Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas, Friends!!!

First, in honor of "Jason Crisp"...



Some funnies...

"A Great Big Sled" by The Killers

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Last, but not least...

Hopefully your Christmas morning will look like this!

Priceless

This is my favorite commercial right now......so cute!

Another Update on Logan

Much has changed since my last post. What the doctors initially thought to be an infection was actually a tumor. The mass they removed from her brain is an anaplastic meningioma. Anaplastic means it's malignant...and it's on the World Health Organization's Grade III stage of Cancer, with IV being the worst.

Apparently, this type of aggressive meningioma is very rare in children. Not all meningiomas are malignant...in fact, most are benign. Unfortunately, however, in Logan's case, it is malignant. Her oncologist only found 19 reported cases of this in children worldwide since 1971.

Logan and her family have a tough road ahead. In mid-to-late August, she will begin 6 weeks of radiation, going 5 days a week (Mon.-Fri.). Needless to say, she will need all the strength and bravery her little 6-year-old heart can muster.

As I say goodbye for the summer to her two sisters at camp next week, I will probably find myself thinking of them often. Please keep Logan and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

One more thing...just wanted to share this song. Logan's mom said it has helped her in getting through this...so, this is for Logan...

John Mayer's "The Heart of Life"


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Inappropriate

So, last night at work I was tutoring a 2nd grader in Math. We were doing word/story problems and we came upon one that talked about "rock music tapes." To this, my student replies, "Cool...rock music." I said, "Oh, so you like rock music?" He says, "Yeah, but I can't talk about my favorite band."

Well this clearly piques my curiosity, so I question a little further, wondering what his favorite band is and why he can't talk about them...The dialogue goes like this:

Me: Why can't you talk about them?

Him: Well, because they're inappropriate.

Me: Oh...It's okay though...you can at least tell me the name of the band.

Him: It's the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

At this point, I'm laughing inside because it's definitely an odd choice for an 8-year-old, and I'm figuring he probably knows them from his parents.

Me: Oh, I know the Red Hot Chili Peppers...I like them too.

Him: (wide-eyed, smiling) You do?!

Me: Yes, but tell me why you called them inappropriate.

Him: Well, because in their songs they talk about girls and stuff so I didn't think I should talk about them.

Me: I guess your parents know you like them, right?...Do they listen to them too?

Him: Well, they know...and my Dad also likes them. [I think he also muttered something about listening to them with his Dad in the car.]

Me: Okay....let's get back to work.

Such is my life working with kids. They crack me up. You never know what they're going to say or connect to next, which is half the fun of teaching.

You Gotta Love Little Kids

Today I subbed a half day (PM) for a Kindergarten class. I have been in this classroom before, which was nice because I already knew all the kids. I was interested to see if they would remember me though, since I haven't seen them since January...you never can tell with little ones; it could go either way...they might remember, they might not. When I got there at 11:30 a.m., they had already eaten lunch and were out at recess. So, at 11:45 I went outside to the playground to pick them up. As soon as I walked up to their line, the first boy in the line screamed out my name with this big smile on his face. Wide-eyed, I said, "Oh, you remember me, huh?" He nodded his head 'yes' as the other kids quickly caught on and called out to me too. We then walked inside so I could read-aloud my favorite children's book "Green Eggs & Ham" by Dr. Suess (in celebration of Read Across America/Dr. Suess' March 2nd birthday). I tried not to laugh hysterically as the kids kept telling me so matter-of-factly that the main character in the story was "angry" and "upset" at Sam-I-Am because he kept pushing his green eggs and ham.

Perhaps the funniest thing, though, is how the kids feel no qualms about telling me how their teacher does things...or they tell me how to do something, as if I don't already know. I know this all too well though because my 2nd graders used to do the same thing to the subs that would come in for me. They just don't seem to understand that teachers don't have to do things exactly the same way all the time. However, I realize this is just because they find comfort in their routine...so, I just usually reassure them that everything is okay and then we move on.

I used to think that I didn't want to teach Kindergarten because it is so physically and mentally draining (I've never tied so many shoes and zipped up so many coats in my life!)...but I don't feel that way anymore. I realize how much they are like little sponges and how exciting it would be to play a part in that everyday.