Sunday, August 28, 2016

Mid Summer All Summer Long

Whew, weather wise, it has been August since April this year- hot, hot, hot.
I've loved having an i-Mac because it made storing and sharing my pictures so easy. Just pop the little card in, and there they were.  When I went to browse, in order to add pictures here, just go to the last import and ta-dah, done.  Well, it got to where I couldn't do anything and was required to download the new, ummm, something or other that is not Safari.  Now, it won't read the card at all unless I turn off the computer and turn it all on again.  It doesn't give me an option of my latest import. I find nothing about it easier to manage than before.  Consequently, I'm way behind on posting here, so this is going to be a long one! Well, maybe, if I can ever find the pictures.
Ol' Mother Hubbard was in need of a sitter for just the boys, so Bean and Giddy-Up came and we had our boy's night and morning.  They always want a fire, so it was hot dogs and ravioli on the fire. Ugh, so hot, but not so they noticed.  We had science experiments. Here they are making their own lemonade.
Pap pitched a tent and growled at me for taking his picture.  He and the older boys were supposed to sleep outside. Pap did, the boys caved.  When he came in for breakfast he teasingly said, 
"Good morning girls."




 We created rattlers with seashells and had blessing gems and lots of sausage for breakfast.  The amount of food these children can consume is astounding.
On the day Rae, Rosie and I shopped, Pap had a date with Giddy-Up and Mr. Smiley.  After shopping at our house and thrift stores for metal items, they created a sound board to hang outside and  play whenever the spirit moves them.



When I cleaned out my room this summer, I found a science kit I bought for the classroom. I had used most everything that there was enough of for a classroom.  This past Tuesday, I turned it over to the boys to enjoy what was left of it.  It was our one late afternoon of milder temperatures and drier weather.  So we all enjoyed the outdoor time.
Our sweetest little Rosie so enjoyed being outside and watching all the action.  She is the dearest littles bit.  Sometimes your kiddo makes you so proud your buttons about pop off.  I really had no idea how this fostering would be.  Well, at this point, we just have another baby we love. No one on the outside looking in would have one clue that we didn't welcome her into the world as our newborn.

 Let me tell you, this interest and these smiles are the best there is and set the world all aright for me.
 I also had left over ice cream from a classroom treat and toppings were on sale this week, so banana splits were dessert.  Yummy. Swimming has started, so Bean and Bugg couldn't be with us.

And, at last, what my sweet girls have been pining for all year- The Fairy Ball.  Since the boys spent the night, the girls needed their turn.  I also needed them to spend the night because they had so much planned, there was no way to do it in an afternoon.
So we began on Friday evening with fairy houses and fairy lanterns.
 Saturday morning, we headed to the Farmer's Market for a bouquet of flowers to make tiny flower baskets.
 And the food, oh my. We served our guests Lichen Sandwiches, Wood Chips, Butterfly Crunch, Berry and Twig Delight, Fruit Logs, Cheery Berry Punch, Acorns,  and Birdseed Salad.  The girls worked long and hard on a fitting fairy description of each dish and presented them one at a time
 Finally, dresses, hair and make-up. My little girls were transformed into woodland beauties.


 Autumn, the Fall Fairy
 Winter Eve
 Midsummer Night
 Preparation Perfection
 Ready to serve.
 The guests were simply delighted with this favored invitation to the very best of the woodland realm.

Me, I smile at how darn cute they are, I feel grateful for a Sidly-girl who shows up,  helps and plays her part, I cry because I know this time is fleeting, I love how, right now, this magic is so very real to them.
Whew, I am worn out!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Miscellaneous Life

Since school began, the Gramerlings have come to visit on Tuesday evenings.  It always is such a transition for me back to the classroom.  I have a pretty clear picture of how the year is going to shape up, where the strengths are, where the challenges are as well.
I had an strange experience this week.  I'm not Facebook savvy. I'm not quite sure why things appear and what my actions in response to other's posts, though rare, fall out in cyberspace.  Anyway, a disgruntled lower grade parent left our school for a public school close by.  On my fb feed was a former administrator sharing that parent's post about how wonderful her new experience has been and how horrible the former teacher was.  She had something to say about life not being black and white and too bad that teacher couldn't see the gray.  We are a small school in a small community. She might as well have said her name.  I just felt sick.  When you've spent twelve years watching someone teach and have long understood that in fact, what the teacher sees  is each individual person and works hard to love them in every color known to man.  I desperately wanted to respond in defense of this teacher.  This was  a post with  no option for commenting.
If you know me, you would know I run from this type of thing, like my tail's on fire.  I have no desire to fight on FB.  Still, my guilt was enormous to let this go, though I didn't know how to address it.
I will tell you one thing I've discovered. There are parents who have no expectation that their child should have to follow the rules.  Yes, they may find a classroom where their child is  "happy" for a time, but I've discovered this often means the teacher is overwhelmed and can only put out so many fires at one time.  What happens, parents with an expectation for their children to respond appropriately to authority have their child receiving less education than they should while a few children are ruling the classroom.  I know of which I speak.
There was only one teacher who knew the heart of everyone he taught, my Lord and Savior, Jesus.  When he sat high expectations to love your neighbor as yourself, they hated Him.  How will I or my co-teacher ever compare?
I know I wake up every day and plan for it to be good, plan to be patient, loving, kind, plan to find a way to reach a child. Still, that child who walks in every day believing that the rules don't apply to him, that he's above the expectations of our school, well, it is hard to do for hours on end.  What is always interesting to me is seeing those very people outside of school and their own frustration with the child is evident, yet they fully expect me to manage it with a smile six hours a day.  Let me say, it makes me wish their was no such thing as Facebook knowing the hurt those nasty comments have on someone undeserving.
On a different note, a new baby every week.  First my little Wayside Rosie, and this week the Captain's new boy Scout, a furbaby.

So cute.
Getting to know her cousins

What, are these more furbabies?

Showing Pap her fancy skirt.

Rae needed to attend a school orientation with Giddy-Up, so I came to care for the two little ones.  Rosie had to have her vaccinations and was not feeling well.  At various fussy times, two year old Mr. Smiley would try to comfort her, "It's okay baby, just take a deep bwef,"  Dragging a book over, "I will read her a story," and he did.  " I will sing to her," and proceeded to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle."  How dear that a little two year old knows how to comfort his sister.
Today was spent shopping for little girl things- Be still my heart.