I know I blather on about this every year, so I'll be brief.....I am so tired of this crazy No Child Left Behind nonsense and the insane amounts of stress that it puts on kids (and their teachers!) to pass this one goofy little set of tests! Never mind the actual learning of things or kids performing to the best of their ability or demonstrating responsibility and growth throughout the year. Nope. We're going to let it all be decided by three days of incredibly stressful testing. What a great plan! Insert lots of harumphing and foot stomping here.
I really do hope that everyone has a great weekend!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Life Attacks!
And that's why my blog has fallen behind once again. My promised pictures for the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment did not happen because I decided it would be way more fun to spend the day in the emergency room with my second kidney stone than to hang out with my family. I mean, who wouldn't rather have an IV, experience mind-boggling pain and get poked and prodded than blow up some Diet Coke??? (I also want to add here that I find this to be the only real use for Diet Coke...you certainly wouldn't want to drink it!) So, the kidney stone is a thing of the past now, though the doctor did discover a new and exciting condition that I have when they ran me through the radioactive donut. How exciting! Uterine fibroids, unite!
Okay, enough health talk. Well, enough talk about my health specifically. This next section actually is still about health and grocery shopping. I've read a gazillion times that to protect yourself and your environment from chemicals, preservatives, pollution, etc. that you should buy fruits and veggies that are in season and grown locally if possible. Well, since I'm not a farmer, I have very little clue as to what is actually in season, so I just kind of grab whatever's there that looks yummy. No more! I found http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/ ... this site gives a list of fruits and veggies per season (they also have a category for all year) with tons of other information about nutrition and cooking with fruits and veggies. Very useful to visit this site if you're like me (which means you're pretty agriculturally challenged).
In other oh-so-fascinating news, I have made it my life's mission at the moment to find toilet paper and paper towels that are made of recycled paper. I know they exist. I've found them on line. What I would like to find though, is these products in a local store and I would prefer for them to be cheaper than me setting up a manufacturing plant and making them myself. That has proven to be the tricky part. Sadly, at this point, I have only found toilet paper that is made of recycled paper and that was at Wal Mart, which is the enemy. I was only in Wal Mart as a last resort for finding hula hoops for a class project (hula hoop and tissue paper pie charts - beautiful!) when I wandered down the tissue aisle and spotted the recycled toilet paper. I'll let the world know how this mission turns out....you're all on the edge of your seats, right?!?
Well, it is now time to go enjoy a hard-core session of Viva Pinata with the family. I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!
Okay, enough health talk. Well, enough talk about my health specifically. This next section actually is still about health and grocery shopping. I've read a gazillion times that to protect yourself and your environment from chemicals, preservatives, pollution, etc. that you should buy fruits and veggies that are in season and grown locally if possible. Well, since I'm not a farmer, I have very little clue as to what is actually in season, so I just kind of grab whatever's there that looks yummy. No more! I found http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/ ... this site gives a list of fruits and veggies per season (they also have a category for all year) with tons of other information about nutrition and cooking with fruits and veggies. Very useful to visit this site if you're like me (which means you're pretty agriculturally challenged).
In other oh-so-fascinating news, I have made it my life's mission at the moment to find toilet paper and paper towels that are made of recycled paper. I know they exist. I've found them on line. What I would like to find though, is these products in a local store and I would prefer for them to be cheaper than me setting up a manufacturing plant and making them myself. That has proven to be the tricky part. Sadly, at this point, I have only found toilet paper that is made of recycled paper and that was at Wal Mart, which is the enemy. I was only in Wal Mart as a last resort for finding hula hoops for a class project (hula hoop and tissue paper pie charts - beautiful!) when I wandered down the tissue aisle and spotted the recycled toilet paper. I'll let the world know how this mission turns out....you're all on the edge of your seats, right?!?
Well, it is now time to go enjoy a hard-core session of Viva Pinata with the family. I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Science Is Fun!
Any day that you wake up to organic blueberry pancakes with organic scrambled eggs and organic pears has got to be great, right? :) After that fabulicious breakfast prepared by my husband, the science fun began! I've got lots of pictures for you....
First, we did the ketchup packet diver experiment. The first step in this one is to find the very-most-perfectly floating ketchup packet...it can't sink to the bottom, but it shouldn't poke out of the top of the water too much either. Then you put the perfect packet into a container filled with water, put the lid on and squeeeeeze until that little packet sinks like a rock....then let go to watch the packet drift dreamily back to the top. :)
First, we did the ketchup packet diver experiment. The first step in this one is to find the very-most-perfectly floating ketchup packet...it can't sink to the bottom, but it shouldn't poke out of the top of the water too much either. Then you put the perfect packet into a container filled with water, put the lid on and squeeeeeze until that little packet sinks like a rock....then let go to watch the packet drift dreamily back to the top. :)
Next we made a cloud in a bottle...trust me, there was a cloud in there. :D
And our final experiment for the day was our favorite....the "make a boiled egg go into a bottle" experiment. Hehe. Ours was a little more explosive than expected. First, you drop still burning matches or paper in the bottom of a glass bottle, then quickly sit the egg on top and wait for the magic to happen....check out the egg guts!
Yep, fun was had by all....even Simon (the cat). :) Annnnd....all of the bottles we needed for these fine endeavors were right in our recycling box...it paid off for me to be slack about taking it to the center. :D Never fear, they were put back in the recycling box when we were finished!
Yep, fun was had by all....even Simon (the cat). :) Annnnd....all of the bottles we needed for these fine endeavors were right in our recycling box...it paid off for me to be slack about taking it to the center. :D Never fear, they were put back in the recycling box when we were finished!
After our science fun, we decided to go to the park/zoo....I'll post pictures from that later in the week because I have to scram for now.
Next week's science projects.....Mentos and Diet Coke, rock salt and Diet Coke, and sugar with 7-Up...there will be pictures!
Have a great Monday!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Sometimes Things Just Work
And isn't it wonderful when they do?
The Outer Banks trip with the 8th graders was fantastic! I can't brag on those children as much as I want to or I would bore everyone to tears, but I will say that no one could have asked for a better behaved group of kids! We even got compliments from the other customers in restaurants and stores about how good they were. In light of a rather horrific story I read on another blog about how a class of 9th graders acted like a bunch of insane booty-heads when she went to speak to them, I am super-proud of the students at my school.
Oh yeah...we had a lot of fun, too! :) We visited lighthouses, took a long ferry ride, saw Jockey's Ridge, the Wright Brothers Memorial, Somerset Plantation (that place was really cool....the kids got to make candles, rope, baskets and brooms in the fashion of the 19th century), an aquarium, Fort Macon, etc. At Cape Hatteras, another teacher and I bought our National Park Passports....we were really excited about those. We got two stamps on our trip this week. :) I didn't get any letterboxes while I was there. I had some clues printed out, but there was only one at the exact same location that we were and I couldn't find it. :(
On to other things that worked out well....I thought Earth Hour was great. At our house, we just enjoyed each other's company and conversation by candlelight. :) I've read some comments about Earth Hour that say it was pointless because it was only an hour and it wasn't a solution. I disagree that it was pointless....it generated a great deal of awareness and that's a large part of the battle. I've read blogs, visited web sites, overheard conversations, received emails, and so on about Earth Hour.....the idea is out there, so blpphhht at the naysayers. :D
On the radio today, I heard a success story from a great organization. (This is also kind of a nonprofit of the week.) Florence Crittendon Services is an organization that provides care and shelter for homeless pregnant women and girls. They also offer programs for at risk teens and other services. They do more than just give these women a bed....they teach pregnant women vital skills for taking care of their children and themselves. They also teach life skills and provide information and assistance for success. The story I heard on the radio today was about a woman who went to the center when she was 23...she was homeless and pregnant and, no doubt, terrified. While there she learned how to keep herself and her child healthy. She got her GED and learned about options for college. She is now happily married, working on a nursing degree and has taken in her 13 year old sister. Not only was this woman able to break the cycle of poverty in her own life, but also in that of her younger sister and her child. How wonderful is that?
Happy weekend to everyone! Our plans include at-home science experiments and a trip to the park we weren't able to go to for John's birthday. :D
The Outer Banks trip with the 8th graders was fantastic! I can't brag on those children as much as I want to or I would bore everyone to tears, but I will say that no one could have asked for a better behaved group of kids! We even got compliments from the other customers in restaurants and stores about how good they were. In light of a rather horrific story I read on another blog about how a class of 9th graders acted like a bunch of insane booty-heads when she went to speak to them, I am super-proud of the students at my school.
Oh yeah...we had a lot of fun, too! :) We visited lighthouses, took a long ferry ride, saw Jockey's Ridge, the Wright Brothers Memorial, Somerset Plantation (that place was really cool....the kids got to make candles, rope, baskets and brooms in the fashion of the 19th century), an aquarium, Fort Macon, etc. At Cape Hatteras, another teacher and I bought our National Park Passports....we were really excited about those. We got two stamps on our trip this week. :) I didn't get any letterboxes while I was there. I had some clues printed out, but there was only one at the exact same location that we were and I couldn't find it. :(
On to other things that worked out well....I thought Earth Hour was great. At our house, we just enjoyed each other's company and conversation by candlelight. :) I've read some comments about Earth Hour that say it was pointless because it was only an hour and it wasn't a solution. I disagree that it was pointless....it generated a great deal of awareness and that's a large part of the battle. I've read blogs, visited web sites, overheard conversations, received emails, and so on about Earth Hour.....the idea is out there, so blpphhht at the naysayers. :D
On the radio today, I heard a success story from a great organization. (This is also kind of a nonprofit of the week.) Florence Crittendon Services is an organization that provides care and shelter for homeless pregnant women and girls. They also offer programs for at risk teens and other services. They do more than just give these women a bed....they teach pregnant women vital skills for taking care of their children and themselves. They also teach life skills and provide information and assistance for success. The story I heard on the radio today was about a woman who went to the center when she was 23...she was homeless and pregnant and, no doubt, terrified. While there she learned how to keep herself and her child healthy. She got her GED and learned about options for college. She is now happily married, working on a nursing degree and has taken in her 13 year old sister. Not only was this woman able to break the cycle of poverty in her own life, but also in that of her younger sister and her child. How wonderful is that?
Happy weekend to everyone! Our plans include at-home science experiments and a trip to the park we weren't able to go to for John's birthday. :D
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