Middle School Dance

Flashback to 2nd grade

My girlie is going to her first middle school dance this Friday.  The dress is fancy.  To my daughter that is jeans and converse. I am not sure if that is "fancy," but students have to follow the school dress code. She tried to justify her footwear choice by saying I wore Doc Martens with my outfits.  I told her I wore them with a dress.  Then I had to laugh when she said that she didn't care about clothes.  This is the kid who refused to wear pants at age three.  I can still buy her clothes, but it works best when she is not with me.  She has her definitive opinions about clothes.

Sweating from the dance to the tunes

She, of course, does not want us to chaperon. I remember her "first" school dance in elementary school.  It was a study in child development.   The kindergarten kids just be-bopped around and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade grade boys ran laps around the school cafeteria. The  2nd, 3rd and 4th grade girls danced.  The fifth grade girls promenaded around the room in their fanciest clothes leading their fifth grade boyfriends around the room.  No matter what I hope she will eschew popular opinion and just dance! Wish us luck!  We have 4 days left to pull together an outfit.

Sunday Seven

7.  Dedicated hard-working colleagues.  We made it through our first week of testing approximately 1600 9th and 10th graders.  The students took the 2 hour computer-based  FSA writing test last week.  Students responded to a single topic by reading 2-4 texts and then composing an argumentative or informative\explanatory essay.  A week like last runs smoothly when the students feel confident and prepared which goes back to the teachers.

6.   Florida spring weather where it is cool enough to keep the windows open yet warm enough to swim.

5.  Curious excited young future educators.  I have been blessed to teach a course each spring and fall in the College of Education and Human Performance at the University of Central Florida since the fall of 2006.  They keep me on my toes and inspired.

4.  Seeing these these former future educators in the wild.  I am lucky to work with 5 of them and have had the fortune to learn from them.  Most recently at a digital high school in their English classroom.  Our high school is going digital next year and I have been able to pick their brains. One currently as a member of her dissertation committee and she defends next week.  Another at ETEC2. They are members of a clan. Some go by their self-described name of SOBs (Students of Beth) or more recently I learned, The Rebel Alliance.  Knowing they are out there honing their craft and becoming leaders makes the extra work worth it.

3.  A second blooming of my Christmas cactus.

2.  Fearless friends and my husband who strapped on their rollerskates even after their skating talents have laid dormant for the past 20-30 years in celebration of my friend Lee Ann's 50th Skate-bration.

1.  The ability to keep moving...rollerskating, running swimming, jumping...just moving.  I dropped 1 minute and 36 seconds off of my monthly fitness assessment this week.

Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb host the annual Slice of Life Story Challenge as well as the weekly challenge.  Blog with us at Two Writing Teachers. 

Spring Into Saturday: DeLeon Springs & Pancakes

Looking for something to do this weekend? Drive north on l-4 from Orlando and head  thru Deland to Deleon Springs. It isn't the prettiest spring to swim in, but isn't too deep for toddlers. Our secret is to arrive and have pancakes at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill on-site for a late lunch/early dinner. This way you miss the crowd at breakfast and lunch. The pancake house stays open until 5. If you are waiting, you can enjoy a dip in the spring, visit the museum, or head out on the pontoon boat to tour the St. John's River. You also don't  want to miss a hike in the Cypress Swamp. There's a decent playground for the little ones too.  It's an ideal way to inexpensively enjoy historical aspects of Florida without paying exorbitant fees for the concrete jungle.

The pancakes are all you can eat and you cook them in the griddle on the center of the table. This meal and trip is best reserved from October to May since the historic restaurant has no AC. There is, however, a 72 degree spring to jump in to cool off . Also for pancake-haters like me, they have a small breakfast and lunch menu to choose from. 

Friday's Food for Thought: Ice Cream

One way to survive blogging each day is to have a routine about what you will post each day of the week.  My Friday focus is food for thought in which I will share some of my favorite recipes.  

I have new rule about food appliances sharing my space with my family. In fact, my favorite new tool is my Kitchen AID spiralizer attachment, but I will write about zoodles later this month.(Disclaimer: I don't get kickbacks for any of the products that I talk about on this blog!) I came up with this rule because we live in a condo and our square footage is at a premium.  I love to cook, but the new deal is this: if I have a kitchen tool or appliance that takes too much space, I have to use it at least once a month or twelve times a year. 

The first item up for possible disposal was the ice cream maker that we received as a wedding gift sixteen years ago. This meant I had to make ice cream\sorbet at least once a month last year or 12 times last year.  Really not an awful problem, since my daughter eats ice cream each day. It's part of her prescription for life. I''m more of a chip monster, but these recipes were worth the work and once you mix the ingredients the machine does the rest.  Here are my top 3 faves!

1.  Meyer Lemon Sorbet:  Sour citrus flavors are among my favorite and lemon stands head and shoulders above the rest.  I have a box of Girl Scout lemon shortbread cookies taunting me from the freezer right now.  What was most delicious about this sorbet was the freshness.  A work colleague bought me a bag of Meyer lemons from his parents'  tree.  It was light and tart and enjoyed by everyone in my house. (a twist on this was a strawberry lemon sorbet).  

2. Strawberry Gelato:  In Florida, you can start picking strawberries in December until the end of March\middle of April.  I tend to go a little crazy picking strawberries, often picking 20 pounds.  I love strawberries and my daughter does too.  This recipe is richer than sorbet. The key difference between it and the sorbet recipe is heavy whipping cream.  It has a decadent mouth-feel.   For each of these recipes, all of the fruit was picked either by a friend or myself. Perhaps that goes back to the quality of the ingredients that made a difference.  

3.  Peppermint Ice Cream:  I love mint, peppermint, the kind that flavors candy canes. Some people love mint and some do not.  I can't stand wintergreen and the only way to keep my mom from eating ice cream is making sure it is mint. Although Publix makes a candy cane ice cream and Haagan-Daz makes a peppermint bark ice cream which both come out at Christmas, this recipe is worth the try.  It is actually from Cooking Light and you would never know the difference.  This was the first ice cream that I ever made.  The key to this recipe is that you have to stock some candy canes away, but I guess crushed peppermint candies would do in a pinch.

I've made other flavors too such as blueberry, vanilla, mint chocolate chip and watermelon sorbet. Not every recipes was a success, especially the watermelon sorbet.  Too much sugar!  My cooking failures are good lessons for me. Now I now to taste the base before I freeze it. Next up on my sorbet\ice cream flavor to-dos are key lime, grapefruit, cranberry and coffee. Any special requests?

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream or recipe to make ice cream or sorbet?

Writing Side-By-Side

My daughter had writing homework tonight. It was the kind of homework I like.  Something she can do without the help of her parents or teacher and it doesn't take forever.  We could talk for days about the pros and cons for homework and examine the research.  But instead I wrote beside her.  She had to complete a writing frame poem about changes, a then and now poem that you may have assigned to kids yourself. She is in sixth grade; she turned 12 last week.  She didn't give me permission to share her poem, but  here is mine:









CHANGES


That was me then; this is me now.
Last year I was 44;
now I am 45.
I used to enjoy being on the go, go, go;
now I like down days.
I used to believe that I wasn't a big car driver and loved my Honda Fit;
now I love my mom-mobile CRV with heated seats.
I used to be confused by how to use Microsoft ACCESS;
now I am still confused, but have more of an urgency to learn it.
Last year I focused fitness goal of competing in CG Games;
now I honing my laser-like focus vision on my A1C goal.
Last year I hoped that chips would be carb-free;
now I still hold that same desire.
This year I continue to find joy in each day.
That was me then; this is me now.

When you are stuck with what to write about this month, just search for inspiration.  You never know where you will find it.  Like tonight after searching writing prompts, I finally found it in my daughter's homework.

Eye-Spy: Love & The Fountain of Youth

Wednesdays are long for me. They are the shortest instructional day for kids, but my longest working day. I like to do a variation of Wordless Wednesdays which is my Eye-Spy post. I share images from my weekly treks into nature. Florida spring brings bountiful flocks of birds, blooming flowers, and forays to any of the 500 springs in Florida.  

We went to Silver Glen Springs on Saturday for my daughter's birthday.  We had the spring mostly to ourselves.  Come here on a summer day and the entire spring will be filled to the brim with people. A spring day brings a quiet pool filled with our laughter and splashes, our own private pool. This day we just missed a momma manatee and her babe. The weather, however, was beautiful. The water, 72 degrees, and the air, 68, which meant is was a perfect day to swim and then picnic on the lawn in the Silver Glen basin.  A short trek into the woods takes you see the boils which are baby springs.

Silver Glen Springs, Altoona, Florida

A second trip early this February was at the Wildlife Drive at the Canaveral National Seashore. I am a dilettante as a birder since my best friend is a serious birder.  Therefore I can recognize some birds in the wild.  We have flocks and flocks spending time here right now.  I was lucky enough to capture these two Roseate Spoonbills together at the at the National Seashore. I tend to think anthropomorphically about these two as lovebirds. They still were fun to watch as they foraged for lunch.

Keep your eyes peeled this week for your moments of wild!

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Thirty-One Days!

Some people do the 21 day cleanse. Some people do a 30 day food challenge. I opt for a 31 day Slice of Life Story Challenge in March.  It's my fifth year participating in the annual SOLSC.  If you are reading this now, it isn't too late to join.  I started this adventure five years ago after my friend Lee Ann Spillane asked me to join her. I decided to do it because I created a blog in 2011 and only posted once. Two hundred fourteen posts later, I still find the writing valuable and work at my night job to help future teachers learn about the power of digital writing via blogging.  I have also survived doing a blogging challenge with my high school students.  It is a powerful way to learn more about yourself, your students, and develop writing fluency.  Here are my top five rules about surviving the month.


1.  If you are stuck, just make a listicle or any of those forms that you use with students such as a haiku, an A-to-Z list, a sonnet or a diamonte.  In fact, if you are writing with students, those drafts become perfect to use on you blog.  You can even do routine writing.  For example, I do the Sunday Seven, which is my way of reflecting on the week and what I have gratitude for.

2. Take photos, they become good content. Some digital communities hosts a Wordless Wednesday. I like to add an images to my posts that I gather from my week.

3. You will learn more than you ever thought you might about yourself.  I have learned that comments matter to me.  I didn't realize that until I participated in the SOLSC.  I have also learned that the later you post, the less comments you will get. I have also learned that it takes longer than the ten minutes that I typically allocate. It can take between 30-60 minutes for me.

4.  You can post every day even if you get it done, by 11:59.  On days that I struggle, I read other peoples' post first and comment and then write.  They inspire me.

5. It doesn't have to be perfect. Troy Hicks talks about blogs as a space for kids to draft and get feedback. If you spend time trying to write the perfect post, you won't get one down.  The key is to get it done.

Happy 31 days of writing!