Photo #59/365: Waiting

The boys are all lined up and waiting for their restroom break.

Photo #58/365: Oranges

I'm still home sick. The only time I went out today was to go to Staples and Bailey and I went for a short walk up and down the street. This is another photo from my trip to Hy-Vee on Friday evening. Orange you glad this is my last photo of fruit?

Photo #57/365: Bananas and Pineapples

Several of the kids in my class went home sick this week, and today, unfortunately, I'm under the weather myself. I was supposed to work at Huntington, but instead I've spent most of the day laying on the couch. I haven't ventured out of the house today, but I snapped this photo when I was at Hy-Vee last night. I wish I would have bought some of these beautiful bananas or a pineapple. Fresh fruit would have tasted really delicious today.

Photo #56/365: Smile!

My photo for the day came from Hy-Vee again. I was immediately drawn to this cheerful display when I walked past the Hy-Vee Floral Shop. You can't help but smile with all this yellow and the happy faces. It was a bright spot on a cold dreary and now snowy day.

Photo #55/365: RIF Day

Today was RIF Day. We are lucky because our PTA makes sure that every kid in the school gets a book on these days. There were many great books to choose from. I can't help but wonder, with all the talk about budget cuts on both the national and state level, if this will be the last year that we have RIF.

Photo #54/365: New Dog, Maybe?

My friend, Nancy called me today to tell me about one of the teachers at her school who his giving away some dogs. His wife, who also happens to be Nancy's cousin, has a kennel, but she is downsizing. They are giving away some Pugs, Bassett Hounds, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I've actually been thinking about a Cavalier King Charles. They are small dogs, and they're really cute. They do shed though, whereas Bichons like Bailey do not. Mmmm. . . . I'm thinking about it. Bailey does need a new friend, but I'm not sure yet.

Photo #53/365: Little Bear

This little bear was a gift that I received from one of my students for Valentine's Day. I think he's kind of cute.

Photo #52/365: Bus Ride

Today was our all day professional development which takes place downtown, and I took my annual bus ride on the city bus. The bus stop is just around the corner from my house, so it's lots easier than looking for a place to park and paying for a parking place. I definitely got some exercise since all my sessions were in Hy-Vee Hall and the bus dropped me off on Walnut street.

The sessions I attended were good. I got to hear Jamie Fath talk about technology and Ann Marie Corgill talk about teaching writing. I also listened to our superintendent, Dr. Sebring talk about things going on in our district. She is always an excellent speaker, but it's pretty depressing hearing about NCLB, failing schools, and the budget.

Photo #51/365: Red Bench

I had dinner with my friend, Chris, tonight. I noticed this red bench outside of her garage. I especially liked the way it looked sitting between the two clumps of grass. Everything in the landscape right now is brown and dull, but the golden color of these ornamental grasses add interest. I really want to put some in my back flowerbed this spring.

Photo #50/365: Lanterns

I had dinner at Panda Express tonight. The food is passable, but definitely not great. These lanterns caught my eye though.

Photos 46 thru 49: School Days

Photo #46, for Tuesday, February 15: Music

I took a tour of our combination art/music room. There is a lot that goes on in there. The room is packed with art supplies and musical instruments.





Photo #47: Knights and Castles

In fourth grade we study the middle ages. I wait until later in the year so we have castles on display for Core Knowledge night. Mr. Pugh's class is working on it now. He and his student teacher put up this great display this week.





Photo #48: Star Students

We have lots of students who follow the rules. Each one of these stars bears a student's name.





Photo #49: Jump!

We had great weather this week. We were able to get outside for recess every day. Almost all the snow has melted. The bright sunshiny days really lifted our spirits.

Photo #44 and 45/365: Clips and Laces

Photo #44: Neon Laces

I started noticing these laces in one of my student's shoes about a week ago. They are very eye catching. I thought I better get a photo before they start getting that worn faded look that shoelaces often do.



Photo #45: A Tub of Clips

This colorful tub of clips was a Valentine gift from one of my students. You can't go wrong with colorful school supplies when it comes to gifts for teachers.

Photo #43/365: Pencil Toppers and Clips

This bag of pencil toppers and clips were Valentine treats brought by one of the kids to pass out to classmates. He also gave me a big container of all kinds of fancy paper clips. What a clever idea!

Photo #42/365: Valentine Homework

For homework on Tuesday, students were to work on their Valentine Mailbox. Our party was today. Here are just three of the wonderful creations that students came up with.

Photo #41/365: Red

I love the color red!

Photo #40/365: Domino Art

We have had day after day of inside recess. Sometimes I don't mind having everyone inside, because I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of watching the kids play. A favorite activity in our room is building domino runs. The kids will spend their entire recess patiently designing and setting up these domino structures. It is a criminal act to purposely tip over the dominoes that someone else is working on. When I announce that it's time to clean up, only the people who built the domino run are allowed to tip the first domino. It is fun to watch to see if they all fall as planned. These creative designs are truly a form of domino art.

Photo #39/365: Conference Chart

It's hard to believe that it's time to think about scheduling parent/teacher conferences again. In our building, that means the conference chart will be making the rounds. It starts in fifth grade and works its way down through the classes. It arrived in my room this morning. It's a procedure that really works pretty well.

Photo #38/365: The Phillips Arch

I was getting ready to leave school for the day when I realized that I hadn't found a photo for today. I decided to take a few pictures of the front of the building. The oldest part of the building was constructed around 1914. This arch at the front entrance was added when Phillips was remodeled seven years ago. I like this addition, and I thought this made for an interesting angle. I didn't hang around for long, because it was cold out there!

Photo #37/365: Avatars

It's been a very dreary day. It snowed a couple inches last night and a little more today. I've been spending some time on various websites creating avatars. I want to have the kids try this, but once I got to school I discovered that several of the websites are blocked.





Which one do you like best?

Photo #36/365: RV Dreams

My sister and I went to "Iowa's Original RV Camping Show" at the fairgrounds. My sister has a small motorhome, but we were dreaming bigger today. Most of what we saw were trailers or 5th Wheels. We were disappointed that there weren't more motorhomes, but we still had a good time. It's amazing what you find in some of these RVs including fireplaces, showers, and outdoor kitchens. It's quite a step up from my tent. I could definitely be comfortable in one of these.

Photo #35/365: My Sweet Puppy

Even though Bailey is almost nine years old, I call him a puppy. It was a hectic day at school, and I didn't think to take any pictures, but I always like photos of my sweet puppy. I took this one a week or two ago. How could you not love that face?

Photo #34/365: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am partial to cookies, and a snow day is the perfect time to bake a batch of cookies. This is a recipe that I got from someone on Twitter. I don't remember who the recipe was from originally, but I know that @BarbinNebraska shared it with me. There is a lot of goodness packed into these cookies.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• MIX IN LARGE BOWL:
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• ADD:
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 2 cups chocolate chips (1 bag)
• pinch of salt
Directions

1. Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl
2. Add remaining 5 ingredients and mix together
3. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes
5. Let cool on tray a couple minutes before removing to allow to stiffen
6. Makes about 4 dozen cookies
7. ALTERATION:
8. -If you use all natural peanut butter you'll find the batter creamier
9. -With regular peanut butter if you find the batter a bit stiff add a few tablespoons of milk to bring consistency to your liking

Photo #33/365: My Hero!

Today was our first snow day of the school year, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I stayed in bed until 8:15 this morning, and then remained in my pajamas until around 2:00 when I had to face the task of clearing the driveway. Dealing with the aftermath of the storm is the one downside to a snow day, and I thank God everytime my snowblower starts up and stays running until the job is done. This snowblower is truly "My Hero!"

Photo #32/365: Snow

School was dismissed early today because of the weather. At this time there are only a few inches of snow on the ground here in town, but the winds are picking up and the temperature is dropping. Just to our southeast people may get as much as twenty inches of snow.


It's not a fit night for bird nor beast, and I haven't seen any birds come by to dine at this bird feeder. It was so nice to come home early. I baked a batch of cookies, and I am snug and comfortable here at home.


I will not be setting foot out of the house until I have to, so any photos are taken from my door. This is the view from the back deck. Blizzard conditions are predicted until noon tomorrow, and I would love to have a snow day.