Kevin's 1st day of school as a senior

Hard to believe that this is the last picture we'll take on the first day of school...it went so fast!

Oh my gosh...

my legs are sore! Standing on my feet all day after having sat for much of the last 3 months is quite a change for my old bones! I'm already ready for a weekend.

The first day of school went well, though the downside of "looping" with the kids is that they aren't sitting there afraid to speak the first week. Indeed, they were quite social...especially my class of 31. I only have one class of 7th graders whose names I need to learn--the rest I already know except for the odd "new kid" in the other classes.

And now I'm off to do more homework. I started my latest class--Learning and Teaching Geometry--last night. Though it's not an online course, I can already tell that I'm not going to have to work quite as hard as I have been. However, if anyone wants to help me prove that if the area and perimeter of two rectangles are the same, they have the same length and width, please do contact me!

Relaxing Saturday

I was hoping to sleep in this morning, as it's the last time I really would get to do so before the school year began. Nope...eyes popped open at 5:30! Oh well...it is probably for the best and I'll be a better person for it next week :)

I did get some lesson planning done today, which was good. I think I'm in good shape for the start of school. I also got to go watch Kevin's football scrimmage. I arrived just in time to see him catch a touchdown pass...wahoo! Tomorrow is grocery shopping, bottling wine for a friend, and having Kevin's senior pictures taken...and a few family ones as well. A nice relaxing end to a good summer...

The final days of summer vacation...

As I sit here drinking a nice glass of red wine, looking out the window at what has been a gorgeous day, I consider how fast the summer has flown by. Much of the summer has been spent in front of the computer, completing the requirements for a class...and my yard reflects that.

Though today was a non-contract teacher's day, I was at work all morning. I got a lot done, which was good, but I long for a relaxing summer spent on personal projects. I needed to work today in order to have lesson plans done far enough in advance to make it through the next month. I start ANOTHER class on Monday...not an online class, but a scheduled one in which I need to have my butt in the chair at a specifiied time. It only lasts a month, which is good news and bad news. Good news that it's short. Bad news that 10 weeks of "normal" classes are packed into that time, which means I'm going to be very busy. More good news in that this class marks the halfway point of my master's degree...the end will start to approach!

Kevin's senior pictures get taken this weekend, and perhaps some family pictures as well. It's hard to believe that my baby is a senior. Or to contemplate what he has added to our family. Again, time flies.

Tomorrow will bring more lesson planning...but until then, I'm gonna relax!

This tickled my funny bone!

I know I posted this on Facebook, but I want to be able to refer back to it...funny video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLZY2AW8EfI

A beginning

My uncle Robert publishes a family newsletter called "The Malcom Monitor" for my mom's side of the family. It's not only interesting, it provides some family history for future generations. The purpose of my blog isn't the same. I'm not sure yet what it's purpose is, but I'm sure that will develop as I go along. I don't anticipate that I'll post on a regular basis; sometimes I'll get a few posts a week. Other times it will be a week or two between posts.

The picture is of MOST of my family. I'll get another one on here that shows Courtney and Jon. The rest of us went to Boston this summer and this picture was taken in Boston Common. We had a great time on the trip.

This week I headed back to school. No kids in class yet, but lots of meetings and preparatory activities. The 7th and 8th graders will start on Tuesday and I'm eager to see them and hear about their summers. On top of this, I start a class on Monday; three days a week for 2.5 hours per class. It will last a month and will ensure that I have no extra time in my schedule. Arg! I'll be so glad when the master's degree is finished!

OK, that's it for the first blog. More to come later...