Mitts and More Mitts

Here's what I've been knitting this past week or so.



These are "child" size mitts, not meant for adult hands. They are knit of Mode Dea Sassy Stripes -- 2 pairs from one skein, with some left over, on size 5 dpns. The pattern is by Amanda Gill at Gaea Creations.


They join the larger family of previously knitted Princess Mitts:

A Couple of Things That Make It Worthwhile

I've been having a tough year so far at school, and some days I've been really wondering why I do the work I do. I was reminded today, on two different occasions, why I love my job, at least most of the time.

I have an open-door after school work/help session policy with my students. I invite kids to spend time with me after school to work on homework, get help, etc whenever they (or their parents) need to stay. I've made arrangements with one parent that her student will stay with me on Mondays. Student is not happy about it. While Student is very bright, and quite capable, school is not at the top of Student's list of priorities, and therefore instead of great grades, Student receives the dreaded average grade and the "not working to capacity" comment. Student is not concerned, but Parent is, and I too know Student could do better. So Student stays reluctantly. Yesterday I received one of those terrific notes from parents -the ones that don't come as often as we like. The parent thanked me for making this time available, and for continuing to push Student to excel. It's a rare treat lately for parents to commend us -- we've really been berated a lot lately for a number of things (that frankly are beyond our individual control). So that was the reminder #1 of why we do what we do.

The second reminder brought me to tears. A student from last year arrived in my room after school yesterday as I was feverishly trying to clean up, and I was also trying to get sub plans done since I will be at workshop on Monday. He was a student I really enjoyed having, and he usually stops by my room to say hi a couple of times a week. On this occasion he came in and started pouring his heart out to me. He was nervous about the holiday since it was the first big one since his parents' divorce. He shared with me that he'd been in therapy since the middle of last year (something I knew, but he didn't know I knew) and that although he hated going, he knew it was helping him a lot. He went on to tell me about all the things he liked about my classes, and told me that even though reading/language arts was not a subject he liked, I had made it interesting and fun, and "you picked good books for me to read." It was one of those conversations that make you know that you had really connected with a student. As I said, the tears were right there, and again, it was one of those rare moments where you know you've made a difference.

These moments go a very long way to help alleviate all the down sides of our jobs as teachers. And fortunately, these reminders come when I most need them. I am grateful for them!

Closing in on 100 --- #95 and #96

All Mortal Flesh: A Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery by Julia Spencer-Fleming

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another gripping read! And a zinger of an ending. I may have to break down and buy the hardcover of the next one because I don't think I want to wait for the paperback to be published.


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And the second book I just finished is:

The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a sequel to The Sea of Trolls, and it continues the story of Jack, an apprentice bard. This time his sister Lucy is kidnapped by the elves, and Jack's task is to rescue her. He meets some new allies -among them a Pict and some hobgoblins, and he discovers some startling truths about himself and his family. While I enjoyed this book, I liked the first one more. I will read the final installment when it's published, next spring, I believe.


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Mix, blend, stir, and shake!

A timely Friday Five from the RevGalPal blog.

1) Do you have a food processor? Can you recommend it? Which is to say, do you actually use it?

I have a Cuisinart food processor which I really like. I use it fairly frequently -- when I'm in a cooking mood. My life is so busy that we use many more "ready-to-go" so I don't need to use the processor as much.

2) And if so, do you use the fancy things on it? (Mine came with a mini-blender (used a lot and long ago broken) and these scary disks you used to julienne things (used once).)

I use several of the discs and blades. I used the shredder blade for cole slaw and to shred carrots, and I use the large blade for general processing.

3) Do you use a standing mixer? Or one of the hand-held varieties?

I have a Kitchen Aid standing mixer. I use it very frequently. I chose the brick red color. I even have the meat grinding attachment but I've never used that feature. It was free.


4) How about a blender? Do you have one? Use it much?

I don't have a blender anymore. It died. I did buy a handheld Oster puree machine which I like for soups.


5) Finally, what old-fashioned, non-electric kitchen tool do you enjoy using the most?
I use my pastry cutter a lot, and I also use my whisk several times a week.

Bonus: Is there a kitchen appliance or utensil you ONLY use at Thanksgiving or some other holiday? If so, what is it?

I use a cookie press at Christmas for "spritz" cookies.

Book #94

Someone asked me how I find time to read so many books. Well, I read everyday, even it's only for a few minutes. Since I eat breakfast alone, that's my prime reading time most days. I do read quickly, so as long as it's a novel, I can usually read a chapter with my coffee and breakfast. I also keep a book in the car. My husband and I go to our local wellness center three times a week. He meets me at school between 4:15 and 4:30, so about 4:15 I head out to my car and wait for him. That's another reading time. Sometimes I get to read during reading class too --- when I do reading workshop with the kids, I'll pull out my own book for 5-10 minutes, before I start conferencing with individuals.

Anyway, here's book # 94

To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, so far, but I found this one to be the most gripping. The overall tone of the book feels a little darker in some ways, and yet some of the plot twists seemed almost farcical. the love affair between Rev. Claire and Russ is becoming more open, too, with a startling declaration at the end of the book. . . .


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I Needed This

Today was Veterans' Day, and we had no school. I needed today. I spend all weekend working --- about 7 hours on Saturday, and another 5 hours on Sunday. I had some grading to do, and a lot of prepping for my science classes. I also had to modify some spelling units for my IEP kids. And of course there was the business bookkeeping. That takes me about 10-15 hours a month, and of course, always coincides with my busy school weekends. Needless to say, I never got any down time this past weekend.

So today, I devoted to rest and recuperation. I played some Pathwords and Scramble on Facebook, I did some reading, I did a little laundry, and I did some knitting. I read a couple of wonderful blogs postings and articles about Veterans' Day too.

Here are two knitting projects. The first are the Princess Mitts from Clara Parkes' Book of Yarn. I used some Nashua Creative Focus Superwash.





The second project that I'm still working on is the Rainy Day scarf and I'm using Fiesta Swoon. That's a wool/silk blend, and it's really luxurious feeling.

A Finished Object

sylvan pleated scarf
Originally uploaded by dswgr6

I finished this scarf recently. It's a pattern from Green Mountain Spinnery done in their Sylvan Spirit. It was fun to knit, and I love the way it pleats.

Book #92 ( I think)

Stalking Ivory: A Jade Del Cameron Mystery by Suzanne Arruda

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book in the series. I enjoyed it as much as the first. Jade Del Cameron is not your average travel writer and mystery solver. It's the 1920's and she's a former American WWI ambulance driver living at present in Africa. In this novel, Jade is attempting to photograph elephants in the wild, when she stumbles into ivory poachers and a plot to overthrow the Abyssinian government. Sam Featherstone, an American would-be movie maker, and former pilot, becomes her ally and potential romantic interest. Suzanne Arruda knows her time period, and evokes post-war Africa quite well.


View all my reviews.

A Not-So-Wonderful-Week

Just some of the week's notable moments:

**Two parents publicly bashing our team in general, and some individual teachers specifically, saying we don't do enough for their children

**Recording an awful lot of D's and F's on report cards - due to the fact that some of our students refuse to do any work either in school or out of school

**Ten students (out of 19) not putting their names on their paper

**Only 30% of a class completed a reading assignment (10 pages in 2 nights)

**A student erased a note in his planner that Mom never saw


These are the kind of weeks that make me question whether or not I can make it another 5 years.

It kind of overshadowed the excitement and joy of the election.

Testing, testing

I love taking these quizzes! Must be the teacher in me. I'm never sure how accurate they are though, and sometimes the answer choices don't give an option I'm totally comfortable choosing. But this one was fun!

Your result for The Best Thing About You Test...

Intelligence

Intelligence is your strongest virtue

Intelligence (also called intellect) is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, plan, and solve problems. And you? Your brain shines. All 7 virtues are a part of you, but your intelligence runs deepest.

It is likely you're a smarty-pants. And it's likely (but not necessary) that your discipline score is high also. It takes a certain resolve to maintain all those neural thingies.

Intelligent famous people: Einstein, Shakespeare, Da Vinci.

Your raw relative scores follow. 0% is low, and 100% is perfect, nearly impossible. Note that I pitted the virtues against each other, so in some way these are relative scores. It's impossible to score high on all of them, and a low score on one is just relatively low compared to the other virtues.

YOUR VIRTUES

40% Compassion

56% Intelligence

13% Humility

33% Honesty

50% Discipline

43% Courage

33% Passion

Take The Best Thing About You Test at HelloQuizzy

From Church to Knitting to Church -- All in A Weekend

I've been on overdrive since I got home from work Friday. Left school at 3:30 and did a few errands, ending up at the church to meet up with my co-worship planner for next Sunday. We are pastor-less right now --- our settled pastor left 2 years ago, and our interim resigned a month ago. Our search team has just put our profile out into the denomination, so we hope that in the next 2 or 3 months, we can find a new settled pastor. Meanwhile we either get a "supply" pastor, or create some lay=led services. Next Sunday is a one such laity service. It's Reformation Sunday, and we will also be acknowledging All Saints' Day a week early. (We're participating in a joint service on Nov 2nd with a neighbor church) So my co-planner and I spent almost 2 hours mapping out the service and locating resources. We decided early on to focus the children's moment on the gifts given to the church in memory of our previous "saints". We'll set up the communion table which was purchased in memory of a beloved deacon, and place various other gifts - candlesticks, lecturn Bible, carillon tapes, hymnals, etc. The joint sermon (which has yet to be written) will somehow tie the birthing of the Protestant church and our Puritan "saints" to all the "saints" and personal spiritual heroes we all have. We'll ask the congregation to write the name(s) of their own personal spiritual heroes on sticky notes, and bring them forward to stick on some beautiful posters from the church school curriculum of Moses, the apostles, and other spiritual leaders. Got home late and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich and soup for dinner since my husband wasn't home.

Saturday my Knitting Friend and I boarded a chartered bus for a 3 1/2 hour drive to Rhinebeck at 6:30 am. This was our first trip to the NY State Sheep and Wool Show, and we had a blast! The weather was chilly but otherwise perfect for a fall show. The place was mobbed too. I drooled over many skeins of hand-dyed yarn, especially the gorgeous skeins from Ellen's 1/2 Pint farm. But Knitting Friend and I have made a pact not to buy any yarn unless we have a specific project in mind. We both have a long, long queue of projects all set to knit, except for having the time to do it. I did buy an Addi Turbo lace needle, size 7, for a project I started but have been having problems with because I didn't have a sharp enough needle. I also bought a pattern from Foxfire Fibers where we met Melissa Morgan-Oakes which was really cool! This was our first time here, so we just really enjoyed the day. We got home about 10 pm, and then I had to do some typing for my husband who had to have it done before he left on business at 8 am this morning.

Today has been busy with church - I was lay reader, and then I had to moderate the church council meeting. That was an interesting experience, since I'd never done that before. (I was recently appointed as vice-moderator). And something happened today that I've never experienced. One of our older members fainted during the Prayers of the People. The guest pastor was wonderful as 911 was called, and the ambulance crew showed up. He kept everyone calm, led us in prayer for her and her family, and didn't blink an eye. We think she's all right, but they are going to be running some tests. Then, after church, I had to do the grocery shopping since my husband wasn't around to do it! So now after some relaxation, I have to start my school work for tomorrow. Definitely no rest for the weary.

So now it's time to do my homework, not to mention maybe some housework, and then it's time to start the whole workweek again!

A Very Pleasant Day Off

Today is a day off from school. The kids have today and Monday off, we teachers just have today. Today is also officially Teachers' Convention day. Years ago, it was a normal school day like any other. If you wanted to go to the teachers' convention, you had to take a prof. dev. day and get a sub. Teachers would go to the convention because it was one of the easiest ways to earn credit towards recertification. Apparently in the past, so many teachers asked for the day off, the district couldn't get enough substitutes. So it became a "workshop day" and teachers had to either attend in-district training or go to the convention. Kids had no school. Then in a convoluted set of contract negotiations, the day became a "float" day. You could choose to work as one of your contracted days, or you could take the day off, and work that day at the end of the school year. In another set of convoluted negotiations, the local educational association got the right to vote every year as to whether it was a workshop day, a normal school day, or a day off. For the past 5 years, the association has voted to take as a day off. However, we have to work on the official Columbus Day holiday. It makes no sense to me, because many of us have kids off Monday, or spouses off Monday, but we have to work. Our spouses are working today. Be that as it may, today was a very pleasant day.

I went shopping with a friend. We visited Cheshire Goldsmith, our favorite jewelry store, where she dropped off some earrings for repair work. We tried on several bracelets and I fell absolutely in love with a multi-colored sapphire tennis bracelet that I absolutely can't afford. I also found a gorgeous white gold and diamond bracelet that looked a bit like two strands of silver braided together which, although much less expensive, was also more than I can spend. But it doesn't hurt to dream. And I do have one or two treasures from that store that I have received as special anniversary gifts. I really like this family-owned store. They not only offer quality jewelry but super customer service. I inherited an antique ring that's too small for me. I took it into the shop to be resized. The owner told me that it couldn't be done without major risk of destroying the architecture of the ring. He also said that even if the resizing was successful, the alteration would devalue the its worth. I appreciated his honesty and so the ring is now in my safe deposit box for a future granddaughter or daughter in law. Next we visited a great yarn shop, The Knitting Knook. I went in to buy a needle, and came out with the needle, 3 skeins of Plymouth Suri Merino, and 2 tubes of beads to make a beaded scarf that we saw on display. We then headed to the local JC Penney's and took advantage of some great sales. Then it was on to Bed, Bath and Beyond and Borders, to use some gift certificates we both had. We enjoyed a relatively light lunch at the Olive Garden and then headed for the NH Liquor and Wine Outlet to stock up on our supplies. Aside from the fact that I always have a great time with my girlfriend, the only thing we bought that was an unplanned purchase was the yarn. And in our minds, that doesn't count!!! And everything else, including the wine, was on sale.

So, all in all, it was indeed, a very pleasant day off. And, I have 2 more days of weekend ahead!!

Good Thing, Considering I Have to Teach a 6th Grade Math Skills Group!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Book #86, I think

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a terrific book that captures the middle school experience perfectly. It's written partially in cartoons and "hand printed" script, and is the story of Greg and his best friend Rowley. Told from Greg's first person point of view, the novel covers an entire school year. Greg shares his triumphs, disappointments, and most embarassing moments in a chatty format. There is lots of humor, and several of my students who have read the book, mentioned that they found it easy to identify with Greg. The cartoons "Greg" draws are very funny too!


View all my reviews.

Friday at last!

Another week is done, and the weekend is finally here. It was a fairly calm week for a change. I am dealing with a couple of student issues, and progress reports had to be finished this week, but otherwise it's pretty much business as usual. Next week is a 4 day week, but 2 of the days are state testing. There's a lot of pressure on us because we're a school who didn't make AYP in math 2 years in a row.

This weekend will be busy --- bookkeeping for my husband's business, church - I'm in charge of communion this Sunday, and of course, the grading and planning. We're supposed to be going to a play tomorrow night, so that should be a fun evening with friends.

More later.

Knitting Content

 

These are the Francie Sock. I found the pattern here, and I really enjoyed knitting them. I used Valley Yarn's Huntington from WEBS. They are different -- there's a textured foot, and the gusset decreases were done from the bottom of the foot rather than from the instep. I knit them exactly as the pattern was written. I only did 1.5 repeats for the leg, and they fit perfectly. I wear an 8.5 wide shoe and have very thick ankles and calves. I haven't worn them yet as it hasn't been wool sock weather just yet, but I am looking forward to wearing them a lot.

Don't Read -- It's too depressing

It's been a long, exhausting, emotionally-draining, and spirit-deadening week. On Monday I was told that starting in mid October I will now have another prep -- this time, a math skills group to teach every day. It's not just me, all the teachers in my school will have to teach math skills during our mandated skills block. I guess that ordinarily I wouldn't fuss so much, but I'm already teaching 2 classes outside my area, and am spending most of my time prepping for a new curriculum area for me. I'm not sure where I'll fit the math prep in. I'm now teaching 2 science classes, 2 reading/language arts classes, and now will add the math class. I am certified as an elementary teacher, but I teach in a 6-8 middle school. For 15 years I've taught reading/language arts and social studies --- my specialty areas, and in addition to my elementary certification, I'm HQT in both. Math isn't my strong suit, but I did take 4 college math courses, plus my math methods course, so at least I feel comfortable with doing that. But we have teachers who hold secondary certification in social studies or language art who have NEVER taught math, so they are spooked!

We also had to deal with the sudden death of an elementary student in one of the district schools. We live in a small community so that hits us all hard. Last winter a high school student died in an accident, and then we had a middle school student die from flu complications last spring. So this week took quite a toll on many of us emotionally.

And then of course, all the usual stuff --- too much paperwork, too much grading, too many students needing too much attention. It wears you down, sometimes.

Book #80

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Laugh out loud funny, and yet there is an undertone of sadness. My 6th graders love this book which I'm reading to them now as a read-aloud. Joey had ADHD and is constantly getting into trouble in school. Quite accidentally he injures another student and is sent to a special school "to learn how to behave." The sadness for me, comes from the fact that so many of our kids today face the realities that Joey faces -- a single parent, dysfunctional family life, alcoholic parents. Yet Jack Gantos handles these realities with a light touch, and kids can identify with Joey who sometimes feels like a warm Coke bottle that has been shaken up and might burst. (a paraphrase, since my copy of the book is at school.) It elicits some good discussion about special ed programs too.






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Back to School Friday Five -- even if it's Sunday

From the RevGalPals
It's time for a Back-To-School Friday Five!

1. Is anyone going back to school, as a student or teacher, at your house? How's it going so far?

I'm a teacher so I am back to school as usual. It's been a tougher than usual return. I'm in a new room, with a new teaching partner (who is terrific, thank goodness!) and I'm teaching a whole new subject for me. I've always taught social studies and reading/language arts. This year I'm teaching science and reading/language arts. I'm not happy about the change, and I'm really struggling with not teaching my favorite subject in the world. And I'm also struggling with teaching a subject I don't know very well. We also have a new schedule including a Skills block to prep for, as well as new curriculum for our Academy block. Too many new things over which I have no control. The kids are really nice, but VERY needy academically and socially.

2. Were you glad or sad when back-to-school time came as a kid?

I always loved school! While I loved vacation, I loved being in school as much.

3. Did your family of origin have any rituals to mark this time of year? How about now?
When I was really young, my mom took "back to school" pictures of us, dressed in our new clothes. She continued with this tradition, probably til my youngest sibling (11 years younger than me) went to first grade.

4. Favorite memories of back-to-school outfits, lunchboxes, etc?

I remember a gorgeous maroon and plaid flannel dress I wore the first day of 4th grade. I loved the dress and insisted on wearing it on my first day in a new school in the community we'd just moved to. However, as is usual, that first day was about 90 ° and I roasted. I also got off at the wrong bus stop (1st time I'd ridden a school bus) and had to walk about 3 miles home in the heat. I always had a new lunchbox, too, with a thermos. I kind of miss the old metal lunchboxes!

I also remember wearing rubber boots and rubbers to school on rainy days. Remember the sucking sound your rubbers made as you tried to pull them off your shoes?? I graduated high school in 1972, so we weren't allowed to wear pants for almost all of my school years. I think pants began to be allowed when I was a junior in high school.

5. What was your best year of school?

I think I'd have to say freshman and sophomore years of high school. I'd found a niche with a small group of friends - kind of nerdy but not techno-nerd, rather more like literature nerds. We spent our free time in the library, writing notes to each other in Elvish, and spouting great bits of 1776, Shakespeare, and Ray Bradbury at each other. . . .

School Daze

We've completed 7 days of school. Of course, we've had 7 brilliantly sunny, warm, gorgeous days --- after a summer of rain, rain, and more rain. That's usually what happens. The first September of retirement (2014?) I plan to take a vacation sometime during the first or 2nd week of school because I can count on great weather!



I'm settling into my new classroom. There's more floor space than I expected, and the room is actually almost square shaped. I have one wall of solid windows, another wall of fake whiteboard (shower stall sheets) and 2 cinder block walls. There is no storage space of any kind, so I have a collection of scavenged bookshelves, tables, and crates, some filing cabinets, and lots of boxes under tables. The biggest challenge right now is the fact the windows are south-facing and there are no shades. It's so bright that I can't use any sort of projection device which totally changes how I teach. Plus, it's hot. I've been keeping track of the heat because we just spent almost $10 million to build an addition, renovate existing space, and upgrade ventilation systems. Only 2 of my windows open. On Thursday, at 6:15 am my classroom was 78°F -- and I'd purposely left my windows open overnight. By 8 am my classroom was 85°F and at noon it was 89°. And that reading comes from the wall thermostat on the hallway side of my room where the direct sun doesn't reach. The cheap thermometer I bought at the dollar store on Tuesday over by the window side of my room was 5-7° warmer at any given time. On the positive side, I made administration aware of the problem, and they're trying to resolve it. I just wish the architect had asked the teachers who inhabit the classrooms what they needed!



Monday is science lab experience #1 for me. It's an easy experiment, but it's the first time I've ever done a lab with kids. I don't need a lot of materials -- ice, hot water, thermometers. I got creative --- since I don't have a sink in my room, I brought in a large coffee urn to heat the water, and I will bring in a small cooler with ice. I have a bucket to fill from the sink in the hall. So all I have to do is set up the 5 lab stations for each class, instruct the kids on safety procedures, and then . . . have at it! Wish me luck!

I just finished looking over assessment data on my kids, and I realized I have to have 3 spelling groups this year. About half my kids can use the regular 6th grade spelling program, but I will have to either greatly modify the program for about 1/4 of them or find something else for them. The other 1/4 will need something quite advanced -- I'll probably have them use a vocabulary program I have. They are above grade level by 3-5 years, while the lower group is 3 years below grade level. I'm teaching 2 sections of reading/language arts this year so I'm dealing with just under 40 kids. I run a reading workshop in my classroom, so it's a little easier to differentiate the reading than it is the "formal" spelling. What's tricky for me this year is that I have only 50 minutes daily to teach reading, writing, and spelling.

Oh and finally --- a sight that probably won't be seen again soon -- a clean desk!