Frogs . . . again

I know you all have been holding your breath in anticipation - you can all breathe a sigh of relief now . . . I have frog eggs again! For those of you who didn't get to see the postings from last spring - I found frog eggs and had them in my classroom for the students to view. They were such a huge hit (with students in my class as well as school wide). I decided that tadpoles/frogs will be an ongoing part of each spring; provided I can find eggs.

This spring it was necessary to wade into the "less than clean" water to retrieve the little buggers. Let's just say that I think I will be looking into buying a pair of boots for next frog season!
Enjoy the photos, click on them for close up viewing.

-A Pillsbury frosting container with 3 egg cases.

-Looking down into the frog habitat.Can you see the egg cases? No?!

-How about a close up.

-And an extra close, close up.

Squirrel Chase

How many baby squirrels do you thing we will have this spring?

Backyard birds

A few weekends ago I decided to take advantage of the warm spring sun, and I spent an afternoon cleaning off my deck and arranging all my plants; most of which made it through the winter quite well. Here are some photos from this weekend - after the snow storms.

Finch and a Chickadee at the sunflower seed feeder.









A Chickadee getting a drink from the cleaned out bird bath.

March Snow!

So, spring break brings to mind lazy warm spring days and . . . snow?

School Flower Garden Update

The crocus, tulip and daffodil bulbs that my dad helped plant at school are blooming!

Daily the students come running in from recess shrieking about what flower they can see now.

It is very cute to watch them point out which bulb they know they planted; which is just not possible considering we planted around 40 bulbs! I am glad they are learning and having fun at the same time.

At home-

Normally I have chickadees or humming birds and occasional junco and some red finches. On Sunday morning this little guy showed up. At first I thought it was a purple finch, but after some searching I think it is a male house finch. I was so surprised because he was orange. The photo is not very clean, I had to take the picture through the screen, I knew he would fly away if I tried to open the door.

City Wild Life

This morning I was looking at the clear blue sky out my back door. In the court yard there are many trees. The largest and closest tree has a wonderful crux in the middle where the squirrels usually make their nests. Last winter, however it was also the napping place for a raccoon. Well, he (or perhaps a relative) is back. He had been napping for quite a while and when I went to make lunch, I checked on him again and he was busy with his afternoon grooming.
Can you see me?

Hello!
So, what's for lunch?









And as I was grading papers in my bedroom, I looked out the window when a flash of red caught my eye. There was a Red Breasted Sapsucker walking up the tree right in front of me.





I love this photo. The bird has flattened its self against the tree and is tapping away, look the the wings. Amazing.


Click on this photo for a wonderful close up of the head and face.

ARRRRRG!

There are days when I remember why I fought so hard against becoming a teacher. I will explain; I always knew I was supposed to teach, I knew this is what God wanted for me, however, I avoided it like a plague. I didn't want to deal with admin and bureaucracy. Well, in 2004 I finally had had enough and gave into what I knew I was meant to do - I went back to school for a year and was awarded my Residency Teaching Certificate.

Fast forward to now, I have been teaching for 2 years and loving it. I now have to go back to school and work for 18 months (longer than it took to get my original teaching cert.) to earn my Professional Teaching Certificate.

Why do I complain? Well I have four assignments due for Saturday. That is not so bad, however it is all reflection and no application. It is all theory with no practice. I am spending time away from my students, time away from planning in order to reflect on "models of learning" and "positive impact". Don't get me wrong, I LOVE teaching. I love attending workshops and enrichment classes. I work in an amazing private school and I have/had the best advisers and mentors, but I don't see how all this reflecting will prove that I am a good teacher and should be allowed to teach for 5 more years. And on top of this I have decided to get my Masters. Am I crazy, I will let you know . . .