Bonfire!

We had a church bonfire last night. It was very enjoyable. I got to eat some of my favorite things: hot dogs (yes, it's true...i love em) and s'mores. I also just love watching a raging fire. Our little church is so great--we are all so different and yet able to get along so very well.

I am so thankful for all these things this year. My heart feels at rest and at peace...after an incredibly long voyage. I know there will be more to this journey of mine, but I am so grateful for this contentment that has filled me this autumn...so very grateful.

Language Acquisition King

I got to go to this professional development meeting yesterday. I felt so important being sent off (although it was only Sturgeon, MO) to learn from Lance Gentile, self-proclaimed Language Acquisition King. He was great...very intelligent with an incredibly dry and sarcastic humor. I couldn't get enough! Maybe I'll get my master's in this now...who knows.

It's funny this learning journey you take with teaching. I am very convinced now that a lack of vocabulary, language, and experiences is the missing peice for many of the students I teach. School has become soo programmed and structured. We don't allow for the spontaneous learning/teaching points. Children need conversation and time to think and observe. They need to forced to explain and describe. It's so simple and yet so hard at times. But, it is now one of my goals for the rest of the year. I will somehow fit this in. I'm not sure how yet, but I will...because I'm the Language Acquisition Queen (well, not quite...but maybe someday!).

Calm after Chaos

What a busy day it was at school! Children were wild and fidgety and dramatic today. One little child never fully stopped crying...all day. But, ahhh, now it is over and I have been enjoying the quiet of our home. We had our friend Jeremy over tonight for some pie and scrabble. The pie was not so hot, but the scrabble game was fun! T.J. was ahead (by quite a bit, I must say) for most of the game. But, in the end, I pulled ahead for a final score of 204. I know, I know, nothing like the people on that Word Wars documentary, but hey, I'm proud of my big win.

I'm also reading a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald called Tender is the Night. So far, so good. It's a little relationally odd, but I'm intrigued. I'll try to keep you posted.

Our Sleepover

Well, last night, T.J. and I decided we would try sleeping in our living room with the wood-burning stove going all night long. In theory, we would be cozy and comfortable all night long. The setup was very exciting--T.J. was in charge of getting the fire going and I was in charge of making our bed, which consisted of 1. our shag rug 2. small camping mats which I got at a garage sale this summer :) 3. a down comforter 4. a Christmas flannel sheet 5. a super-warm blanket from Mexico, 6. a quilt.

So, indeed, it was warm and cozy...for about the first hour. Then, the fire started to fade, so T.J. would get up and put on another log and push around the embers. And, you must keep in mind that our stove is basically and big metal box. Banging on metal is not your typical soothing nighttime sound. So, as T.J. would get up to fix the fire every hour, I would wake up and grimace to the loud sounds of banging metal and then go onto realize how hard the floor was even with all my attempts to make us a cushy bed.

In spite of all this, I'm glad we did it. It's fun to change habit and be childlike together. I know of one friend who recently built a large fort in her living room with her husband. The best part about that story is that their neighbor dropped by (amidst fort-making) and exclaimed, "Oh, you've built a fort, I see."

Maybe T.J. and I will build a fort next weekend. T.J. claims he used to be very good at them. I must admit I wasn't bad myself in my day.

Catch Phrase

T.J. and I just spent a fun evening with our friends Peter and Melanie. We had lasagna, nice conversation, a fire in the stove (the first one of the cold season), and caramel apples for dessert. But, I'd have to say the best part of the evening was enjoying the incredible past-time of Catch Phrase. I love that game, maybe partly because T.J. thinks it's so stupid with only 4 people. We once played it with Tracy and Jess and you can only imagine how ridiculous it became. I think it's incredibly interesting and hilarious--people process and communicate in so many intricate ways! I love it, I think I would play it everyday if I could.

Fall is Here, The Leaves Come Down, Red, Yellow, Orange, and Brown

On one of our classroom walls, we have a little writing piece dedicated to fall and there are leaves the kids made all around it. Today, one of my cuties approached me with one of these construction paper leaves and said, "This one fell down, I guess it must really be fall even in our classroom." Maybe that story doesn't make you chuckle but I adore it. I love seeing how five-year-old's view the world. They notice so much and so many great little things...like how leaves fall when it's fall...even in a classroom.

By the by, Mid-Mo is impressing me with its fall colors this year. I don't ever remember it being this lovely, or perhaps it's just that my outlook has changed.

The Experiment

Well, some of you out there may be skeptical, but I'm going to try it out. Yes, I have a blog. blog, blog, blog. I figure this can be some kind of cross between a communication device and a therupeutic tool for me. I like rambling and often don't get to do it often enough. Plus, I long for normal (meaning almost daily) communication with my friends who live far far away...like back in north carolina or wherever else!

So, hello world.