Incentives are a strange thing. Our local paper is full of incentives to buy products. The Saturday paper is positively fat with car advertisements promoting incentives to buy. I save the JoAnn Fabric incentives from the Sunday paper for Gayle.What incentives do you use to move you on through your days? I think that most of us have some way or another that we focus and push ourselves to get done what must be done. Are you a list maker or a bargainer? I’ve done both.I make a list of things to do and then when I’ve accomplished all of ‘em, I reward myself with some fun thing that I’ve been looking forward to doing. Other times I will say, “When I get through correcting this set of papers, then I’ll…” and fill in the blank with something chocolate. I use incentives to move my fifth graders. A 100 Point Party – points given for good behavior, special projects, and of course, M & M’s. It’s amazing how a little public recognition and a couple of M & M’s can lift the confidence and outlook of a student! I get incentives also. Last week a fifth grade boy said to me, “You really like teaching, don’t you?” He noticed! This is from a boy who spoke no English as a kindergartener, a boy who came to the USA as a refugee from Africa with his parents. And then I had the chance to tell him why – you can’t point kids down the pathway of life unless you know exactly where you are on that path. That as a child of the King, I know where I am, whose I am, and where I’m going. Way better than M & M’s!
Monday, September 26, 2005
Incentives are a strange thing. Our local paper is full of incentives to buy products. The Saturday paper is positively fat with car advertisements promoting incentives to buy. I save the JoAnn Fabric incentives from the Sunday paper for Gayle.What incentives do you use to move you on through your days? I think that most of us have some way or another that we focus and push ourselves to get done what must be done. Are you a list maker or a bargainer? I’ve done both.I make a list of things to do and then when I’ve accomplished all of ‘em, I reward myself with some fun thing that I’ve been looking forward to doing. Other times I will say, “When I get through correcting this set of papers, then I’ll…” and fill in the blank with something chocolate. I use incentives to move my fifth graders. A 100 Point Party – points given for good behavior, special projects, and of course, M & M’s. It’s amazing how a little public recognition and a couple of M & M’s can lift the confidence and outlook of a student! I get incentives also. Last week a fifth grade boy said to me, “You really like teaching, don’t you?” He noticed! This is from a boy who spoke no English as a kindergartener, a boy who came to the USA as a refugee from Africa with his parents. And then I had the chance to tell him why – you can’t point kids down the pathway of life unless you know exactly where you are on that path. That as a child of the King, I know where I am, whose I am, and where I’m going. Way better than M & M’s!
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Stiff Competition
How does one compete with a 1929 Model A Ford, Shakespeare and fabulous fairies? Our life appears drab in comparison.
The days of this week just fluttered by with enough on task time to know that we are accomplishing our objectives and enough serendipity to keep the children awake and tuned in. In K we painted lions for Dandylion Day (Oct 7) and measured out a 36 foot long paper anaconda ( adding machine paper works great) that was far longer than a five year old's estimate and looks grand looped in the canopy of our rainforest. We wrote alliterative sentences using adjectives for the first time - such things as "large lions, live lemons, and lovely leaves." Of course the lemons were all hanging on a rather piney looking tree but on a tree nonetheless so they would be "live". I have some creative thinkers. Monday is Johnny Appleseed's birthday so my list of things to bring from home is long - the crockpot, some cinnamon, apple peelers, and a saucepan to put on my head while I read the J.A. biography. I'm hoping Rob will drop me off at the door of the school so I won't have to carry all my stuff from the parking garage. We have been riding together as much as possible to conserve fuel. We were planning a little trip to the Fall Festival of our favorite nursery in Tampa, but decided to save the $ and Rob will order a few new plants for his bromeliad collection online.
We're having a busy Sunday, Rob is leading music in church, I'm playing the piano, then we have our monthly potluck, then at 5:30 a little house warming party for a young couple at church who have purchased their first home. After that Matt and Jill are coming over and we will proctor an exam for them. They are taking seminary courses online and the exam is sent to us through email, we provide a quiet spot, then sign the test and mail it to the college for them. Next month they are going to China to check out locations and make plans for when they go there as missionaries sometime next year - after March 21 when their baby is due. They are our adopted family here - Jill never knew her father and calls Rob her special Dad and Matt's family live in North Dakota. Yes, I'm making a pink and a blue quilt, they would like to wait to know the gender so we just say Baby K (Kasowski).
I'm not going to add any pictures until I sign up and work through Fliker (sp) - last week the suggested program was Picasa - and it doesn't do what Fliker does so I'm going to see if I can change over. Wish me luck.
The days of this week just fluttered by with enough on task time to know that we are accomplishing our objectives and enough serendipity to keep the children awake and tuned in. In K we painted lions for Dandylion Day (Oct 7) and measured out a 36 foot long paper anaconda ( adding machine paper works great) that was far longer than a five year old's estimate and looks grand looped in the canopy of our rainforest. We wrote alliterative sentences using adjectives for the first time - such things as "large lions, live lemons, and lovely leaves." Of course the lemons were all hanging on a rather piney looking tree but on a tree nonetheless so they would be "live". I have some creative thinkers. Monday is Johnny Appleseed's birthday so my list of things to bring from home is long - the crockpot, some cinnamon, apple peelers, and a saucepan to put on my head while I read the J.A. biography. I'm hoping Rob will drop me off at the door of the school so I won't have to carry all my stuff from the parking garage. We have been riding together as much as possible to conserve fuel. We were planning a little trip to the Fall Festival of our favorite nursery in Tampa, but decided to save the $ and Rob will order a few new plants for his bromeliad collection online.
We're having a busy Sunday, Rob is leading music in church, I'm playing the piano, then we have our monthly potluck, then at 5:30 a little house warming party for a young couple at church who have purchased their first home. After that Matt and Jill are coming over and we will proctor an exam for them. They are taking seminary courses online and the exam is sent to us through email, we provide a quiet spot, then sign the test and mail it to the college for them. Next month they are going to China to check out locations and make plans for when they go there as missionaries sometime next year - after March 21 when their baby is due. They are our adopted family here - Jill never knew her father and calls Rob her special Dad and Matt's family live in North Dakota. Yes, I'm making a pink and a blue quilt, they would like to wait to know the gender so we just say Baby K (Kasowski).
I'm not going to add any pictures until I sign up and work through Fliker (sp) - last week the suggested program was Picasa - and it doesn't do what Fliker does so I'm going to see if I can change over. Wish me luck.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Ya'at'eh
We had a little social studies lesson on Southwest Indians of America today, so I dressed the part -- jeans, long sleeved plaid shirt, cowboy boots, and all the turquoise and silver jewelry I could reasonably wear. I felt tall all day! It was great...the kids enjoyed the new look of the old teacher, parents thought it was "creative", and several aides were openly envious. Probably because I wore blue jeans. That was worth the effort in itself! I used the overhead to show the kids some Navajo words, which they butchered. To top off the lesson, I hauled out our antique slide projector and showed the students pictures of Pueblo Bonito, Rehoboth, and the Gallup Intertribal Indian Ceremonial parade. All pre-1984, so no BJ in the pics!
It doesn't take much to arouse the curiosity of these kids. I take my coffee to school in a steel thermos. The kids didn't have a clue what that was! One boy asked if he could have some of my coffee, and I told him that he had to bring his own cup. He finally remembered today -- pulled out a cup wrapped in a sock from his back pack. I gave him a half cup which he sipped with dignity at his desk. It's OK; he's ADHD so a little caffeine is a good thing here.
It doesn't take much to arouse the curiosity of these kids. I take my coffee to school in a steel thermos. The kids didn't have a clue what that was! One boy asked if he could have some of my coffee, and I told him that he had to bring his own cup. He finally remembered today -- pulled out a cup wrapped in a sock from his back pack. I gave him a half cup which he sipped with dignity at his desk. It's OK; he's ADHD so a little caffeine is a good thing here.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
It's the Wierdest Thing
Rob posted a message last night about his New Mexico/Navajo social studies lesson and it appeared....and then disappeared. Question for the rest of you bloggers. Can you only post from the computer you started up on? Rob was doing it from his laptop. Would that be the reason it didn't seem to "stick"?
I had a long day - Wednesday is my day with no breaks and then after school I had a conference with the same parents who have been "high maintenance" since day one. They seem to agree with what you say, then a few days later they're back with the same questions. I'm praying they won't continue this way .....it could make for a long year. Tonight was my women's Bible study and only one person showed up - but she's very special. She came here from Belarus about 2 years ago and is engaged to a fella from our church. She is a relatively new Christian and has such a passion to learn from scripture. It was a special evening with just the two of us...and the lesson was on Jesus washing the disciples feet which she said she had never read before.
Tomorrow Rob has a search committee meeting at school in the evening and I'm bringing in supper for the 8 members of the committee. I have my boxes all packed, just hope I remember everything in the frig that needs to come along.
Ya'll welcome Beth to the world of blogging!
I had a long day - Wednesday is my day with no breaks and then after school I had a conference with the same parents who have been "high maintenance" since day one. They seem to agree with what you say, then a few days later they're back with the same questions. I'm praying they won't continue this way .....it could make for a long year. Tonight was my women's Bible study and only one person showed up - but she's very special. She came here from Belarus about 2 years ago and is engaged to a fella from our church. She is a relatively new Christian and has such a passion to learn from scripture. It was a special evening with just the two of us...and the lesson was on Jesus washing the disciples feet which she said she had never read before.
Tomorrow Rob has a search committee meeting at school in the evening and I'm bringing in supper for the 8 members of the committee. I have my boxes all packed, just hope I remember everything in the frig that needs to come along.
Ya'll welcome Beth to the world of blogging!
Monday, September 19, 2005
Day Two: Bomb
My second day as a blogger - I spent an hour trying to put a picture in the profile spot and feeling rather tired of the whole deal I finally ended up doing an email to the blogger help desk. The error message said the URL for the picture was too long....and how do you shorten a URL that the program itself created? Any help on this Kate or Em? Dad took the picture with his camera and copied it to a disk and that's where I was getting it from. I followed the directions from the Blogger Help page....Hmmmmm.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Up and Running
You're never to old to learn something new, so I'm taking the advice of my friend Cindy and creating a blog to stay in touch with my family. I know how much I look forward to my daughter's postings and I visit their sites everyday. This first posting will be a practice.
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