbors came, the poker people came, the ROMEO club came, and the church people came. We had at least 80 guests. Daddy was surprised - and, thankfully, pleased -- with the turn out. He went home with a basket of cards and the guest book to peruse. He called last night. "I apologize," he said. "It was better than I thought it would be." Yeah.
Bob was conspicuously missing.
Goose did a great job of planning and arranging. I had written stuff that I wanted to say - too much, but I just needed to say it. I'll be remembered for something - and the ramblings will be it.
Mikey came on Wednesday from Oceanside/LA for the party. He's my Mikey. I wish he were closer, but he has friends there that he would miss. He is going home this morning.
It was a great time. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the party. I'm so grateful.

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.