Really, are any words necessary?
1 week ago
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Cat Lrning (In Honor of National Day on Writing)
I was reminded that today is National Day on Writing and my good Mid-Western German-Catholic Work Ethic that I was raised to value won't allow me to slumber tonight unless I post something on my blog. After helping my sassy seven-year-old-going-on-thirteen daughter with homework, I figured it's only fair that she should, in turn, help me with posting on my blog. Therefore, with her nervous permission, I'm going to re-print two entries from Josie's spiral notebook journal. In order to keep her post honest, I will not be editing or revising her delightful writing.
bog Lrning
Bedtime was a little exasperating tonight after fighting about dinner & homework & picking up dirty clothing from someone's bedroom floor. She could hear the strain in my voice as I asked her for the 3rd time to brush her teeth. She walked past me in the hall with the sweetest, most innocent smile on her face & said, "Someone needs a kiss and a hug. Let me help you out with that, Mom." How did she know that kiss & hug would make it all better?
Finally, after a long day of juggling Life as a single mom, I can finally go rest since I completed today's obligations. Props to Josie for sharing her writing in honor of National Day on Writing. Life experiences with cats and dogs provided the inspiration for today's magnificent piece.
Cat Lrning
When cats are born there eyes are clossed. Cats are very smart. They are very good hiders. The mom cats have babys. The dad cats take cear of them. The dogs chashs the cats. I love cats.
bog Lrning
Dogs are smart just like cat.
When bogs are born there eyes are clossed.
(both entries reprinted with permission from Josie)
Bedtime was a little exasperating tonight after fighting about dinner & homework & picking up dirty clothing from someone's bedroom floor. She could hear the strain in my voice as I asked her for the 3rd time to brush her teeth. She walked past me in the hall with the sweetest, most innocent smile on her face & said, "Someone needs a kiss and a hug. Let me help you out with that, Mom." How did she know that kiss & hug would make it all better?
Finally, after a long day of juggling Life as a single mom, I can finally go rest since I completed today's obligations. Props to Josie for sharing her writing in honor of National Day on Writing. Life experiences with cats and dogs provided the inspiration for today's magnificent piece.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Josie Quips
It's finally cloudy and a bit drizzly in Fresno today, which seems like a perfect excuse to do something cerebral instead of tackling the To DO List that hasn't been touched all weekend. Yesterday I blamed it on my barometric-pressure-induced-migraine (but I DID get a load of school work done while watching Scooby Doo with Josie). Somehow, fate or karma decided I needed this weekend to slow down.
I just wish Fate could convince Josie that we're slowing down. She's already written two songs & has plans for creating a cardboard village that she wants to make using mini-marshmallows & toothpicks & beads. I have a feeling I'll be teaching her how to use the attachments on the vacuum cleaner before the day is over.
Josie's only had a few sleepovers and so far, she hasn't made it through the night at a friends' house since Maya & Sage moved to Massachusets. As soon as night falls, she's pretty sure she needs her mom or dad & asks to go back home. She enjoys having friends sleep at our house but even the slight change in the routine makes her a little weepy at bedtime. I'm sure she'll eventually work it all out but I kind of like the fact that Sleepover Days are still pushed to the future. A few weeks ago, however, she and a friend had been playing all afternoon at our house and asked if they could have a sleepover so the fun wouldn't have to end. Jessie's mom agreed and we made a pact that if there were any tears or fears, we'd drive Jessie home, no matter what time of the night it became necessary.
To my delight, the tears & fears never happened and I slept pretty soundly. Second Grade Sleepovers are pretty mild. There was pizza for dinner, Scooby Doo on the DVD, and Speedy Whiskers, the rat, seemed to love the attention he received. At about 9 pm the girls started yawning and when I suggested it was time to get ready for bed, they were eager to crawl under the covers. The closet light had to stay on but they were soon asleep with only minimal giggles & fake snoring.
Last week Saturday I got a call from Josie late in the evening. She was whimpering and in between deep sighs she asked, "Mom, can I stay at your house tonight?" I told her that her dad had been out of town for so many nights that he was missing her and really wanted her to stay at his house. "But Mom, I don't like what he's serving me." (insert whine & sobs) What is Daddy feeding you, Josie? "Oh, he's NOT feeding me anything. He's trying to serve me mushy carrots but I'm not eating them." Josie, you need to try the carrots, they're good for you and your body needs vegetables to grow strong & healthy. "But Mom, they are so squishy and I just can't put them in my mouth. And he says I have to eat two of them." If you put them way in the back of your mouth and chase it with water, you won't even taste them. Really, you're making a big deal out of this and if you just do it quickly, it'll be all over with. "Oh, Mom..." (add drama and crying and whimpering) "I'm going to put my dad on the phone and you tell him that you're coming over to pick me up, okay?" Before I could decline, she handed the phone to her dad and he and I both laughed.
The next day I called to see how the Carrot Drama was resolved. Turns out she told him she ate the carrots and when he glanced at her plate, they were indeed gone. The next morning when he was cleaning up the dishes in the sink, he discovered the carrots hidden under the rice on her plate. So when she asked if she could have a play date with her friend, David, his response was, "Did you really eat the carrots on your plate?" She sheepishly realized she'd been caught and said, "No." And her dad responded with, "Then there's your answer to whether or not you can have a play date."
Josie understood the lesson. On Monday after school she told me all about it and said that she should have just swallowed those carrots instead of lying about it. "Two whole days were ruined when I could have just swallowed them and then thrown them back up really fast."
On Friday, Josie's teacher had Arts in the Classroom Training to attend so their class had a substitute teacher. The substitute teacher was a very sweet, white-haired lady and when the other teacher on our wing & I spotted her, we were a little concerned about how she'd manage the more challenging 2nd graders that she'd be dealing with throughout the day. I went across the hall and assured her that if she had any problems, she could call me or send me students that needed some time out or an alternative place to work. She reassured me that she has a very commanding style & she uses her tone of voice to capture their attention and while I believed her, I had my doubts about how she'd capture the attention of a few particular students. I checked in on her throughout the morning to see how things were going and was pleasantly surprised to see that for the most part, the students were trying to be attentive.
When I asked Josie about the day, she gave me her critique honestly. "Well, Mom, she was this old lady like a grandma. She called some people 'Young Man' or 'Young Lady' and my feelings hurt for those people. But I was really trying to be good so that she wouldn't have to call me a 'Young Lady'. Only 3 kids were naughty because they were kind of mean to her because she was really old. I thinky they probably don't like grandmas or they thought she wasn't smart about the rules. But she was pretty smart about rules and I think she could hear pretty good, too. I kind of liked her."
It's time to wrap up the Josie Stories and drive her to the store to get more mini-marshmallows for the vacuum to "eat" later this afternoon. Afterall, we've been waiting for a rainy day since April...don't want to waste the opportunity to be slovenly!
I just wish Fate could convince Josie that we're slowing down. She's already written two songs & has plans for creating a cardboard village that she wants to make using mini-marshmallows & toothpicks & beads. I have a feeling I'll be teaching her how to use the attachments on the vacuum cleaner before the day is over.
Josie's only had a few sleepovers and so far, she hasn't made it through the night at a friends' house since Maya & Sage moved to Massachusets. As soon as night falls, she's pretty sure she needs her mom or dad & asks to go back home. She enjoys having friends sleep at our house but even the slight change in the routine makes her a little weepy at bedtime. I'm sure she'll eventually work it all out but I kind of like the fact that Sleepover Days are still pushed to the future. A few weeks ago, however, she and a friend had been playing all afternoon at our house and asked if they could have a sleepover so the fun wouldn't have to end. Jessie's mom agreed and we made a pact that if there were any tears or fears, we'd drive Jessie home, no matter what time of the night it became necessary.
To my delight, the tears & fears never happened and I slept pretty soundly. Second Grade Sleepovers are pretty mild. There was pizza for dinner, Scooby Doo on the DVD, and Speedy Whiskers, the rat, seemed to love the attention he received. At about 9 pm the girls started yawning and when I suggested it was time to get ready for bed, they were eager to crawl under the covers. The closet light had to stay on but they were soon asleep with only minimal giggles & fake snoring.
In the car the next day, they insisted on listening to Kidz Bop Christmas Music as loud as my car stereo would allow. They shouted loudly with the music in between giggles. At one point Josie said, "Jessie, we're just like twins! I know you have brown skin & black hair and brown eyes & I have peach skin and brown hair & green eyes but we both laugh at the same stuff so we're just like twins!" Without hesitating Jessie said, "Yup, we are twins. We laugh at the same stuff and we like the same pizza and that definitely means we're twins."
If only our nation could adopt that kind of logic!
Last week Saturday I got a call from Josie late in the evening. She was whimpering and in between deep sighs she asked, "Mom, can I stay at your house tonight?" I told her that her dad had been out of town for so many nights that he was missing her and really wanted her to stay at his house. "But Mom, I don't like what he's serving me." (insert whine & sobs) What is Daddy feeding you, Josie? "Oh, he's NOT feeding me anything. He's trying to serve me mushy carrots but I'm not eating them." Josie, you need to try the carrots, they're good for you and your body needs vegetables to grow strong & healthy. "But Mom, they are so squishy and I just can't put them in my mouth. And he says I have to eat two of them." If you put them way in the back of your mouth and chase it with water, you won't even taste them. Really, you're making a big deal out of this and if you just do it quickly, it'll be all over with. "Oh, Mom..." (add drama and crying and whimpering) "I'm going to put my dad on the phone and you tell him that you're coming over to pick me up, okay?" Before I could decline, she handed the phone to her dad and he and I both laughed.
The next day I called to see how the Carrot Drama was resolved. Turns out she told him she ate the carrots and when he glanced at her plate, they were indeed gone. The next morning when he was cleaning up the dishes in the sink, he discovered the carrots hidden under the rice on her plate. So when she asked if she could have a play date with her friend, David, his response was, "Did you really eat the carrots on your plate?" She sheepishly realized she'd been caught and said, "No." And her dad responded with, "Then there's your answer to whether or not you can have a play date."
Josie understood the lesson. On Monday after school she told me all about it and said that she should have just swallowed those carrots instead of lying about it. "Two whole days were ruined when I could have just swallowed them and then thrown them back up really fast."
On Friday, Josie's teacher had Arts in the Classroom Training to attend so their class had a substitute teacher. The substitute teacher was a very sweet, white-haired lady and when the other teacher on our wing & I spotted her, we were a little concerned about how she'd manage the more challenging 2nd graders that she'd be dealing with throughout the day. I went across the hall and assured her that if she had any problems, she could call me or send me students that needed some time out or an alternative place to work. She reassured me that she has a very commanding style & she uses her tone of voice to capture their attention and while I believed her, I had my doubts about how she'd capture the attention of a few particular students. I checked in on her throughout the morning to see how things were going and was pleasantly surprised to see that for the most part, the students were trying to be attentive.
When I asked Josie about the day, she gave me her critique honestly. "Well, Mom, she was this old lady like a grandma. She called some people 'Young Man' or 'Young Lady' and my feelings hurt for those people. But I was really trying to be good so that she wouldn't have to call me a 'Young Lady'. Only 3 kids were naughty because they were kind of mean to her because she was really old. I thinky they probably don't like grandmas or they thought she wasn't smart about the rules. But she was pretty smart about rules and I think she could hear pretty good, too. I kind of liked her."
It's time to wrap up the Josie Stories and drive her to the store to get more mini-marshmallows for the vacuum to "eat" later this afternoon. Afterall, we've been waiting for a rainy day since April...don't want to waste the opportunity to be slovenly!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Jumping Jacks are the Hardest Thing
We've been back at school for almost 2 weeks and summer already seems like a distant memory. Josie just started 2nd grade & I began my 23rd year of teaching and we're both loving it! We aren't thrilled about the early start to our routine or the August Heat but things are going well, especially since our classrooms have working AC at the moment! (Back to School Night was conducted in sweltering classrooms with NO AC that registered 98 degrees indoors--not very aromatic introduction for new parents.)
Josie's now seven (in legal terms, I've heard this referred to as the Age of Reason) but her logic & observations continue to delight me. Although, there are those brief moments when I wish for quiet and solitude instead of listening to her constant chatter. I quickly remind myself that it won't be long before she'll hit those pre-teen sullen/silent years so I put my Listening Ears back on so I don't miss out on Josie's Wisdom.
During the final weeks of summer we were busy with Play Dates & Water Park Visits & trips to the coast to escape Fresno's Summer Heat. She also spent a lot of time with her friend, David, swimming in his pool, hanging out with him at her Dad's house, & enjoying Game Night with his family. I tried several times to invite him to our house for a Play Date but each time I suggested it, Josie vetoed the idea. After several suggestions, I started wondering if she didn't want David to see our "old" house so I asked her directly, "Why is it that you don't want David to come to our house?" Her response was honest: "Mom, I have a lot of Girl Things at our house. I don't want David to know I have so many Girl Things so it's easier to play with him at Daddy's." I suggested that we could pack up the Girl Things and give them away or hide them in my bedroom. She pondered that for a moment and said, "Yes, that might work but we can't give away my Polly Pockets yet." (Darn it!)
Speaking of "Darn It", Josie has an ongoing fear of Flushing Toilets. She cringes at the sound at home every time a toilet is flushed. But, she's downright fearful of those Sensor Toilets in Public Restrooms because she has figured out that those are extremely LOUD & they often flush while she's still sitting on the toilet. I think she suffers PTSD due to Sensor Toilets. Needless to say, at home she rarely flushes the toilet and her bathroom visits are followed by these questions, "Did you wash your hands & flush the toilet?" These questions always result in an About Face Run to the bathroom to remedy whichever task she forgot. A few weeks ago, on one of those dreadfully hot Fresno days, I was putting laundry away and heard Bentley lapping up water out of the toilet. My mind flashed & I ran to the bathroom to find Bentley drinking out of an unflushed toilet and was completely grossed out. I yelled, "DARN IT! Josie---you have GOT to start flushing the toilet without any reminders!" Sensitive Josie sulked into the bathroom with tears in her eyes & whimpered, "Mom, I can't believe you just 'Darnded' at me. That hurts my feelings." After a calm discussion & a demonstration of what Poor (Disgusting) Bentley had just lapped out of the toilet, I think she remembered to Flush for at least 24 hours.
Now that I'm teaching the same grade that Josie attends, I get to see her quite a bit throughout the day. I love this & so far, she seems to think it's pretty neat that she can call me "Mom" while everyone else calls me "Ms. Severt" (although, I hear "Josie's Mom" just as often as I hear "Ms. Severt). I'm definitely NOT a model of Physical Education and it's laughable to think I'd know the first thing about teaching PE but in California, elementary teachers are the sole instructors of Art, Music & PE. (Scary to think I have to instruct/model any of these 3 subjects, huh?) Our Second Grade Team of Teachers has a system for PE. We begin the year teaching all of our 120 2nd graders to line up like the Football Team and we do exercise & warm up drills, counting off like drill sergeants. We follow that by a lap or two around the track, walking in the heat & jogging if the weather is tolerable. Once our kiddos have the Warm Up Routine under their belts, we'll begin teaching skills of popular recess games: soccer, basketball, hoola hoops & hopscotch. This is a much different routine than Josie's PE experience in first grade where they played things like Roller Ball or Jump Rope or parachute. After the first week of PE (Ed Code requires 100 minutes of PE per week), I asked Josie what she thought of 2nd Grade PE. She sighed heavily, "I'm not liking it so much. When do we get to do the fun things like throw balls at each other?" I promised her that we'd start the Fun Stuff soon but tried to focus on the positive aspects of Exercising. "Which Warm Up Exercise do you like best, Josie?" "I don't know, but I can tell you which one I DON'T like the most: Jumping Jacks! My arms are close to my brain so they seem to understand what to do but my legs are so far away from my brain that they don't do the right thing. Jumping Jacks are the hardest thing about 2nd grade, Mom."
Friday, August 6, 2010
Simplicity!
We've had one of the best summers---haven't felt this relaxed in a long time & as I look through our collection of digital photos, I'm amazed at the adventures we've had with family & friends!
I'm not sure why this summer felt less stressful: Is it because we had such mild temperatures for Fresno? Or maybe it's because the end of the school year seemed so dismal with lay-offs, goodbyes, and changes? Perhaps it's just a mind-set because I was determined to enjoy the days with Josie & settle into a state of calm. Whatever it was, it's been delightful & energizing!
I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason our summer was filled with so many adventures is due to the fact that we've had no television since sometime in May (converter box died). At first, I thought about replacing it and even checked into the least expensive cable plan but after a few weeks, Josie & I decided we didn't really miss television. We've played lots of games, read numerous books, had lots of play dates, camping trip, day trips to the coast, poker night with friends, water park outings, and lots of time to talk. And talking with Josie is always enlightening and interesting!
To top it off, a few weeks ago a transformer in our alley exploded loudly and after it was finally repaired and our AC was restored, I discovered that our computer modem had been fried. Took me a few days to explore my options and finally bought a new modem but still the connection was intermittent. Facebook, emails, and computer games came to a halt but it just added to the time we spent doing more interesting things. After a few lengthy phone calls to at&t I finally had a modem that 'sort of' worked but then the computer kept shutting down on it's own and frustration started seeping into my bliss. After a few attempts to defragment and clean up files, I finally had computer wizards check it out and it's been determined that the motherboard is fried.
Being without connections and reading updates from those I love and those I barely know, I realized that life without Facebook might be a good thing for me. I'll save for a new computer (or, do what Josie keeps suggesting: "Ask Santa for a laptop!") but in the meantime, our wonderfully generous friends, Robert & Nikki, have loaned us a laptop so that I can keep the world informed of the latest Josieisms.
I'll add this post to Facebook in case anyone wants to click on the link and save the blog in your favorites or become a follower. I'll miss updates from those I love & admire on facebook but I hope you'll keep in touch via phone & email or maybe even stop in and read my blog from time to time.
I'm not sure why this summer felt less stressful: Is it because we had such mild temperatures for Fresno? Or maybe it's because the end of the school year seemed so dismal with lay-offs, goodbyes, and changes? Perhaps it's just a mind-set because I was determined to enjoy the days with Josie & settle into a state of calm. Whatever it was, it's been delightful & energizing!
I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason our summer was filled with so many adventures is due to the fact that we've had no television since sometime in May (converter box died). At first, I thought about replacing it and even checked into the least expensive cable plan but after a few weeks, Josie & I decided we didn't really miss television. We've played lots of games, read numerous books, had lots of play dates, camping trip, day trips to the coast, poker night with friends, water park outings, and lots of time to talk. And talking with Josie is always enlightening and interesting!
To top it off, a few weeks ago a transformer in our alley exploded loudly and after it was finally repaired and our AC was restored, I discovered that our computer modem had been fried. Took me a few days to explore my options and finally bought a new modem but still the connection was intermittent. Facebook, emails, and computer games came to a halt but it just added to the time we spent doing more interesting things. After a few lengthy phone calls to at&t I finally had a modem that 'sort of' worked but then the computer kept shutting down on it's own and frustration started seeping into my bliss. After a few attempts to defragment and clean up files, I finally had computer wizards check it out and it's been determined that the motherboard is fried.
Being without connections and reading updates from those I love and those I barely know, I realized that life without Facebook might be a good thing for me. I'll save for a new computer (or, do what Josie keeps suggesting: "Ask Santa for a laptop!") but in the meantime, our wonderfully generous friends, Robert & Nikki, have loaned us a laptop so that I can keep the world informed of the latest Josieisms.
I'll add this post to Facebook in case anyone wants to click on the link and save the blog in your favorites or become a follower. I'll miss updates from those I love & admire on facebook but I hope you'll keep in touch via phone & email or maybe even stop in and read my blog from time to time.
severt.lori@gmail.com
http://www.thoughtsfromtheseadblogspot.com/
And, of course, I have to leave you with a recent Josieism: "Summertime is great but I miss my friends and I really need to get back to school and work on my 'clalluses' on the monkey bars. I'm really out of shape, you know."
Time to get back to work, eh? I need to develop the calluses on my brain!
http://www.thoughtsfromtheseadblogspot.com/
And, of course, I have to leave you with a recent Josieism: "Summertime is great but I miss my friends and I really need to get back to school and work on my 'clalluses' on the monkey bars. I'm really out of shape, you know."
Time to get back to work, eh? I need to develop the calluses on my brain!
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