Bugs and Bookmarks

Or, insects rather. My 5-6th graders practiced observing, comparing, inferring, and predicting with plastic insects. They each wanted their own, so I stuck a bunch in my lunchbox and made them reach in and pull one out. It grossed them out, but they loved it. 

The 6-8th graders ran through the first half of the musical today. It went much better than the first time, not that the first time was bad. Smoother reading this time, more voice inflection. Also, more silliness. The 4th grade sidekick-to-the-villain came for the last five minutes to read his scene (his teacher forgot to send him sooner), and the 5th grade sound guy practiced his part (he was a little late too, but he jumped right in). 

After school a parent shared two funny stories with me. She and her son had been watching a movie this weekend, but she kept needing to pause it. A few times of doing that, the next time she reached for the remote he said, "Ugh, this feels like read-aloud! Like every time Miss H reaches for the bookmark to leave us on a cliff-hanger!" 

Later, he randomly asked her, "Mom, can you raise one eyebrow?"
"No."
"Miss H can. But it's usually only when we're doing things we're not supposed to be doing."
It's official: I have a 'teacher look'. My life is complete now. 😂

Habitat update: I had a phone call with the financial person from Habitat this morning before school. She hasn't had time to look at the USDA paperwork yet, but she plans to make my case a priority before she leaves on vacation next week. First step: she's going to ask the USDA why my loan amount went up so much. She was surprised because I haven't done anything different with my finances since the last time they approved my loan. I have been trying to save as much as possible. If the huge loan increase is because I've saved a lot, she'll see if there's anything we can do so I'm not penalized for saving money. So. I'll get updates as she finds things out. In other news, the new Habitat liaison put in her notice; she's done Friday. If another person is hired for the position before my house is finished, that will be #4. Uffdah.