My dad

In celebration of my dad recently turning the big 5-0, I have complied the following list in his honor...

An incomplete list of things I learned from my father...

1. You should vacuum like a painter--in straight lines.

2. When driving, you must keep both feet on the floor and ready.

3. Nothing good happens between a dating or engaged couple after midnight.

4. Don't spend more money than you have.

5. (When working to demonstrate my "rights" as a young teenager, I learned that) Children don't have rights, they have privileges. 

6. Serving someone practically is another way to say "I love you"

7. Snacking is pointless if you are eating enough at each meal 

8. Integrity counts even if it goes unrecognized.

9. Family vacations are important and should be made a priority.

10. If you can't find friends to be with, there is always someone who will hang out with you at home.

11. Learning how to be on a team is an important life lesson.

12. Sandals should only be worn if it is over 70 degrees. 

13. When it can be prevented, food should never go to waste. 

14. Encouraging your spouse in whatever he/she wants to do is great use of your time and will bless your marriage significantly. 

15. Always eat a sandwich before you go to a potluck... you never know what will be served and you don't want to be hungry. 

16. Playing along never hurt anyone.

This is just the beginning of what I have learned from the old man.

 He's a good egg and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of his gene pool. 

Happy Birthday, Bri. 

I like these people

My incredible husband and I

My thin mother and charming youngest sister, Madeline

My kind sister, Leah and the birthday boy (my dad)  

My fun brother and his lovely soon-to-be wife (who I adore... but more on that later)

I like these people.

What I learned about myself at Pilates:

1. I will do anything if it is considered the "advance way" or if it will earn me "2 extra bonus points" and while you may think these points don't exist, I know exactly how many I have!

2. I don't have a "core". I don't even know what a "core" is or where you can get one.

3. I like work-out accessories and I know who has the best "mat" in the class.

4. I don't have a "core".

5. I have no sense of balance and while my Pilates-mate can balance on one toe, while reaching to the sky, lifting her back leg AND thinking thoughts of serenity, I simply fall over. 

6. I don't have a "core".

7. I am freakishly flexible. I don't know why or if it has something to do with my gnome-like extremities, but it is bizarre. 

8. I don't have a "core".

9. I am more likely to work out if I belong to a class.

10. I LOVE Pilates!

More movies!

Death at a Funeral

An outrageous story of a complicated, character-filled group of people gathering for a funeral. A "Waking Ned Devine"- like movie loaded with unbelievable moments that make you laugh, gasp and keep you entertained while completing ignoring all formalities or respectful elements of a funeral. 

My only problem: Can't think of one!

Rating: Recommended if you remember that this has nothing to do with how I see funerals or what I wish would happen at funerals. This movie is outrageous and if you are in the mood to laugh, rent it.

 

August Rush

A farfetched story of an abandoned child who believes his parents will come and find him through "the music". You guessed it: in the end... the family is reunited.

My only problem: Hmmm...where do I start? Maybe at the fact that this could never happen? Maybe my distain for Robin Williams' disturbing character? Maybe because this kid seemed way too happy? Hmm... I just don't know what my only problem  with this movie is....

Rating: Only recommended to self-proclaimed cheese-balls who like any movie with a swelling sound track.

Looking forward to... Lars and the Real Girl and Juno (although I have seen it four times already), both of which come out on Tuesday!

Kids say...

While I do have an entirely wonderful and full life outside of teaching, there were too many priceless teaching moments to ignore this week. One of my favorite elements of teaching is how kids phrase things... you could not script this stuff. Enjoy!

When talking about about the thunderstorm this week and how it made all of us feel, one my intensely-eager-external-processors, exclaimed, "Mrs. Cunningham! That thunder scared me right down to the bottom!" 

As I was checking this kids' fish poems this week, I found one that stood out dramatically. Students were supposed to follow a pattern of "describing" words to talk about their fish. One of my more reflective students was writing a really great poem about her fish called "Rainbow". Well, instead of writing "rainbow", she wrote "Rambo." So her poem read...

Rambo

Beautiful dancing

Spinning color

Rambo

I can see you

Hiding

Beautiful dancing

Rambo

We have been working on using "second grade" words when we talk (all that really means is better vocabulary then "good", "nice" and my favorite "cool"). Well one little boy raised his hand while we were writing the fish poems, clearly very eager to share a story with me. When I asked him what was going on, he said "Well, I wanted you to know that before I existed my parents had a fish. But for some reason when I starting existing they had to get rid of it!"

One of my more "challenging" students has a really hard time focusing. I have to "redirect him" roughly eight times an hour (the reason I know this is because I take an incredible amount of data on this child)! We were lining up for lunch on Wednesday and he was looking particularly confused. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I was curious because of the very difficult morning we had just had. So, I got down on my knees, looked him in the eye and inquired about his apparent confusion. This was our conversation...

 "Mrs. Cunningham, I can't believe it's lunch time."

"Why?" I asked in a sweet, calm teacher-voice.

"Because I didn't know I was here for all the morning time."

"Wow" I replied, trying not to think: No wonder we had such a awful morning!

And then he exclaimed with unmistakable excitement...

"I think my brain was sleeping, while my eyes were awake!!!"

I am so excited I have finally reached the weekend!

Reality Check!

With the peace of Spring Break behind me and the glory of Summer ahead, I returned to school on Monday. The first day back was idyllic: children followed directions, I received many "love notes" (pictures and notes from my students), lessons were taught, concepts were mastered and it was "an all green day" (which basically boils down to "no one was bad"). I came home feeling energized by the success and flow of the day. All was well.

Today, however, was a very different day. One of those days were somewhere in the middle I found myself thinking, "I really do spend my entire day with six-year-olds". 

The day was thick, one that I had to drag myself through. Despite my effort, most of my lessons finished dry and slightly boring. Reviews of yesterdays concepts revealed that little was understood or retained. And the behavior was... unbelievable... peaking when one of my "friends" decided that the paper mache looked so much like frosting that he should in-fact take a bite of his creation. 

The difference in these two days is not recognized as uncommon by elementary teachers. This is the ebb and flow of our work. We base our work around six-year-olds who in their own development are changing dramatically in a short period of time. 

I must, however, mention a small highlight in my day. With today being the first of April, I spent a part of yesterday explaining what April Fool's Day means. I talked about how sometimes it is fun to tell silly jokes to friends that end in "April Fool's!!!" As fate would have it, I heard nearly 20 April Fool's jokes today! Here are some of my favorites:

"Mrs. Cunningham, guess what?"

"What?"

"My mom broke both of her legs last night!"

"Really, what happened?"

"APRIL FOOL'S!!!!!)

"Mrs. Cunningham, did you know I have an elephant at home?"

"Oh really!"

"Yeah, he lives in my room (long enough pause to attract the attention of his peers)......... even on days that aren't April Fool's!"

(The odd thing about this one, was there wasn't really a punch line. I wonder if he really thinks...)

"Mrs. Cunningham, guess what happened last night?"

"What?"

"My mom changed her name last night."

"Really? To what?"

"Cinderella"

"Wow!"

"APRIL FOOL'S!!!"

Five minute pause....

"Mrs. Cunningham, wouldn't it be cool if my mom really did change her name to Cinderella?"

A great find!

I recently found this place through a Craigslist posting. It is an fantastic "Raveswood Find". The furniture is incredible; each piece being different from the last. The prices are reasonable as well. Totally worth the trip (or a browse through their online catalog).

Snickerdoodles

Bruce does not have a sweet tooth. He doesn't crave sweets or massive amounts of sugar. He thinks frosting is gross and...wait for the ball to drop... he doesn't like chocolate! 

However, the one sweet thing that he does like and will occasionally ask for are Snickerdoodle cookies. I tried this new recipe yesterday and they turned out super well!

Snickerdoodles

Source: allrecipes.com

Season: year-round 

What you need:

1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/2 cup of shortening

1 1/2 cup of white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla

2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of white sugar

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough into small rounded balls. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll each cookie ball into the mixture to coat the dough. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Enjoy!