Early Christmas Vacation (aka) SNOW DAY

I have lived in western Washington my whole life and I am 37 years old, however, I still hope and pray and watch the news to see if my school is closed for snow!

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday were 2 hour late start and Wed and Friday we had off! I know we will have to make up the time but I don't care. Driving was difficult and it is very cold and windy!!

Enjoy the few photos, I will add more latter.

Junko on the feeder.

A Junko on the frozen bird bath.

Salamander Dinner Rush

Here are my two long-toed salamanders as they "run" towards the human who feeds them.

Please note the background music and dialogue of Pride and Prejudice, hey, I am working on my masters, what do you expect me to be watching/listening to while writing papers about teaching reading, writing and math and making salamander videos?!

Enjoy!

Salamander Condo

This is a picture of my new salamander condo. These containers were meant to store Christmas decorations, however as soon as I saw it at the store, I knew it would be perfect for the sallies first condo.

This is a nice photo for size reference. Not too big yet, but they eat all the time!

Below is my smallest salamander. He was very reluctant to leave the water, even when his gills were gone and he was breathing air. He is very happy on land in his new condo, although he still prefers to take a dip in the "pool" now and then. The color of their skin is so bright because of the flash on the camera.

Salamander Feeding

My first blog video post!! Wouldn't you know it would be of a salamander!!

Okay, for all of you who have been following the saga of the "frog eggs" hatched into salamanders, here is a video of one little guy eating a small piece of cut up worm. He doesn't get it on the first try, but watch out for the second attack. He is located between the two small terracotta pots by the edge of the container. He is very small and hard to see. You will see my finger at the end of the video for a size comparison.

Creating a Kandinsky (the 2nd grade version)

First begin with color copies of a few Kandinsky paintings.

Next, have the students gather elements from nature.

Place the elements on white 8 1/2 x 11 paper and trace around

the natural elements in an abstract manner. We used at least 9 elements such

as pine cones, leaves, sticks, moss, blossoms and rocks.

Then, after you have traced the elements in an abstract manner, using tempura paint

begin painting with fall colors each of the traced elements.

We paid attention to foreground and background.

Let each color dry before trying to paint the next color, especially if they overlap.

This one is drying. This one is complete except for the background color.

After the painting has dried, the students choose a darker background color.

This one is finished and mounted on white and then black construction paper with a student label.Finished
A collection with an color copy of an original Kandinsky.

To see each photo up close, click on it!

To learn more about Kandinsky, click here.

I don't post . . .

I have a blog for my classroom, which all the parents can log into and it is updated about twice a week. It would seem that I could update this blog at the same time, but no, for some reason I choose to correct homework, do dishes, do laundry, correct homework, plan school work or sleep. I am going to make an effort to blog, if for no other reason than to just talk out my day. At school we had our first library (off campus) visit and I must say, I was very impressed with my students. They handled the fact that there were a lot of high school students (with green or purple hair) visiting the library today. (Did I mention the dog collars or the piercings?) Let's just say that taking 9 students from a private school to a public library during a half day at the local high school, was quite an eye opener for a lot of my students!

I am now three weeks into my third masters class. For some reason, I could really care less about this class than the other two. This class is about teaching reading, my least favorite subject to teach. I am doing well in the class with a B+ average so far. Apparently a B is considered graduate level work. I think a B will be just fine this time around.

Funny kid story: My students bring lunch to class and eat in the room. We have a microwave and a refrigerator. After heating up a meat and cheese sandwich for a girl she began eating. She quickly set down her sandwich and said, "Oh, my mom forgot to peel the cheese!" Needless to say (because I had heated the sandwich) she didn't eat her very melted Kraft single cheese and meat sandwich!

September 11

Remember

You would think . . .

You would think that as a teacher, I would have lots of time off and free time over the summer. Let me demystify that error in judgment for you right now this has been my summer so far:
last week of June clean out classroom; 32 individual items to complete in four days. Done! A week of incoming student testing. Done! Beginning the 23 of July Monday classes at Evergreen College; dimensions of multicultural education . . . last week of June (wait what was only one day) Now we are at July. Week one three students for summer tutoring, one online masters class and don't forget that Monday class 1-5pm. Second week of July same as above tutoring three students and masters classes and Evergreen Monday class. Repeat until the 3rd week of July when the one masters class ends on a Sunday night and the next one begins Monday morning. Repeat this to the end of July throw in a lunch with friends one shopping trip to buy new school shoes and don't forget the last diversity class that ended on the 21st of July. Please move with my into the month of August. Crap, did you say August? This is the last month of summer, what the heck. Okay so here we go again . . . online masters class, tutoring and first day I was allowed back into my room since they took it apart to have the carpets cleaned. I have three tutoring jobs this week and two more weeks of a master class and then summer will be over and school will begin. Perhaps I will have more time to blog once school is in session. It is a good thing I am actually a superhero!:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 85% Superman 75% Hulk 70% Spider-Man 65% Supergirl 65% Batman 60% Robin 55% The Flash 55% Wonder Woman 45% Iron Man 40% Catwoman 35%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Salamanders

Several people have asked about the status of the salamanders. Since school is out, the sallies are now living at home with me. There are 8 of them still alive and swimming. Enjoy the pictures of the two largest sallies who measure exactly one inch in length.
You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

Memorial Day

Mt. Rainier, University Place, WA 2008

Salamander Pics

Here are some pictures from last week of the salamander tadpoles/larvae. There were around 18 of them in the "tank" at school. Over the week I decided to take home several of them. I also went back to the pond where I got the eggs and went net "fishing" for some invertebrates for salamander food. The pond was dry and I couldn't get to the edge of the swamp so I had to lean into a cistern and carefully try not to fall in. Anyway, I ended up with many, many brine shrimp and the sallies love them. At first it was sort of like watching puppies run, the salamanders had no idea how to hunt. They would see the movement of the brine shrimp and then dash to it and miss it by an inch. Now they are very good at hunting, the have learned that they have to wait for a shrimp to swim past them and then, snap, they eat it. Very funny! I am still not sure what type these guys are but time will tell.



Note: click on the pictures for a larger view

Tadpoles?

So, I have learned that one can never assume . . .

Here are the photos of the frog eggs and tadpole from last year.

And here are the eggs and tadpoles from this year.

Can you spot the difference? From the same pond, same time frame and somehow I ended up the a tank full of salamanders! SALAMANDERS!!!!!!

The chicks hatched on May 15, 2008

There were 7 eggs laid and as of this photo, 6 chicks hatched and one egg did no. Since this photo, one of the chicks has died and it was removed from the nest by one of the parents. They have survived the heat wave and they are quite comfy now that it is raining again.

Waiting for chicks

Lady in waiting . . .

Black-Capped Grosbeak

I am amazed by the birds that I keep seeing on my deck. Saturday there was a black-capped Grosbeak at my sunflower feeder. He flew away before I could get the camera. However, when he came back I was ready-unfortunately the screen door was in the way of a really good shot . . .

Front View


Back View


Side View

Focus

I was reading Angie's blog tonight http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ and decided I needed to be at least 1/4 as open and honest about my thoughts, as she has been about hers . . . only, I'm not sure were to start . . . how about this . . . started my Masters program on Monday . . . still working on my professional certification class . . . currently teaching school 5 days a week . . . raising 10+ tadpoles . . . and 7 chickadees. . . a sister living in an apparent earthquake hotspot . . . and what seems to be a sudden multitude of new born babies, when I would like just one!

I know that God knows the desires of my heart, after all, He placed them there, right? So, how do I get the desires of what I think I want and or separate the desires of what I think the world thinks I should want.

Do I really want to be married? Yes, but how do people go about finding the right person? Prayer would be a good place to start, after all eharmony is just not working out . . . do I really want a baby, you bet. However I need the husband for that and well we just covered the problem there. So, I have to take what I am given and make sure it fits to my life or fit my life to what I want or fit what I have to include what I want or refocus what I want until I finish what I have been given?

I walked or ran into teaching first because I was tired of being a professional nanny, secondly because I knew it was what God wanted me to do. I was hired at a wonderful school and I still love getting up in the morning. So, I found my profession later in life than most people, perhaps I am just 10 years behind on the marriage and baby end as well. Only problem, my brain does not stop being fertile with age, were as the female body does eventually quit being fertile with age.

So, if I am going to start with prayer then I should pray for . . . belief that God will see and bring to pass the desires of my heart . . . my desires to match with Gods desires . . . body fertility that matches mental fertility. . . my husband, or rather the hope that God has one in mind . . .

Seven Baby Chickadee Eggs

The chickadees have finally laid their eggs! There are seven eggs even though you can only see six of them in this picture. See the previous post to see the close up picture of the chickadee parent . . . who has only one leg.

A Good Birding Day

Saturday, great weather . . . Sunday, not great.

However, through the rain, the birds come to get their snacks.

A junco getting a drink.

"Say cheese!"

This is my good side . . .

No, this is my good side!

And the best for last . . . this is a chickadee I have seen for the last several weeks. It has only one leg and it is the female (I think) for the nesting pair of chickadees that is building the nest in the birdhouse on my deck. Chick on the picture for a close up. And, no, she is not just sitting on one leg.

It's official . . .

The builder of the new birdhouse nest is a . . . chickadee! (again)
I was looking forward to another specie of bird, but I am just happy I will get to watch the babies hatch and grow. Stay tuned for more pictures. No eggs yet.

Evolution of a bird nest

Last year I had a family of chickadees living in a bird house on my deck.
This was the inside of the nest after the babies had fledged. Note: one unhatched egg.


This spring I decided I should empty the nest material, there was at least 5 inches of old nesting material. I took the bird house down and opened it up and it was totally and completely empty!
Some very eager bird was already house keeping. All that nesting material was gone!

The next day I snapped this picture: a thin layer of fresh green moss.

day 2: poly-fill from someones lawn chair cushion.

day three: more poly-fill and some dryer lint

day four: more lint (note pink lint) and some larger pieces of poly-fill

day five: moss, poly-fill, dryer lint and animal hair

day six: outside view with some building insulation on the outside of the entrance hole.



day six: building insulation



day seven: a lot more animal hair, looks like raccoon

So, all in all these little birds have been busy. I don't know if they are chickadees again or if it is another variety of bird, time will tell: stay tuned . . .