No Gum Allowed!

Here's my funny teaching moment for the day:

The students just finished doing a worksheet, finding information about characters by what other characters did and said. I was asking for volunteers to share what they had discovered in their groups.

I look out into a sea of glossy eyes. Very few hands raised.

Vanessa has a giant bubble blown, and it is just sitting there in front of her face like that scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

Yeah, totally like that.

So I say, "Vanessa, spit your gum out," and attempting to just brush over the gum issue and get right back into the discussion I say, "anyone else?" meaning: "anyone else want to share before we move on?"

One boy lets out a big sigh, heaves himself out of his seat, and walks over to the trash can where he spits his gum out too.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

I said, "Well, I wanted volunteers for the characters worksheet, but yes, spit out the gum too."

Oh, how I chuckled.

It's like that time Rachel insisted that The Creamery used whoppers in their shakes. And I told her she was CRAZY! We almost lost our friendship that night. Turns out, she was talking about the chocolate candy; I was talking about Burger King.

Chicken Fried Follow Up by: Natalie & Kelly

Something happened after we had dinner....We watched an episode of the Twilight Zone and decided to fling the leftovers out the window.

(No people or cars were harmed in the filming of this flinging)

(Maybe a homeless man is happy. Manna from Heaven.)

(This is why you always stay until after the credits roll when Natalie cooks)

(Did anyone else notice Natalie's feet fly up in the air right after the launch?)

Cooking with Natalie

Sometimes I cook things...

Kelly and I like to try a new recipe once a week to spice up our lives. This week I got ambitious and wanted to try something brave, something bold, something tasty... Something like Chicken Fried Steak with Roasted Parmesan Potatoes. Mmm doesn't that sound delicious?

Doesn't that look delicious?

This is my version... (the picture is sideways, deal with it):

It doesn't look too bad, right? RIGHT?! I think it looks pretty okay, and the steak kind of looks like a heart. All good signs.

Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. The recipe told me to brown the breaded meat and then let it cook in the pan for 45 minutes. Just sit in the pan and cook. 45. Minutes.

My first thought: Won't it just burn the bottom of the meat?

Angel on my shoulder: The cook book says to do it. It wouldn't give you instructions on how to burn your dinner to a crisp, silly.

Me: You're right angel. Thanks.

POOF!

So, I followed the recipe and let the meat sit in the pan for 45 minutes while Kelly and I had a dance party. Here is my final steak result:

Looks pretty tasty. However, there was a secret, little surprise...

Devil on my shoulder: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Me: I knew it (cue Charlie Brown music)

So, obviously I'm still learning how to read a cook book and how to not listen to the angel on my shoulder. I'm also learning that burned chicken fried steak isn't that bad. Just has a little black/burnt taste to it.

My potatoes, on the other hand, were DELICIOUS! They had just one tiny mishap where they got SUPER crispy and the cheese kind of...well...

POTATO BLOB! It's art.

Anyway, the quest for being a 50's housewife is still going. I will not give up! If I have to burn a thousand meals, I'll do it!

In the meantime, I will wear this cute apron and heels while I cook so I look the part.

Lunch Recently

Kelly got a new job. It's very exciting.

Also, creepy hands holding bread and SNACKS!

Also, this.

My bag today is a representation of what I am like after 3rd period:

I have hay in my hair.

Parent Teacher Conferences

I think it's great to start every Parent meeting by screaming.

"Ahhh! Oh hi, I'm Mrs. Thomson. Sorry, that cow startled me."

Yes, that's right. A cow startled me at parent teacher conferences.

See that cow? See that big, long line? That's for the teacher next to me. See the empty chairs? That's where zero parents are waiting to talk to me. It's nice; I have lots of breaks to do productive things like blog and take pictures.

Thank you, parents, for not coming to parent teacher conferences night (I jest). Also, thank you, cow, for coming and making me scream at a parent (who did not appreciate it).

Last year, I couldn't stop saying things like, "She's as sharp as a tack!" So, I think I'm doing okay this year if all I'm doing is screaming...right?

Lunch Bag Traditions

I have sort of a tradition...

I like to draw on our lunch bags.

I've become quite famous at school for my lunch art work. So, tonight I thought I'd show it off.

This one is Kelly's lunch. His sandwich is rooting for him. GO KELLY! (I like animated food)

This one is my lunch. Can you guess what's inside!? Sometimes I like to give people clues as to what's inside my lunch bag...

I guess now that I'm an artist, I'll post more of my art to impress you. (get ready for lots of pictures of food with legs)

8th Graders and Pauly Shore

I feel so lucky to have a mother who was part of Beatlemania. She instilled in me a love for those 4 men, and I in turn stole all of her Beatles records.

Kelly and I now have a nice little collection of records and this sweet turn table that I bought at a St. Vincent DePaul in Kentucky for 3 dollars 10 years ago.

So, when teaching setting to my 8th graders this week, I brought in my record player and some Beatles records to get us in the 60s mood for The Outsiders.

The lights were off because we were taking notes from a PowerPoint and I said, "Let's go back in time... It's 1965 and ya'll just came over to my house to hang out. 'Hey guys, wanna sit around and listen to my new Beatles record?!'" At this point the students were held in suspense as I picked up an actual Beatles record and pulled it out of its case in front of them:

Gasps.

WHAT IS THAT?!

IS THAT A RECORD?!

IS THAT REAL?!

HOLY CRAP!

I had to shush them, "Calm down, guys. Yes it's real. Do you want to listen to it?"

Of course they did.

Their eyes were huge the whole time the record was playing and questions were sporadically yelled out, "How does it work?" "Is there only one song?" "That's huge!"

I had no idea showing 8th graders a record would be so much like Encino Man.

They totally made that face. And I was totally Pauly Shore.

It was a dream come true.

How Many Raspberries Can You Eat in 5 Seconds?

Sometimes I say things when I get really excited about how good something tastes like, "Oh man! This is so good. I bet I could eat this whole thing in 2 minutes." Kelly usually gets this mischievous smile on his face and says, "Let's try..." And I just laugh.

Just yesterday he challenged me to eat a half gallon of Double Fudge Brownie ice cream in 5 minutes. I declined because that's what Jennifer Hudson told me to do.

Tonight at the store, we passed by the raspberries and I said, "I love raspberries. I could probably eat that whole thing in 5 seconds."

Kelly responded instantly, "Do it."

"Should I?"

"Yes. We can only buy these if you eat them all in 5 seconds. But whatever you don't eat in 5 seconds, you can't have. I get to eat the rest."

"Okay....," I said confused. But they ended up in our cart and once we got home... Well... I should have given myself 10 seconds.

A Teacher's Dream moment...

Great moment for a teacher today:

After discussing the flashback in chapter 2 of The Outsiders, it's purpose and effect on the story, I ask, "Is there anything else you'd like to discuss about chapter 2 before we move on?"

A boy raises his hand and asks, "Can I make a text-to-world connection?"

CAN YOU!?!?!?!?!, I wanted to scream with excitement and joy.

"You bet you can! Go for it!" is what I actually said.

He furrowed his brow and said solemnly, "There are real Socs in the world."

"Explain..." I responded with one eyebrow higher than the other, not wanting to spoil this PERFECT moment of some real cogs turning.

"Well," he continued, "there are rich people in the world who think they are better than everyone else because they are rich."

Then we had a brief discussion on the true worth of a person.

It was a beautiful moment! It would be a dream come true if more students raised their hands to ask if they can make a connection. I LOVED IT. I should have given him 100 dollars for making that comment.

Mostly when kids raise their hands it's to say something like, "This is unrelated but...what does that sign on the wall mean?" and they point to something in my room that has NOTHING to do with the lesson and is CLEARLY off topic.

To those questions I respond loudly, "IRRELEVANT! Anyone else?"