Have I mentioned recently how much I am enjoying being retired?????
When I initially broke and dislocated my shoulder I had no idea how not working would impact a life that had been so involved with teaching (for all of my adult life) since graduating from college. I suppose the fact that my recuperation involved so many months of physical therapy plus the fact that the damage done to my shoulder was truly severe helped me realize I would need to invest much time and effort to healing. Recuperation and learning to manipulate and use my shoulder again became first in my list of priorities.
Now that my shoulder is functional I have settled into another group of priorities which have certainly become more pleasurable. I still love teaching and the field of education but it has become entrapped with so much controversy in NC (as well as the rest of the nation) that one can't help but be relieved to not be involved any more. I miss the continual course work and educational updates but not the hassle. I love learning!
So... lots of mornings I can just relax and sleep as long as I wish, get up and leisurely eat breakfast and read the newspaper. Then go about my day's activities. I hope I do not find myself getting lazy. If I do---guess what----I may just go out get a job and become un-retarred!!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Remembering My Sassy
This day tears at my heart as I remember my first canine friend --- truly my BFF. I DID NOT want to send her away. That morning, a year ago, I carried her outside because that front paw worked no more due to the cancer. She attempted to squat as she always did to take care of "business." She fell down, then staggered forward and attempted again. I watched as she got to her other three feet and stood over against the wrought iron fence and looked back at me. Her pitiful, bewildered look let me know it was time. I had made an appointment (the day before) to take her in on this day to "do the deed." But during the evening and night I had changed my mind until I saw all of this. I had been awake most of the night and most of several nights trying to keep her comfortable and listening to her breathing. At this point, I knew. Dread filled my heavy heart. Indeed at this point, her life was in my hands. I simply made myself take her that day to her vet at Bowmans and put her out of her misery.
I think I would place it second among the most difficult choices I have had to make pertaining to life.
She was a precious dog and I loved her so! She had been my friend through so many dark days as I grieved Ken's death. I have missed her so. Folks who have never owned a dog could never understand. I will not attempt to explain....I don't think I could write so that others could comprehend the relationship between a beloved canine and the owner.
Now I have two more little girls similar to my Sassy. I love them in the same way. But in my heart there will always be that special place reserved just for "My Sassy." I will see you Sweet Girl, sometime, somewhere over the Rainbow Bridge. Just wait for me.
My precious, precious one.
I think I would place it second among the most difficult choices I have had to make pertaining to life.
She was a precious dog and I loved her so! She had been my friend through so many dark days as I grieved Ken's death. I have missed her so. Folks who have never owned a dog could never understand. I will not attempt to explain....I don't think I could write so that others could comprehend the relationship between a beloved canine and the owner.
Now I have two more little girls similar to my Sassy. I love them in the same way. But in my heart there will always be that special place reserved just for "My Sassy." I will see you Sweet Girl, sometime, somewhere over the Rainbow Bridge. Just wait for me.
My precious, precious one.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Say now, do you know??
Aha, it is Monday, day to do the wash! But wash we shall not, instead we shall write.
The girls and I have spent the last few days at the coast at my sister's home. The girls had fun playing and romping in the big-big yard with my sister's two dogs. I helped my sister in the media center at her school with tasks she needed a hand completing.
The weather turned nasty and the temperature cooled as it got closer to the time for us to return to the big 'ole capital city. But by the time the day arrived the sun was gorgeous even if the temperature was somewhat nippy. As we rode along up to the big city of Wilmington the wind rocked our little suv back and forth as if it was going to lift us up like Mary Poppins and spin us around. The trees have turned their magical colors and quite frankly they looked a little spent!! Couldn't help but think as we traveled on that the next time we made this trip the leaves could all be on the ground and the trees' arms (limbs) sticking out all bare. As I used to tell my students, "It is difficult to understand trees. In the fall they take off all of their clothes and throw them on the ground just as the weather gets cold. We humans put on more clothes when it gets cold. In the spring when we humans get ready to shed our heavy coats, jackets and sweaters, then trees put their clothes (leaves) back on. Wonder why trees are so mixed up???
We stopped by our own home in Wilmington for just a few minutes. The winter rye grass is starting to come up nicely on the front lawn and looked very pretty and green. We could hardly make our way along the streets near Castle Hayne as it was the "Fall Polish Festival" at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. The sides of the highway and the side streets are always full of cars with folks going and coming on this day. Evidently they have truly good Polish food during this festival because people seem to come from everywhere to attend each year. Fall festivals are great fun.
It all makes me wish we could stay young forever! I would love to teach school until the day I die.
Now I must close this entry because I need to hurry outside and plant some more grass seed. As you know I love spring and my fescue grass needs to be patched in spots.
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!
The girls and I have spent the last few days at the coast at my sister's home. The girls had fun playing and romping in the big-big yard with my sister's two dogs. I helped my sister in the media center at her school with tasks she needed a hand completing.
The weather turned nasty and the temperature cooled as it got closer to the time for us to return to the big 'ole capital city. But by the time the day arrived the sun was gorgeous even if the temperature was somewhat nippy. As we rode along up to the big city of Wilmington the wind rocked our little suv back and forth as if it was going to lift us up like Mary Poppins and spin us around. The trees have turned their magical colors and quite frankly they looked a little spent!! Couldn't help but think as we traveled on that the next time we made this trip the leaves could all be on the ground and the trees' arms (limbs) sticking out all bare. As I used to tell my students, "It is difficult to understand trees. In the fall they take off all of their clothes and throw them on the ground just as the weather gets cold. We humans put on more clothes when it gets cold. In the spring when we humans get ready to shed our heavy coats, jackets and sweaters, then trees put their clothes (leaves) back on. Wonder why trees are so mixed up???
We stopped by our own home in Wilmington for just a few minutes. The winter rye grass is starting to come up nicely on the front lawn and looked very pretty and green. We could hardly make our way along the streets near Castle Hayne as it was the "Fall Polish Festival" at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. The sides of the highway and the side streets are always full of cars with folks going and coming on this day. Evidently they have truly good Polish food during this festival because people seem to come from everywhere to attend each year. Fall festivals are great fun.
It all makes me wish we could stay young forever! I would love to teach school until the day I die.
Now I must close this entry because I need to hurry outside and plant some more grass seed. As you know I love spring and my fescue grass needs to be patched in spots.
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Learning Decimals
For whatever reason decimals are extremely difficult for students to learn and put to practical use. That fact has been refreshed in my mind over the last few weeks as I worked with my sister in her media center with books in the library collection. The principal has been insisting she use student helpers. They have been doing some shelving of returned books.
As I worked on shelving books this past week I realized that the students seem to understand numbers left of the decimal and got those in "pretty good" order. But those to the right of the decimal threw them totally. Not only could they not get the numbers right of the decimals in order, they even mixed up the alphabet.
This served as a reminder of former years trying to teach decimals to fifth graders. It could be truly a task. Some students seemed never to be able to grasp place value and that it was not the same on both sides of the decimal. There were similarities (and maybe that is the thing that threw them.) On the left side of the decimal each succeeding place moving to the left multiplied the value by 10. But on the right side something opposite was occurring. While the number seems to be multiplied, the parts are actually smaller as you right!!! How can this be?????---has to do with that "ths" that you have to add to the place name.
Reflecting on it --- it probably is something developmental and has to do with maturity and whether the child / student has a true understanding of the place value system from the beginning.
The last year I worked I did some work with children in grades 1-3 who were not achieving in Math. It became clear to me that they were not and had not spent enough time on Math in the few years that they had already attended school. Sooooo -- if you are out there with little kiddies at home--always be sure you read, read, read with them -- but do not neglect getting them started early at home with a little math understanding and the value of numbers. You could easily do this by working with coins. Just sayin'.......
As I worked on shelving books this past week I realized that the students seem to understand numbers left of the decimal and got those in "pretty good" order. But those to the right of the decimal threw them totally. Not only could they not get the numbers right of the decimals in order, they even mixed up the alphabet.
This served as a reminder of former years trying to teach decimals to fifth graders. It could be truly a task. Some students seemed never to be able to grasp place value and that it was not the same on both sides of the decimal. There were similarities (and maybe that is the thing that threw them.) On the left side of the decimal each succeeding place moving to the left multiplied the value by 10. But on the right side something opposite was occurring. While the number seems to be multiplied, the parts are actually smaller as you right!!! How can this be?????---has to do with that "ths" that you have to add to the place name.
Reflecting on it --- it probably is something developmental and has to do with maturity and whether the child / student has a true understanding of the place value system from the beginning.
The last year I worked I did some work with children in grades 1-3 who were not achieving in Math. It became clear to me that they were not and had not spent enough time on Math in the few years that they had already attended school. Sooooo -- if you are out there with little kiddies at home--always be sure you read, read, read with them -- but do not neglect getting them started early at home with a little math understanding and the value of numbers. You could easily do this by working with coins. Just sayin'.......
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