A Few Final Words

 Mrs. M had some gems to share at our meeting... 

A favorite nugget... the day she and her husband came to talk to the class about their daughter's birth, even though he only witnessed me 'being teacher' for a minute or two, her husband said to her as they left, "I can tell Mrs. H is a good teacher. She has a strong presence." 

Another gem, this one from a student to her at church (the rapper, a son of the other pastor)... "Mrs. M, I'm glad you're coming back, but you should reconsider how you teach us religion. I like how Mrs. H does it. We are actually learning stuff." 😬 

She questioned him further and he said, "We actually read the bible! And then we talk about it; we don't have to write stuff down." 

To provide further explanation, when she taught, she would read the bible with them a few verses at a time and go through the Christlight curriculum packet in sections, as it's mapped out to do. That's what I had done too in the beginning. However, I've found that you can keep a better picture in your head of what's happening in the stories if you read bigger chunks at once. So we did that, reading the entire story, and then went through the packet all at once. There are a lot of good details to add as you read, plus maps to draw, plus diagrams to demonstrate concepts, all of which generate questions, which leads to great discussions. And not much writing. So towards the end of my time, we abandoned the packets and just read the bible. So that's what we think he meant. 😅

Back for More

My actual last day in 5th grade. 

The kids were surprised. Most were confused. When I explained they said they were sad G was feeling sick and our trip was canceled, but they were happy that I could be with them one more day. It was a good day and a quick day. Chapel, math test, social studies test, recess/birthday treats from a student, and read aloud time sprinkled among it all. Dismiss at 11:15. 

After the students had gone, Mrs. M came to get reacquainted with the classroom and where we left off in the lessons. Mrs. L brought lunch and we had a very enjoyable couple of hours chatting. 

It's interesting that Mrs. M and I have only met twice. Once for about 30 seconds when I subbed earlier in the year for the teacher next door, and the other when she and her husband visited the class to let them ask questions. So, we really don't know each other at all, even though we feel like we do. It's a strange bond between us, the tragedies we've both experienced. We did spend some time talking about our own losses. Journaling has helped her process much of her grief. Later she messaged me thanking me for the journal I had given her in the teacher care basket from Mt. Olive. It has been one of her favorites. Another favorite was one given to her from the Thrivent grant for grieving parents (G and I had written them about that opportunity; we were grateful for it ourselves). 

It's a blend of emotions talking about these things... sad but healing, happy to talk about our children and share our stories... happy to have another person who understands. 

Mrs. M sent me another message after our meeting; she has such a way with words. I won't share all of what she said, but she ended with, "I will also be praying for you this week. I imagine Easter will be joyous, yet so hard for both of us." So, so true.  

It's ironic; every time I think everyone has heard about Bekhor, someone new pops up and asks how my pregnancy is going. It's been long enough and hasn't happened recently so my guard is down. But later this afternoon an old college friend sent me a message checking in. Such a sweet message. Still a stab of pain. Still a chance to tell about his birth, his baptism, his resting in heaven whole and perfect with Jesus. And who can be sad about that? Especially in the midst of Holy Week. 

Job said it best in chapter one verse 21, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be praised." 💖

Just Kidding!

Today didn't go as expected... 

G and I had the alarm set for 6am to prep/get on the road to pick up plants in Michigan. But he woke up in the middle of the night with the same thing I had on Sunday. No fun for him for the rest of the night. He was knocked out on the couch for the whole day. That also means no Michigan for us. 

I thought about texting the powers that be at school to see if they'd want me to come in to teach today and tomorrow. However, right around that time, school was called off for the day. Mrs. L and I came up with a plan to help the kids study for their tests at home so they can successfully take their tests tomorrow and still wrap up the classroom in a nice, neat bow for Mrs. M. 

Mrs. L has a pretty tight Wednesday schedule in her normal routine. When I was planning to be gone, they were going to have the principal step in and monitor the class for the last two hours of the day. Another blessing of me being around... I will go in to teach for the half day tomorrow! It will be a huge surprise! I can't wait! 

Tomorrow is an early release day, so we'll have chapel, a math test, a social studies test, and then go home at 11:15. After school, I'll get to be a part of the meeting with Mrs. M and Mrs. L. Added bonus: Mrs. L volunteered to bring us all lunch. 

So, I'm bummed that G and I aren't road tripping this week, but I'm happy we don't have to drive on yucky roads and that I get to be at school to wrap up this quarter and my time in 5th grade.

Last Day

I almost thought I wouldn't make my last day of school. 

The weather cooperated for the most part. We had a two-hour delay. The streets were fine for me. We had snow last night which turned to rain, but it was about 37 degrees, so it stayed wet. Word on the street the temp will drop tonight and we'll have a big, icy mess in the morning. Hmm. Time will tell. 

Yesterday, I caught a stomach bug. I was parked on the couch from after church through suppertime, throwing up every hour. I wasn't sure if I should go to school today, but I hadn't thrown up overnight and it was my last day, so I powered through. I sure am ready to go home though!

We had to adjust our morning schedule since school started at 10am. I did math, then religion, then a little bit of recess. The girls, even the ones who hadn't been getting along, all played volleyball together. I mustered up enough energy to play too. Regular afternoon for 5th grade. I got all my social studies teaching in plus a little bit more read-aloud. Mr. N's class is just getting to the good part in their book. I'll be sad to miss the rest...

Since I had time before school, I washed my hair and let it air dry. No bun. It really threw off my kids! They kept commenting how long it was. One girl asked how I put it up in a bun, so I showed them the twist method. They were enthralled. 😅

A few fun things from today: A note from a student (one of the TEAM girls), peppermint tea from another student, and a 3D printed Christmas ornament from still another student. He said, "I know it's a little past the season, but I wanted to give you this." It was in that pretty Christmas tin. What a sweet thing to make a teacher!

A parent emailed me about something else and ended with this... "And this was not my son unfortunately, but one of your students left the book fair very quickly. I said 'what's the rush? ' The boy said ' I love HX class and I don't want to miss it'. Good to see kids excited to learn...  even if it is not mine "

Another student whirled around the classroom at the end of the day, sweeping, shutting the extra mood lights off, etc. So "you can just go home right after school! You won't need to do anything else!"

I brought a present to school for the 8th grader who played piano for us for Grandparents Day. I know she likes to bake, so I gave her a cake pan. G thought that was a weird present, but I disagree. Well, maybe it's weird, but I know she'll love it. Her mom is a teacher and eats lunch with me and she said her daughter was thrilled. 😁

Grandparents Day Take Two!

Kids were a little crazier today, the day went a little more slowly (probably because of the craziness), but the program went a little more quickly! 

We played two different Kahoots with grandparents, both from previous units of social studies, one on the Reformation and one on the Elizabethan Era. It seemed like they had a good time. The kids sure did!

There's a lot going on in this picture below. First is a note given to me by a student (the one I had the heart to heart with yesterday). Not pictured is the cup of mint tea given in addition to the note. In the background you might notice a card signed by both 5th grade classes, a bouquet of flowers, a gift bag, and a giant box.

The gift bag has a bunch of snacks: cashews, goldfish crackers, Junior mints, and a small bag of potato chips. (A parent had asked what my top five favorite snacks are... my favorites are pretzels, pringles, cashews, goldfish, and anything mint, so they did pretty well!) All presents from the 5th grade class. The big box in the background is a gift from Mrs. M (wine, chocolate, coffee, a candle, and a gift card to The Tav, G and my favorite restaurant in town, although my guess is that's a total coincidence!).

Bad weather is in the forecast for Sunday into Monday and there are doubts about whether we'll have school Monday... so they gave me the class presents today just in case. 

Normally I'm all for a snow day, but this time it would be so sad if school is cancelled. No chance to say goodbye. Another teacher gone without a by your leave. Not to mention throwing the let's-get-everything-wrapped-up-before-Mrs. M-comes-back lesson plans into chaos. But I've dealt with that before. I'm already mentally working through things to adjust for that and I have a solid plan. 

Now we wait and see what Minnesota throws at us!

Grandparents Day Take One!

It's only been a half day of school, but wow, it's been packed. I am already pooped. Thankfully all the kids are picked up and I can head home whenever I want. 

We started the day with chapel with grandparents. About half my students sat with their grandparents. It was nice to sing the liturgy again. After that, we had a normal math class. Most other classrooms just did a math themed game or something since grandparents are allowed to take their students to the book fair whenever they want. Most of my kids stayed for class (I don't think they wanted homework). 

After that we needed to do a social studies lesson to catch up to the other class (and so we can have our test before Easter break next week). I was the most nervous about that since it's on a topic I'm not super familiar with (the Russian czar Peter the Great) and I'm always worried I'll say the wrong thing and an adult who knows more will correct me. Thankfully that didn't happen. Two grandparents expressed later that they really enjoyed my class. 

At 10am, grandparents went to the sanctuary for the entertainment portion of the morning. Classes were called to perform via walkie-talkie. We made sure we were on deck with plenty of time to spare, lined up from tallest to shortest, bathroom-breaked, and pleasant expressions on faces. Mr. N led us in; I followed and grabbed the music stand while he lined them up. There wasn't a microphone to announce the class, but my voice carries in church, so I just projected. They sang well! "Reformation Song" and "May the Peace (Benediction)".

We scurried back to our classrooms where we had to kill an hour before they could leave. Someone gave an anonymous donation of $15 for the book fair for a student, so everyone put their name on a piece of paper in my winter hat and I drew one. I thought only one student hadn't put any books on his wish-list, but it turns out there were two. And the name I drew was one of them (rapper kid). Sigh. If I had known, I would've redrawn or said a different kid's name, but it was too late. I had announced it before classmates complained. He said he would use it to get a book and not just junky toys, so I let him keep it. 

After that we did silent reading until it was time to pack-up. These kids have burned through my books! We're getting to the point where they don't have anything to read anymore, and they've already read the ones they want from my stash. Only my problem for two more days... 

The classroom cleared out pretty quickly. I had a nice heart-to-heart with the last student who was waiting for her mom to finish door duty. She's the oldest and complained about her sisters. 

A different student (before she left for the day), gave me this. Yesterday as we waited for last names to be called for pickup, I noticed she sat in the desk closest to mine with her drawing notebook. The book was angled away from me and she kept looking back and forth between us. I had guessed she was drawing me. She captured me pretty well!

I:55

Book Fair preview day! This book fair is from a company I'm unfamiliar with. It's called I:55, referring to Isaiah 55, and it's a Christian company. I've used Scholastic and Usborne in the past. Definitely cons to both of them. Scholastic had a lot of books inappropriate for Lutheran schools. Usborne had great books for littles, but not many for middle grades. This one had a good selection for all ages and a wide variety of mainstream books alongside God-themed books. I saw a few that were on my to-read list, already read favorites, and some on my books-to-buy list!

The kids each got a book wish list slip to fill out. We had fifteen minutes to peruse and write down titles. I had a few slips to fill out for classroom wish list items. No problem filling that out. 😉

My students were on my case about coming back next year to be their part-time teacher. 

"You just explain things so well. Like, I actually understand stuff when you explain it. And you're so kind and never yell." 

"Yeah, you should follow us to 6th grade. If you have a baby, maybe you can bring it to school with you and teach us with your baby!"

"Yeah, we had a different teacher who did that!"

Somehow, I doubt that.

There's a 5th grade boy into Christian rappers. Obsessed, I'd venture to say. He wants to be a rapper when he grows up and is actually writing his own raps. He did one after school waiting for his parents to pick him up. He said it was from his Greek Album. The song was about going to get a Big Mac. He's pretty talented actually. It sounded like a rap, but I could understand everything he said. A kid from the other class stopped in to drop off an assignment for me and he stopped to listen. Apparently, this song has been a work in progress because this other kid wanted to hear the latest version. Rapper boy said, "Okay, but I'll start here, since you've already heard this part. This is the new part." Very cool.

I told him so. 

Pretty sure his classmates think he's weird, including the girls. They seem to tease him or make fun of him, always in a subtle way that gives off that 'making fun of' feeling but is never mean enough for a teacher to call them out about it. Right before I complemented him on his rapping, it seemed like the ringleader of the girls was going to say something, but she stopped herself when I commented. The look on her face makes me wonder if I gave her something to think about with my praise of his ability. 🤔

A+ Teacher

Today's journal prompt was, "Should teachers be graded by students?" Boy, that got these guys going.

Snippets of conversation I overheard...

"Oh yeah, definitely!"

"And if they yell at us for no reason, they should go to the Principal!"

"Ooo, I would give Mrs. H an A, no an A+!"

"Yeah, she'd get an A+ for sure."

(yelling across the room) "Mrs. H! You are an A+ teacher!"

"What would Mrs. M get?"

"I'd give her a... B+."

"Why that?"

"Because she left us without telling us! She definitely gets a B+ for that."

I chimed in at that point. "Hey, that's not fair. She shouldn't get a bad grade for something she couldn't control!"

They moved on soon after that. I'll have to actually read their journal entries to see what else they had to say...

Eagles Eggs

PE was great today. Not something I've said too often, haha. 

We played a game from my childhood, learned in 5th grade from Mrs. Wilde, Eagles Eggs. I didn't like PE as a kid, but this game was okay. I had fun playing it. My students did too!

Quick rundown for those who haven't played: capture the flag, but with a set playing field, two teams, each with a nest with two balls in it. The nests are in opposite corners of the field. If players are caught on their way to the other team's nest, they get frozen and need a rescue from a teammate. Players get free backs and have to return to their side before they can do another action (like go for an egg or rescue another teammate).

Mrs. M's class was so strategic about it. They would time it just right so that a few of the fast kids would distract one way, and a bunch of others would sneak in from the side. One team ended up with a bunch of kids tagged at the nest because there wasn't room for them in the nest! 

It's funny because the team that won all four games had complained at the beginning that the teams were unfair and we should re-draw. Ha. Goes to show it's not always the fastest kids that win the game. 

Monday night G and I had surprise visitors for supper. Dad and my brother E were passing through, so they swung by our house to eat. My sister E came over too! We had spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce, shredded pork, and homemade mac and cheese sauce on noodles. Very tasty if I do say so myself!

Soil Conference

Day two of the conference was jam packed with speakers and opportunities to ask questions. I took full advantage of those times to ask the experts my questions. 

The big takeaway from Day 1 was to always keep your ground covered to protect the soil/build quality and health. Question one for me was how do I do that with a garden? Question two was how do I get the cover off without chemicals or equipment?

Answers: Plant a blend of seeds (don't have my list handy) to overwinter. Then in the spring when the seeds have grown and are flowering (about May when you want to plant), use a crimper to squish the plants down. If they don't die from that, put black plastic over them to heat them enough to kill them. Then take the plastic off and plant seeds directly in the dry plant matter. I got a different list of seeds to mix and plant in the spring (since I didn't plant any cover crop in the fall). 

The guy who answered my questions said his brother did that in his 1/10th of an acre garden and only had to pull about six weeds all summer. Wow. Sign me up! He also said his brother invented a self-propelled planter for one row in the garden. He took the blades off a rototiller and installed one planter bin from an old planter on the machine instead. Now it takes him about an hour to plant the garden, an hour to crimp it in May, and he's good to go for the summer.

I also talked to Forever Green, an initiative to help farmers keep their ground covered. They directed me to Albert Lea Seeds to buy my seed mixture. I talked to another organization that has native prairie plants/seeds about how to convert my lawn into a pasture for my goats. The guy I spoke with didn't have any direct information, but he said that topic was actually niggling at his brain for a while, so I gave him the necessary boost to actually research it and find an answer. So he'll get back to me once he knows more. 

Next on my list, buy seed!

Buttering Me Up

The 5th graders were glad to have me back today. Somehow we got on the topic of how long I would be teaching them. Hard to believe I've been with them almost a complete quarter of the school year! 

They had mixed emotions when they found out it's only about a week. Some responses: 

"Yay! Mrs. M will be back! We won't miss her anymore. But, aww, then we'll miss you!"

"We're used to you teaching; it's going to be hard to go back to how Mrs. M does things!"

"Since our class is so big, we'll need another 6th grade teacher next year. You should come back and be our teacher!"

"If Mrs. M is gone again, will you teach for her again?" 

"My birthday is next week. I'm going to bring treats and you can have all the extras! Whatever you like! Whatever you want! Donuts, cookies..."

Today was another mixed up schedule day. Normally I only switch to the other 5th grade class in the morning, but we needed one more Junior Achievement day, so Mr. N graciously agreed to skip his art class so we could wrap up. Normally Mrs. M's class goes first, but library time fell during JA time. So our guest speaker wouldn't have to deal with the disruption of kids going in and out, we swapped that time with Mr. N too; his class would have JA first, then mine. 

I heard from Mrs. L that my kids had been BAD yesterday for our guest. Wednesday, the kids had asked if they could go outside for Junior Achievement and the guest speaker said maybe Thursday. Either it was the weather or being outside, but one of those things made them go crazy Thursday. Mrs. L said it was impossible to keep them focused. Thankfully, they were much better today. Maybe it was the lecture Mrs. L gave them yesterday... or the one I gave them today...

Because school was cancelled last Thursday and Friday for influenza, Mrs. L hadn't finished the art project she had started with the 5th grader when I was gone. She did that this afternoon (so we skipped our normal Scholastic News time). This was a multistep project involving: drawing an easter basket on a grassy landscape in pencil, tracing those with permanent marker, painting said items, stamping easter eggs with potato stamps, cutting out the eggs, gluing them on the landscape. Today, the kids made potato stamps by cutting designs in potatoes with plastic knives. They painted paint on the stamps, then stamped them on a piece of cardstock. Once that's dry, they will trace the eggs/the pattern on the eggs with a permanent marker, then do the last two steps. It was a bit chaotic, but not as bad as it could've been. Paint only ended up on the floor just a little bit.

I got all my correcting done during JA and the art class. Woo! No homework! Or, limited homework. I need to look over social studies for next week. It's a unit on early Russia, which I never studied in all my years of history class, so I need to brush up!

This weekend will be a busy one: G's men's church volleyball team plays in a tournament this Saturday, Sunday after church we are going to a confirmation party of a former student of mine followed by a puzzle contest with my small group bible study ladies followed by volleyball practice for my church ladies' volleyball team. Whew!

Teacher Has an Early Out

Half day of school for me. Before I took the long-term sub position, Dad, G and I signed up for a day and a half Soil Health Seminar sponsored by the Sustainable Farming Association. I decided to keep my registration since the things we'd learn could be applied to our homestead. 

I forgot to tell Mrs. M's class that I'd be gone in the afternoon. Wonder how that went... haha. I told Mr. N's class I wouldn't be back in the afternoon. Of course they wanted to know where I was going. 

"A soil conference with my dad."

"That sounds boring. You should skip it."

"I'm sure I'll learn all sorts of cool stuff."

"But why are you going? Can't he go by himself?"

"Well, I need to learn stuff to make my farm better for my goats. And my garden."

"YOU HAVE GOATS????" 

Cue the goat stories from other kids who know people with goats (fainting), asking me to bring my goat to school for pet day/show and tell/etc. Pictures were all I promised.

Day one of the conference was very good. All three of us had takeaways we plan to apply to our farms. Conference snacks were tasty (always a plus) and they had herbal tea as an alternative to coffee. I had thought ahead and brought a thermos of my own. But it's nice to know I have refill options for tomorrow!

Junior Achievement

The kids were excited I was back to teaching them. I fell back into our routine without too much trouble.

The weather was so nice today (70 degrees!) that we had a little extra recess in the afternoon. It was good incentive for them to finish their handwriting quickly. ;) Hopefully it's not too messy.

I had a very easy afternoon... a student's mom came for the last hour and a half of the day to teach Junior Achievement to my class followed by the other 5th grade class. I used my time to correct English papers. Got 'em done and in the gradebook! This will be the schedule for the rest of the week, so it's looking like I won't have too much homework!

That's a good thing because I have a bunch of things I want to catch up on at home. We need to finish painting. After that, our house could use a deep cleaning since our remodel is done! Well, I think one doorway needs a transition piece, but that's it! I can get caught up on my baking. Maybe start some seeds for our garden (only grass is coming up so far). Or maybe I should read one of the library books that has been waiting for me for months!

Arizona

Our 10 days in AZ flew by. The weather was sunny but cool, so I didn't wear most of the shorts I had packed. My one pair of jeans was well-worn by the end of the trip. 

G and I spent a few days in Sedona visiting his aunt. She spends about a month there around the time of the International Film Festival. G and I happened to be there during the festival, and we saw one film. "Coldwater Kitchen" is a documentary about a prison program in Michigan that teaches inmates to cook. When they're finished, they have skills to work in a professional kitchen (and many of them do... one guy even started his own business!). Very interesting look at prison life and beyond. The movie had a short film prior to its start. That one was almost more fascinating than the film we went to see! 

I can't remember what it was called, but it was about DNA transfer at crime scenes. There was a man with a prior record who had been thrown in prison for a murder because his DNA was under the victims fingernails. He repeatedly denied committing it, but allowed that he had been blackout drunk, so maybe he forgot he did? His lawyer eventually found record that her client had been in the hospital continually supervised the night of the murder, so there was no way he could've done it. They found out later the same paramedic team that had gotten him to the hospital had gone to the murder scene after him to help. That's how his DNA accidentally got there. Gigantic oops. Technology has advanced so much that no longer is DNA at a crime scene an open and shut case. Thankfully it seems like the powers that be have learned from this case. The poor guy got released from prison six months later. No "sorry about making everyone think you're a murderer". No restitution. 

Another fun thing G and I did was a hot air balloon ride! I'll attach pictures later. G scheduled it for our first day in Sedona, just in case it would be cancelled. Good thing he did. It was cancelled Tuesday, rescheduled for Wednesday. Too much wind. Then it was cancelled Wednesday, rescheduled for Thursday. Again, too much wind. We really hoped the weather would cooperate Thursday! That was the last chance we had! Thankfully, it was the perfect day. Almost too calm. 

Our pilot had been flying for 40 years. He said he learned to fly balloons to impress a girl. He was a hoot! In his 40 years he's witnessed six people drop their electronic devices. We did not add to that number on our flight. There were 14 people in our basket. Two other balloons went up with us. We floated for around an hour and a half and then they tried to land us on the road. Our pilot succeeded! The owner of the balloon company got caught in a wind that blew him around the mountain/hill a ways away. Oops. We finished the excursion with a champagne toast, a tradition of balloon rides that started back with the first guys who flew. The first balloonists were from France. To keep the farmers in their fields from thinking they were aliens or invaders, the first pilots brought French champagne with them to share with the locals to prove they were also from France (and to build goodwill).

The rest of our time in AZ was spent hiking, morning dips in the hot tub, and enjoying time with G's family. Our flight back was delayed an hour, but aside from that it was uneventful. We hung out in the Cities with some college friends of ours. I got to go with my friend L for her wedding dress fitting and then helped move her fiancé into their future townhome. While I had all that fun, G went to a church conference all day. Now it's back to good-old regular life in Mankato!