Dog Days of Summer School

I don't know about you, but when it comes to summer school, I used to associate it with punishment, makeup credits, community service, etc. but at the school at which I teach, summer school is actually quite fun. Students have all kinds of options in addition to keeping their academic skills up. For the past three weeks, I've taught summer school classes that included academics as well as fun activities like making tie blankets, hand-sewn pillows, and puffy paint fidgets. 

Here are a couple of snaps of the fun.

I brought Milo and Steve to summer school classes this week. I justified it by creating some lessons on basic dog care and training, which the kids loved. Each day, we spent an hour working on reading skills, an hour on math skills, and an hour working on crafts and learning about dogs. Milo and Steve were ecstatic about being able to leave with me in the morning, and my students adored them.

Steve got some great exercise on the day students learned that "a tired dog is a good dog." 

He fetched until we made him stop, and he spent the rest of the day and night sleeping.lol

Milo was a big hit because he enjoys being cuddled.

He also loves being so close to a table top, 

which likely reminded him of our dinner table and gave him hope.

(He's not allowed near the table at our house.)

He also cooperates with dress-up time,

which this week involved special crafts.

Summer school is over now, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in for a few days before heading off on a cross-country road trip. Milo has assured me that he would be no trouble at all if I let him come along, but he will be staying home with Steve and our cat Ted.. It'll be tough to say goodbye this face, though.

How about you? Anything fun planned for this summer?

Birthday Wisdom from My Mom, Elsie

Mom turned 88 today. We're so lucky to have her with us.

Mr4444, Child Whisperer

Mr.4444 has always loved little kids, probably because he is a kid at heart. Kids love him, too, as evidenced by the reactions he gets out of them. Every where he goes, Mark goes out of his way to engage the little ones. When we used to go to church as a family, I'd sometimes have to admonish him for paying more attention to the babies around us than the sermon. He couldn't help it; he just loves baby smiles. At a wedding this weekend, it was no different; Mr. 4444 and the flower girl (Sophia, also a house guest of ours for the weekend). Here he is, playing peek-a-boo with her while her parents stood in line for dinner. 

 He's the king of weird face making.

Just look at this little cutie's reaction.

Mr.4444 can't wait to be a grandpa. 

It's going to be a while, as neither of our children are expecting to be parents soon.

In the meantime, he'll get plenty of practice.

Adorable Elsie

Heard any good corny jokes lately? My mom has a good one: 

My mom Elsie is as active as she is corny and cute. Eighty-eight years young, she recently stopped driving, and we seven local siblings have picked up the slack to drive her to her many weekly activities: her hangout with singing friends called the Stumblebums, a few mornings per week at the YMCA for swimming, church choir practice, standing Saturday morning breakfast date with friends, and church on Sundays to sing in the choir. She also cross stitches nearly every day, bakes cookies and other treats, and goes to weekend crafting sleepovers. She's always doing something fun, and she never lets anything get her down for long. For example, she recently had an eye surgery that required her to face downward for 24 hours. When I called her the next morning to see how her night had gone, she chirped, "Oh, it went great! I even wrote a song to share!" You can listen to that little ditty here, but the point is we could all learn a lot from Mom's attitude towards life. That's why we decided to set up a YouTube channel just for her. On it, we shared all kinds of clips of Mom's jokes, song, and stories. If you're ever feeling down, head over to Elsie Mae C's YouTube channel--It's sure to pick you up. Mom's up to 37 subscribers as of this blog post, and she is shocked and tickled to death! Care to join her?

For more blog posts about Mom, click here.

Heard in the Classroom: Effort

A 6th grade student with wisdom (but also a learning disability) was inspired yesterday to create this inspirational message that I just had to share.

Trying your best is the key, but not trying at all will not get you anywhere in life.

I have a feeling she's going places, that one.

Hope this finds you well, happy, and warm. Thanks for checking in.