....art blog....

I have a new art blog on blogspot...check it out! http://www.artwithmre.blogspot.com This is going to replace my school website I've had for years...check it out before it's gone for good! http://www.teacherweb.com/TN/TulipGrove/ArtWithMrE

**********PLEASE NOTE: I'm not above shameless self promotion!!!!! ha ha ha***********

The End of Summer

The end of summer is almost here. Those of you who are not teachers might lack an appreciation for this blog title(parents might be doing a happy dance over this blog title!!!!). I know my wife is going to pass over this blog...clinging to the last fleeting moments of summer uninterrupted by her husbands unexplained excitement for the coming school year!! I don't know what it is.....but I get so darn excited for the start of school. I've always loved school though. I've already been back in my classroom...working on bulletin boards, painting shelves, and arranging furniture. My principal saw me on her first day back & said..."How did I guess I'd see you here today?!" :o) ha ha She knows me too well. Teachers HAVE to be back Aug. 6th & kids come back Aug. 11th. I better get busy.....it will be here before we know it!!!!!!

Let me leave you with a few funnies from the 4th Grade Art Assessments........

*One of the questions from the Judgement portion of the assessment asked : WHAT DOES THE PICTURE TELL YOU ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY? One of my students....answered, "It looks like it was done when Mr. E was a kid." Ummmm....NO ERIN...A LITTLE BEFORE MR. E's TIME!!!!! SNAP THE WHIP by Winslow Homer, 1872

*We saw "BACK IN THE DAY" thousands of times while grading the assessments(I'm not exaggerating). WHO SAYS BACK IN THE DAY?!?!?!?!?! Were they temporarily possessed by their old Aunt Nancy May? Odd...very odd.

*The students also had a great deal of trouble with Winslow Homer's name.....

Wind Slow Homer

Winlow Hawlmer

Wendlo Hoemer

and the winner is!!!!!!!

WIZ LOW HUMMER

Memories of the 4th

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!  I know that we all have memories of this holiday.  Some very "normal"....dare I say "traditional".  But as my friends say..."Normal is just a setting on the drier"(do they even have "normal" on driers anymore??!?!).  My normal...you must remember...is flavored by my "country" upbringing.  Country really doesn't describe it though.....I grew up in South Eastern Ohio along the WV boarder....in a town of 70 people in the middle of a forest.  Hillbilly may be more like it.  Well, my dad was a demolition derby driver(where they take old cars and smash 'em into each other).  Our summers were spent at county fairs all over the region(Who else has enjoyed elephant ears w/ some fresh squeezed lemon aid??).   It's funny...the story goes that dad got into demolition derbies because stock car racing was just too dangerous(almost took an ear off or something).    So every 4th of July we were somewhere for a demo!!  Dad was known as 8-BALL ED....and he was GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!  He and his best friend would double team everyone else...then would put on a hysterical show when it just got down to the two of them..chasing each other around the field and spraying mud over the crowd(maybe that is where I got some of my showmanship).  After the heats were over...and the finals through....the fireworks would start.  I don't know how they did it...but some of those county fairs put on amazing shows!!!!  I hated the noise(would cover my ears the whole time)...but loved the fireworks!!!  After they were through...we'd make the long trek home....half asleep....with a couple bags of goldfish in our hands..maybe a stuffed animal...sticky faces...dad's trophy between my sister and I.....and a mud caked car on the trailer in tow.  Maybe not the same 4th of July tradition you grew up with.....but it was all about family...being together...and remembering that we were free to be...however that might look.  

Peep-a-Boo

If you know me at all you are probably laughing at the title because you know I can't spell worth a flip. Only the joke is on you because the title is spelled correctly (at least in my world). Let me explain. Ted loves Peeps. It is one of the only foods he is truly passionate about, unlike me who is passionate about all food. Anyway, a several months back Ted came home one day as chipper as could be because he had found the first Easter peeps of the season (which as you know starts the day after Valentines). Seeing his bright smile, I decided to make him a Peeps basket for Easter.  I spent weeks looking for all things Peeps. As I searched online for possible boy Peeps items, I found out that Peeps make many products, but they don't sell them at the same places. For instance, they make peep baskets that are only sold at Meijers or pleather peep pens only at Walgreen's. With this in mind, I kept my eyes peeled on our spring break road trip for special peep items. When I would find said items I would sneak around and buy them without Ted's knowledge.. then hide them in the car. Well somewhere between West Virginia and Pennsylvania we stopped at a store that had Peeps clay. It was like art meets Peeps right there in front of me. I picked them up and tried to scurry up to the checkout counter before he saw me. No luck, when I was almost there he caught me. Thinking quick on my feet I said "Look at this. Don't you think Superman and Ladybug would like these?" Quick side note: Superman and Ladybug are the children of Ted's teenagehood best friends who we were on our way to see at the time. Anyway, so with Ted totally believing my cover story we purchased the Peeps dough. On the way to the car, Ted ran into someone he knew who he began talking too. So I used the opportunity to hide the Peeps where he would never find them. Now, if you know me well or for that matter only met me one you will know that I pretty much have no short term memory. Yea, the light bulb is going off...you guessed it... I totally forgot about the Peeps clay until I found them TODAY in the pocket my school bag.  As I booed over the fact that I left out the Peeps, I decided the moment was too priceless not to share.  OK, so maybe I cackled... opposed to booing but Peep- a -Cackle wouldn't make any sense.

A LESSON

I believe God wires us each unique...He has designed us for a purpose & a calling.  Mine is not to work with middle schoolers!!!  This week at Art-al-Sol(the summer art camp put on by MNPS), we have the joy of working with 22 middle school students(and I do mean that..it is a joy!).  Now these kids are smart, talented, funny, and good natured..usually.  However, sometimes this age group leads me to think that everyone has multiple personality disorder...but most outgrow it toward the end of their teen years.  I don't have any scientific proof, but if you spend much time with middle school kids...you might agree with me!  One minute they are wonderful...respectful...and ready to learn.  THEN SOMETHING SNAPS!  Your once sweet student starts sassing back & questing everything you say!  WHO ARE YOU???  Two days of sweet wonderful art work...cooperation...and intellectual conversation.  Now I have some ranting & raving person that is telling me that it is her artistic interpretation not to follow my directions.   After a moment of trying to reason with her...I stood up...looked her in the eye & said..."I'm not going to argue with you...arguing does not equal intelligence..and sometimes it takes a greater mind to work within the rules than to try to get your own way." 

I walked away from her, and allowed her to process what just happened.  Ya know what...it worked?!?!?!  What I said made sense to her.   She came up to me later to ask a question...a bit unsure of how I'd receive her.  I greeted her question as I would anyone..spoke to her with kindness & respect.  I could see the tension leave her when she realized that things were good between us.  I had my sweet student back!!  UNTIL TOMORROW?!?!?!?!?! ha ha ha  

I really have enjoyed working with this age group.  It is a neat change of pace from my K-4 students I work with during the school year.  However, I know that God has given me much love & grace for my little ones.  I am wired to handle the day ins & day outs  of the elementary age student.  Middle schoolers are fun in small doses, but I know that there are those out there that God has wired with much love & grace...AND AN EXTRA HUGE HELPING OF PATIENCE for the middle school age students.  God bless 'em!!  

Must Eats: In-n-Out

Words can not even big to express my love for In-n-Out. If you don’t know what In-n-Out is then you should hop a plane ASAP for California because you are missing out on one of life’s finest moments. Let me elaborate...first you need to know one very important fact about me. I do not eat fast food. I think that fast food is a sorry excuse for a meal. If you ever see a fast food restaurant on this site, then call the police because I have surely been kidnapped and something terrible tragic is going to happen to me like being force fed greasy fries and overcooked grade F meat…or my husband is trying to be funny and sneak a blog onto my food site. Anyway, moving on…now that you get that I do not eat fast food under any circumstance you need to know about my one exception…In-n-Out Burger…My mouth waters at the words as I think about their out of this world unbelievably delectable burgers. At first glance, they just look like any ordinary burger. But on closer examination you can’t help but to fall in love if you know the secret. See here’s the deal. In-n-Out has a very simple menu literally burger, fries, milkshake or at least it seems that way. They have a secret not really so secret menu. It’s not posted in the restaurant you have to just know about it (or look it up http://www.in-n-out.com/). Here is a simple test…next time you meet someone who has been to Cali ask them if they have been to In-n-Out. If they answer yes in a balsa kind of way then they are boring and do not know of the secret menu. But if they answer with overwhelming enthusiasm then they are totally in. (the one exception would be my husband who’s taste buds have been deadened by years of fast food…yuck…JUST SAY NO TO FAST FOOD EXCEPT IN-N-OUT) Anyway, back to the secret menu…the most popular item on the secret menu is an animal style burger. Animal style means they coat your burger in mustard before cooking then top it with sautéed onions and a secret sauce (basically thousand island dressing with a kick) placing it on a toasted bun before serving it. Trust me try it even if you don’t like any of those ingredients you can’t help but to fall in love with the piece of heaven they serve you. This week I was in California visiting my best friend, Liz, who first introduced me to In-n-Out. We ate there everyday for lunch. It was the happiest my mouth has been in quite some time. So go and try it for yourself and you will see…YOU WILL LOVE IT!

...what's goin' on...

Greeting all you who read this thing!!  We do appreciate your reading, comments, time..etc.  Well, Shana is in CA for a handful of days & I am busy teaching at Art al Sol(summer art camp put on by MNPS).  So....we've been busy & are sorry we've not been faithful to post.  We are truly more interesting than it may appear(ha ha).  Shana went out to see Liz...one of her best friends that she talked about(and there are pictures) in a previous post.  It truly is a good time to go...I'm teaching all day on the west side of town & then go to the church after to work on VBS decorations.  Then Friday night I'm suppose to be teaching at Jo-Ann's...and then Sat. morning I'm teaching at Jo-Ann's.  IS THIS SUMMER BREAK?!?!?!?!   HA HA!!!  Anyways...hopefully things will slow down a bit in the next couple weeks.