Tea and Sweatpants...

Nick and I were walking back from the bus (which is a frequent for us now) when we met a new neighbor! This gentleman was sitting in a camping chair in his front lawn absorbing the sun, a great way to spend your hot evening I might add. When we got close we introduced ourselves and began the common chit-chat when people meet. He was an older man, about 75 years old. At some point in the conversation he leaped out of the chair to come closer for the chat. This, I learned was not a good idea. Not good for reasons you might expect. Now, I can understand that everyone has their favorite lounge clothes and I am certainly not one to judge. But this guy was wearing a cut off tank-top and a nice pair of boxer briefs! The best part about it is that he went on to explain to us about how he felt pretty good that he fit into this pair of shorts he found! Thus drawing awkward attention to the underwear. I didn't have the heart to tell him. After we left he went right back to his seat and the evening just kept going on. I think that one of the hardest things, when ministering to the elderly, is to ignore the awkward and funny things they do while you are listening to their crazy life stories. So, yes, I plan on listening to more of his stories and am actually praying for his outfit. I don't think I've really prayed for people's outfits before today!

The school year has been over for weeks now... I am in such a huge transition place that I don't even know what to do! After a whole school-year of dealing with the drama and emotion of urban 4th graders my life feels as if it has come to a screeching halt. At first I found peace in having time to myself. Then, I was exited for the move and that mostly occupied my time. Now, I'm in Portland and my heart yearns to be with those babies again. As we spend evenings on prayer walks and I see a neighbor kid I find my body naturally gravitating toward them to just hear the energy and passion that children have for living. I'm longing to have the comfort that I will be teaching in the fall, but God may have other plans. If you read this and you are one who prays, pray for God to give me peace and to trust his perfect plans.

I have a student who is mentally retarded and who has really been through a TON. He is a refuge from Bosnia and has faced many challenges here in the states. Needless to say, he is full of energy and is often looking for other things to do besides schoolwork. Here was his latest...

...early in the morning...
"E is spraying candy in people's mouths"
This was said while another student was roaming the room and knocking chairs over so naturally I ignored it while I dealt with the other problem.

...sometime after lunch...
Me: "Why aren't you doing your work?"
T: "I'm just soooo tired, E sprayed medicine in my mouth that makes you sleepy. Watch, other kids will start falling asleep too!"
At this point I was beginning to wonder what E had! I asked him about it and he denied having anything.

...finally, at the end of the day...
E was walking to the buses and had some small white bottle in his hand, and I was struck with the reminder of the previous incidents from the day...
Me: "is that what you have been spraying in peoples mouths all day?????"
He pulled away, "it's nothing"
As I looked at it I realized it was spray hand sanitizer that he found on the ground and had refilled with water!

This kid who has been underestimated by all, managed to convince 3 classmates that it was candy and 2 others that it was sleep medicine, and keep it hidden from me all day!
Brilliance.
The unfortunate thing is that he easily could have gotten them all sick.
But alls well that ends well:)

As most of you know, we are preparing for the Kansas State Assessments. Thanks to No Child Left Behind, these are VERY important tests. For the last 5 months we have been taking formative tests to target our instruction. After each practice test I talk to my students about the strategies they use. Some of the ones listed below have been told to me, other have been caught by observation. Let me remind you that many of my students have more street smarts than book smarts.

Here is what you need to know about the test. It allows calulators on some of the questions but not on others. It also lets you see the correct and wrong answers for the qustions you missed after it scores you. When they take the real deal they won't be able to use these following strategies for a number of reasons. I also have talked to them a hundred times about not cheating.

Top Ten Testing Strategies
By Mrs. M's class...
1. Guess
2. Just pick my favorite answer.
3. When my teacher stands behind me I try to feel what her brain is thinking about what I'm choosing.
4. I get up to go to the bathroom and check as many computers as I can while I walk by.
5. I make myself fall asleep so that my teacher thinks I'm too tired to take it today.
6. Write some posters from class on my hand and use it on the test.
7. I finish the whole test really fast then write down the correct answers when it lets me check. Then I take the test again and make sure I agree with the answers. I also take my time so it looks like I did a really good job.
8. Sometimes I just check with the person next to me to see if I'm getting it right.
9. If I get stuck on a math question I can write it down, then go back to a question with a calculator, and use the calculator to answer the question. Then I go back and find the right answer.
10. Wait for the person next to me to finish and check their answers so I know if I'm getting them right!