boil water warning and middle schoolers

This week a water main burst near my school and we were on a "boil water alert" until the water was clear again. The water fountains were all covered up with garbage bags taped over them. I had to warn my middle schoolers not to drink water out of the bathrooms or try to stick their heads under the bags to get a sip or else they would get diarrhea for sure- (they love it when I say diarrhea!) Of course as soon as you tell someone that they cannot drink water, they get very thirsty. When they would start to whine to me, I would remind them that we just got back from our nature field trip and what did we learn about surviving in the wilderness? Which would cause them to hang their heads and reply "that you can live for 3 days without water" and sit back down in their chairs. Well, today was the 3rd day of the boil water alert and I was just waiting for one of the kids to tell me that it had been 3 days and they were getting ready to die of thirst, but at about noon, they said it was OK to drink again. And they all cheered and ran to the water fountain to celebrate!

movies and middle schoolers

Every once in a while you just have to have a movie day with your class. I like to show them older movies that they have never seen. Here is a list of my favorite movies to show to my middle school classes:

Frog:

A nerdy boy saves the frog and gets the girl! Most kids recognize Elizabeth Hurley from Saved by the Bell : )

The Witches:

Spooky story of real life witches that can turn kids into mice. Based on the book by Roald Dahl.

Lloyd:

Great movie about a geeky teenage boy just trying to fit in.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

Hilarious movie about what it is like in middle school. Whatever you do, don't touch the cheese!

The Sandlot:

Great movie about a group of kids who love baseball.

Chrissa Stands Tall:

Movie about a girl who is bullied. The bully is excellent and the kids all want to kill her by the end of the movie!

Akeela and the Bee:

Based on a true story of a girl who wins the spelling bee.

Stormbreaker:

Adventure/mystery about a boy who is on a spy mission. Based on the book by Anthony Horowitz.

Hoot:

Great story about a group of kids fighting to save owls from losing their home. Based on the book by Carl Haaissen.

What movies do you enjoy showing to your class?

Happiness

As I was sitting by the pool the other day, (in December!) I had this feeling of complete contentedness come over me. It was a beautiful day, my daughter was swimming like a fish, I was laying in a lounge chair browsing a magazine and it hit me- it just doesn't get any better than this!

Later on I decided to make a list of all the things that make me feel that way. Here are a few highlights:
*Sitting by a fire and chatting with friends or family
*Laying in my daughter's bed with her, reading stories together before she goes to sleep
*Being out on the water in a boat on a sunny day
*Having my students really get excited about a lesson that I created
*Disney World (it IS the happiest place on earth after all)
*Curled up on my couch watching a smutty reality TV show
*Paydays!
*Wandering around in the library
*Singing along with some great 80's band in my car and even better than that is when my daughter knows the words and sings too!
What makes YOU happy?

Resolutions, Lotion and Screen time

Welcome 2011! My daughter and I are ready for you! I am not one to make resolutions that I will only break in a month. I like to make resolutions that are easy to keep. So today, my daughter and I sat down and made our lists and here they are:
HERS:
1) Go to Disney more
2) Cook with my mom more
3) Have more fun with my mom
4) Take better care of the garden
5) Learn more
MINE:
1) To have more fun with my daughter
2) To take better care of myself, and remembering to do the small things, such as putting lotion on after a shower (how did my legs get so dry?!), taking my allergy medication and putting on make-up on in the morning. Basically just not doing things like remembering my daughter's lunch for school, or swimsuit for the pool and forgetting my own!
3) To manage my money and budget better by using mint.com
4) To limit my screen time. Yes, I know this is something you are supposed to do for toddlers, but lately it feels as if I am constantly either watching TV or playing around on the computer. It is definitely time to rein it in and pay attention to real life more!
WISH US LUCK!

Ringin' in 2011

Back in "the day" I loved to spend New Year's Eve out, staying well past midnight, drinking champagne and watching fireworks, as well as New Year's Day hung over and tired (well I didn't love that part of it). Anyway, now that I am a bit older and a mom to a 7 year old things have changed. We started off the night at early at a bonfire at a friend's house. Even though I wasn't much in the mood for partying, I remembered how much I loved running around with the other kids at parties when I was my daughter's age, and really wanted her to have that too. The kids started out playing this game called "Band Hero" upstairs on a big screen and the adults were out by the bonfire and the treat table. One by one, the adults began disappearing and not coming back, until there were about 2 of us left by the fire. We wandered upstairs only to see that the kids had been kicked out of the band and the grown ups were all playing. I watched for a little while, and then the next thing I know I grabbed the microphone and was rockin'! Not sure what came over me, but I totally got sucked into the band. Not long after that I decided it was time to head home and we rolled in the New Year looking through my daughter's new telescope and drinking hot chocolate. Not a bad way to end the year!