Snow Day, Slow Day

We don't get them very often here in Texas. And it's not really snow, but rather icy road day. Whatever - I'll stay at home from school and be a slug. I got the call a bit after 5:00 am that I didn't need to get up and come to school because it's cancelled for the day. Ironic, eh? I get a call that wakes me up and tells me I don't need to wake up for work.

I'm still puttering around in my robe. It dawned on me I probably needed to download pics from my phone to the computer since I hadn't done that since the fall. I just added a post to my school blog and figured my old personal blog could use an update, too.

So what's new? Teaching still consumes the bulk of my time, trying to stay one step ahead of the students as I figure out the curriculum. The content is fine - it's the labs that are a pain in the tookus. Every new unit kicks my search into high gear. It's all about finding an appropriate germ of a lab idea, expanding it to create a workable lesson for 11-12 yr olds, purchasing the things required for the lab, doing any necessary prep work and then giving it a go with the kids. Sometimes they're fabulous… and sometimes I wish I had just shot myself in the foot for all the learning that occurred. Oh well, it's all about my education this year, too.

In the fall, I got desperate one Sunday afternoon and enlisted the assistance of my husband and 7th grader with the lab prep of sorting beads into baggies. My students enjoyed creating basic 2 and 3D atomic model structures, so that makes all of the work worth it for me.

In other miscellaneous and completely unrelated news, we went to the local bowl game over the Christmas break. Our team didn't win, but I always enjoy the spectacle of a major sporting event. Like most Texans, we believe football reigns supreme. At least the college teams. I don't give a fig about the pros. Here are a few of my pics from the best parts of the whole rigamarole - the pre game stuff and half time show.

Admit it - dontcha love it when the band spells out stuff on the field, even when it's upside down to all of us fans on the other side. And throw in some flags, too. God bless America and Texas!