Tag Archives: Family

Last Day, summer begins

Friday, June 1, 2012, @ 5:29 amFamily, history, Reading, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, great days, hard work, history, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, Summer Vacation, teaching, weather, writingClay

Summer is finally here! It is the day that most kids look forward to on the first day is here, the last day. It has felt like summer, off and on, since March, but today it is 50⁰F, overcast, and drizzling. It feels more like early fall than summer. However, it is here. Continue reading Last Day, summer begins →

Down to two

Wednesday, May 30, 2012, @ 5:20 amFamily, history, Life in General, pets, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Writingchildren, education, Family, great days, Guys Read, hard work, history, making the days count, pets, reading, seventh grade, Summer Vacation, teaching, writingClay

I can always count on opening my laptop to slow my productivity to a crawl. With three days left in the school year, there is the frenzy of finishing all the end of the year stuff, cleaning my room, and trying to channel my student’s energy in the right direction. I awoke early this morning, very early, because a) I set my alarm and it was ringing, and b) Ivy was barking about something. I let her out, started the coffee, and went outside to wait for her to finish the yard inspection and the coffee to brew. She came back to the deck satisfied the yard was safe, at least until daylight and we both went inside. I grabbed a cup of coffee and together we went to the basement; I went to wrap up grading a final set of papers and focus on Wednesday and Thursday and Ivy lay down beneath the desk and went to sleep. I think she got the better part of the deal. Continue reading Down to two →

Memorial Day 2012

Monday, May 28, 2012, @ 9:00 amadventure, country, Family, history, Life in General, racing, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Writingchildren, education, Family, great days, hard work, Indy 500, making the days count, Memorial Day, teaching, WWIIClay

It is a beautiful morning and I’m sitting on the deck and enjoying hearing the birds chirp and call each other, the wind rustle the leaves, and watching Ivy inspect the yard to keep us safe from critters of all sorts. It has been a delightful time though I’ve frittered away some prime writing time by thinking, reading, and looking back. Yesterday, William and I went to the Indy 500. It is a family tradition – started by Beth through Beth’s dad, and continued through her brother, Tim. I’ve been going since 1991, and William, since 2004. It was a great race but an even greater day – father and son together enjoying time together and a tradition they share. It was a good time. But, I want to write about today and what it means. Continue reading Memorial Day 2012 →

Blogoversary, really

Saturday, May 26, 2012, @ 10:26 amadventure, Family, history, Life in General, racing, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Writingchildren, education, Family, geography, history, Indy 500, making the days count, patriotism, reading, seventh grade, sports, Summer Vacation, teaching, writingClay

Two years ago, actually 104 weeks ago to be precise, I sat down and started writing Making the Days Count. It started as a dot com but, it has morphed into a dot org, however you can get there either way. You can even get there with dot info and dot net too, but it doesn’t matter how you got here, it is that you are here and reading, following along, thank you. It started because the previous school year had been crappy, from the beginning until the very bitter end in 2010. New curriculum, new schedule, crappy teaching (yes, I was crappy, very crappy), and some students who fought me every inch of the way made it even crappier. There were some excellent students that year, but they got lost in a year when I always behind, always unprepared, and contemplating whether I was cut out to be a teacher, or not. Continue reading Blogoversary, really →

Under ten

Sunday, May 20, 2012, @ 6:18 amFamily, history, jobs, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Writingchurch, education, Family, great days, hard work, history, making the days count, Mostar, politics, seventh grade, Stari Most Bridge, teaching, writingClay

Coat_of_arms_of_Mostar — Mostar’s Coat of Arms

It’s Sunday morning and it’s quiet, very quiet. I have an hour, that’s all I have this morning before I need to spring into action and be a part of the family for church and then activities. The weekend has been booked, booked solid with conformation, sports, scouts, and home tasks screaming to be completed. And, to top it all off – I am ‘under ten.’ Continue reading Under ten →

Late morning, Saturday…

Saturday, May 12, 2012, @ 11:26 amadventure, Family, history, Life in General, Reading, Scouting, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Writingchildren, eating, Family, great days, hard work, history, making the days count, Paris, reading, scouting, seventh grade, teaching, writingClay

It had been a long week, made even longer by the antics of a handful of students and I was looking forward to getting home Friday afternoon, but it was evening when I got home Friday night. William was mowing the grass, Beth was working in the yard weeding, and I felt guilty for not wanting to jump in and help. But, not guilty enough to jump in and help. Besides, I figured I’d get busy on Saturday and do some chores, like the gutters – which are full of maple, elm, and other tree seeds. Continue reading Late morning, Saturday… →

Easter Sunday Morning

Sunday, April 8, 2012, @ 7:01 amCooking, Family, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Writingchildren, church, Easter greeting, Easter Sunday, eating, education, Family, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, teaching, writingClay

The alarm ruined it, or maybe not.

I dreamed last night, but when I awoke, the dreams were cloudy, as they usually are. I went to bed thinking about school, writing or rather about teaching writing, the book we are reading – The Giver, and blogging. Interspersed were thoughts about Easter, Easter Sunday, and the bunny. So, you can only imagine my dream. I can’t recall precise details of the dream, but I was at a writing seminar with my peers and writing a blog came up. I remember sharing my blog and the ideas that drove it, that drove the daily topics, or sometimes weekly topics L.

Then the alarm ruined it, or maybe not. Continue reading Easter Sunday Morning →

Thursday, before Friday

Thursday, April 5, 2012, @ 5:18 amFamily, history, Life in General, pets, Reading, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, geography, great days, hard work, making the days count, pets, reading, seventh grade, teaching, weather, writingClay

I woke this morning trying to breathe, it took almost an hour of blowing my nose and trying to go back to sleep, before I gave up and started the day. Ivy wanted nothing to do with me, or my waking ideas, and is still sleeping soundly – as only she can.

“We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it.”
Roald Dahl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Continue reading Thursday, before Friday →

The List – Part 2

Friday, March 30, 2012, @ 7:14 amadventure, country, Family, history, Life in General, model railroads, pets, Reading, teaching, Writingchildren, church, education, Family, fishing, Grayling, great days, hard work, history, making the days count, Mega Millions, reading, scouting, Spring Break, teaching, The Lottery, writingClay

Over a year ago, I wrote ‘The List.’ It was blog post about winning the lottery, or more specifically, what I would do if I won the lottery. With tonight’s jackpot listed as $540 million or a half billion, it was hard not to think about it as I drove home, yesterday. I mentioned to grandpa and grandma that a lot of good could be done with that much money and it could. So, I decided to dust off last year’s post, revise it, and repost. Continue reading The List – Part 2 →

Spring Break Part II

Wednesday, March 28, 2012, @ 8:07 amadventure, food, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, Family, fishing, Grayling, great days, hard work, making the days count, sports, Spring Break, teaching, water sports, weather, writingClay

Sunday’s post was brief, but it cut into my morning time. I usually try to get up before anyone else and enjoy the quiet time before the day begins, but yesterday Olivia got up with me, and grandma and grandpa were already up and moving. By the time I was writing, the cottage was in full motion with everyone moving for the morning. I started to write but, realized it was futile to continue and stopped, vowing to finish at night when everyone was spent from the day. But, I forgot I was one of the ‘everyone,’ and fell asleep on the couch, reading one of my spring break books – Scat by Carl Hiaasen. Even Ivy had gone upstairs by the time I woke up at 1 AM and stumbled upstairs and climbed sleepily into bed. Needless to say, I didn’t write last night. Continue reading Spring Break Part II →