Category Archives: teaching

Sunday morning, November 8th

Life in General, Reading, Science, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writing, , , , , ,

If you had told me that I would be sitting outside writing a blog post on the second Sunday morning in November, I am not sure if I would have believed you.

But I am. The sun has shifted in the sky from where it is in the summer. I can feel the sun on my temple, and I can see my shadow in the laptop screen in front of me. Like many summer mornings when I have written a blog post outdoors on the deck at home or by the lake, I am wearing a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. The temperature is 67F or almost 20C , there is a gentle breeze, and the sun is shining. It is a beautiful morning.

Yesterday morning, the puppies and I, sat outside and I enjoyed my morning coffee instead of inside on the couch. They sat side by side staring into the backyard, seemingly on watch for the critters they long to catch. The two puppies are really dogs, but they behave like puppies do full of curiosity and eagerness to run, jump, and play. Ivy, the older one, will be 11 years old in a few months and Fern, the younger one, is a little more than a year and a half.

 

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looking for squirrels and I am watching the leaves fall – yesterday the deck was clear… #fallleaves #raking #fallchores

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We are repeating yesterday morning’s unusual opportunity – sitting outside in early November. Continue reading Sunday morning, November 8th →

W^2 – so long summer

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday September 23, 2020

NOTE: The autumnal equinox occurred this morning, September 22 at 8:30 AM CDT.

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Tuesday morning’s sunrise – final sunrise of summer 2020, my school’s parking lot, Naperville, IL.  Perspective is facing east September 22, 2020 – 7:10 AM CDT

What memory of summer 2020 will makes you smile?

W^2 – moment

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W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday August 26, 2020

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris – Wheaton, Illinois on Tuesday August 24, 2020 8:45 AM

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris – Wheaton, Illinois on Tuesday August 24, 2020 8:45 AM

Making the days count, one day at a time, remembering to look around once in a while.

What wonder have you seen in a recent moment’s glance?

It’s a new (school) year, sort of….

adventure, country, Learning, Life in General, Photography, Science, teaching, Teaching and Learning, , , , , , , , ,

Today was supposed to be the first day of my 2020-21 school year. It will be my 22nd year as a classroom teacher. It was also supposed to the first day of our daughter O’s senior year.

But it’s not. Our first days are a few more days away. My first day of school is nine days in the future and O’s is fifteen.

It’s been a summer of uncertainty and anxiety for many people as the future is constantly changing and beyond our control. I am reminded of a prayer my mother shared with many years ago when I was struggling and needed lifting up,

God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

That prayer is better known as The Serenity Prayer. There is so much beyond my control, it is best to focus on the present.

And, I have been. I’ve been making the days count in more ways than I can write about.

Currently, I am on a streak of seven days of walking or working out.

the wooded path from my hike at the Morton Arboretum

A week ago this past Saturday I drove to the Morton Arboretum for a hike, or as it turned out, it was a troll. I was able to take in four of the six trolls on my almost 4-mile hike along the trails at the arboretum. It was my longest hike going back to April and it felt good to walk along the wooded paths and hear the birds and the rustle of the gentle wind through the leaves above.

I believe the trolls – the trolls at the arboretum – are trying to tell us something. Continue reading It’s a new (school) year, sort of…. →

Father’s Day – 2020

Family, growing up, Learning, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Today in History, Writing, , , , ,

It’s Father’s Day and I am in northern Mississippi visiting with my stepmother. Last year on Father’s Day, I was on my way home from visiting her.

My father died 11 years ago this summer after a fall and a brief illness, and I began writing a year later.

My stepmother had been living independently in Mississippi since he died. Neither my father nor my stepmother is native to Mississippi, but they decided to relocate here after my father retired in 1998. It’s a beautiful town and they have a lovely home.

However, this past winter that independence came to an end after a fall and brief hospitalization. I am grateful that my brothers and I were successful in moving her into an assisted living facility before the COVID19 lockdown shutdown the country.

But life is full of next steps, our next step is convincing her that living in northern Mississippi 621 miles from me in Illinois, 621 miles from one of my Texas brothers, and 630 miles from my other Texas brother is no longer sustainable, especially in the time of COVID19.

visiting on her porch – social distancing and being safe.

Tough conversations. Much like the conversations my dad and I had years ago.

Life is full of twists and turns; it’s full of beginnings and endings where one ending is a new beginning. Continue reading Father’s Day – 2020 →

Asynchronous

Reading, Science, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Writing, , , ,

I love complex words. I am teacher and a learner or a learner and a teacher. The two go hand in hand. Learning never ends.

I began blogging at MakingtheDaysCount dot org almost ten years ago when I was teaching 7th grade English Language Arts. Really 7th grade ELA was my teaching assignment and I was really teaching kids. Teaching 7th grade ELA sharpened my curiosity and honed my knowledge of words and word parts……

chron means time, -ous means full of, syn- means with or together, a– means without or not

asynchronous – without any particular time or timing or as Merriam and Webster defines it, not simultaneous or concurrent in time

A few years after my first blog post, I was reassigned and moved to science and a new grade level. I embraced the change because that’s who I am – curious, positive, passionate, resilient, flexible, and determined.

 

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Yesterday’s walk in the woods – fresh air and sunshine – good for the heart and mind #makeitaGREATday

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Last week I learned I was moving again, this time to 6th grade. I’ll will be teaching science (and social studies) but most importantly I’ll be teaching kids. Continue reading Asynchronous →

The ice is melting

Discover Prompts, Family, Reading, teaching, ,

The sun is shining brightly today. It was cold this morning, but the sun melted the early morning frost and has warmed the open spaces.

The lake ice is melting and the open space between the shoreline and the ice has more than doubled since Sunday. Soon the ice will be gone, a distant memory, until next fall when it reclaims the lake for another winter. Once the ice melts, the lake will be open for summer.

Fern, our Brittany puppy…. contemplates the lake, should I or shouldn’t I she seems to be thinking. She did, twice. The water is cold.

Our Brittany puppy, Fern, tested the waters wading into the lake along the shore up to her chest earlier. She discovered how cold the water was and was quickly back ashore. The earliest I’ve been in the water is late May and there is a chill even then. The lake is at its warmest in early August and the docks and lifts come out Labor Day weekend.

It’s been a great day and it there is more in the day to come.

Making the days Count, especially when the sun shines and the lake is melting for the season.

Where are you today?

Last night’s sunset – the sky cleared and sun shone

Today’s post is inspired by the daily prompt at WordPress’ Inspiration – Open. In these days of lockdowns, closures, and physical distancing, what does Open mean to you?