Tis the Season

My car has four-square ball marks in the dust on the sides and back. Spring is here! Hopefully it's here to stay, but word on the street says snow is in the forecast for next week. 

We were supposed to do a lab outside today, but it was too windy. It was too nice to go inside, so we did extra recess with the stipulation that we'd do our lab some other time this week, whenever I say, no arguing or wheeling/dealing... I tacked on that fine print because they've been so argumentative with me all week!!! Rain/snow is in the forecast for tomorrow; that might be a good time to do it if the gym is open. The lab involves throwing a tennis ball across a big space, not something we can just do in the classroom. But if the weather is poor, most classes will be inside, so that could be tricky...

My marine friend chatted with the 7-8th graders today. He was supposed to show us pictures from his time being stationed in Japan, but it turned into more of a question/answer session with a few pictures thrown in. He was video-chatting from his phone, so every time he wanted to show a new picture, he had to stop screen sharing and then re-screen share. My 5-6th graders are chatting with him tomorrow, and they had the idea he should send me the pictures/videos he wants to share and I can screen share and he can just talk. Great idea! He's already sent me a bunch of pictures.

The 7-8th graders wrote down a bunch of questions to ask prior to his video time. We wrote them on the board so everyone could see them and ask one if there was a lull. There were only a few strange questions! When my friend first came on screen, the 7-8th graders didn't know he could hear/see us. One of the 7th grade girls said very loudly, "Oh, he is not how I pictured him at all. He's waaaay less nerdy than I thought he'd be." Oops. I told her our mic was on and he could hear everything we were saying... Cue blushing plus a loud, "Sorry! I didn't know you could hear me!" She apologized again at the end of the call and he said, "It's okay, I've been called a lot worse."

One of the 7th grade boys wanted him to say something in his soldier voice. Marines don't do a lot of marching, so they don't have to yell or talk much, so C was a bit at a loss of what to say. The same 7th grader asked him to flex for us to show off his muscles. My marine friend said, "Well, you won't be able to see much; my uniform is long-sleeved." Still, he was a good sport and turned his phone to show his arms. He was right; we couldn't see much besides baggy uniform sleeve. We also learned that on Daylights Savings Day the marines switch from their long-sleeved winter uniforms to their short-sleeved summer uniforms. 

All in all, I'd say the talk was a success. I'm curious to see what the 5-6th graders come up with. They're generally pretty curious and have good questions!