Tea and Hemlock

If I do not see another progress report again it will be too soon. (I say this knowing full well that I'm going to be seeing them, and more, in less then three months *sigh*).

**

Meanwhile, I've been sedating my mind by cruising egl sites (elegant gothic lolita) Goodness, ssoooo much lace and bows and frills and, well, da-rama. ..... I do like that clodhopping alice in wonderland mary janes though *g* Sweet and amazing at the same time. Along with this of course I'm continuing to indulge in the Nick marathon so it's rather intersting to look at kawaii dress up pics and listen to lyrics that only Nick can write -

Red Right Hand indeed.***CV

Green Gloves.....

Lovely Creature

There she stands, this lovely creature
There she stands, there she stands
With her hair full of ribbons
And green gloves on her hands

So I asked this lovely creature
Yes, I asked. Yes I asked
Would she walk with me a while
Through this night so vast

She took my hand, this lovely creature
"Yes", she said, "Yes", she said
"Yes, I'll walk with you a while"
It was a joyful man she led

Over hills, this lovely creature
Over mountains, over ranges
By great pyramids and sphinxs
We met drifters and strangers

Oh the sands, my lovely creature
And the mad, moaning winds
At night the deserts writhed
With diabolical things

Through the night, through the night
The wind lashed and it whipped me
When I got home, my lovely creature
She was no longer with me

Somewhere she lies, this lovely creature
Beneath the slow drifting sands
With her hair full of ribbons
And green gloves on her hands

by Nick Cave, Murder ballads

Roll the Stone Away!

Hello?

Anyone there?

*cough*

I am still in the cave that is progress reports. However, as this weekend would imply, there shall be a recovery. I see a crack of light and with only 9 more to go (see I kinda had to re-do them starting yesterday but I seriously buckled down today and 20 are as complete as I'm going to do them) I have hopes of some free time tomorrow.
**
Meanwhile I started making a baby surprise sweater (I simply cannot report progress on my commute) but had to rip it because one decrease side had 25 stitiches while the other had 21 and symmetry seemed kinda important. My stitch count is still (albeit symmetrically) wacky though. Hmmmm***CV

flash from the front lines

I think that copy and paste are my new best friends. Without them I do not know how I will manage to survive this progress reporting. Yes, I should be working on them now. But after 3 and a half hours so far today I think I deserve a weee bit of a break.

I do admit I have never filled out a seven page report before. Umm seven per child that is. And this is only the first semester.

Okay, break over***CV

Goods

Okay, it's been so long since I posted about books (and I'm waaay to lazy to look) that I may repeat myself.
**
Morality Play, Barry Unsworth (206pp) A half starving run away monk stumbles upon a troupe of medieval players while they are saying a final farewell to one of their group. He decides to join up with them as a replacement for their dead comrade. They continue to travel (with the corpse in their wagon) towards their destination when they come upon a village which has been the scene of murder. A guilty person has been found and sentenced. The evidence is not as clear cut as it should be however and the troupe decides to step out of its routine of miracle plays and recreate the crime itself. Read this book for the setting and detail, not the mystery.
***
Hikaru no Go, vol.11, Yumi Hotta (195pp) Hikaru is up against Ochi who has been studying with Akira. Who will be the victor and join the ranks of the professionals??
****
Cast in Secret, Michelle Sagara (521pp) I finally found a copy of this book in Portland. It's not literature. It's a lite read about a spunky girl on an inaginary world with two hot guys interested in her; without all the heavy petting. It's a fun series. I must admit I liked Cast in Courtlight more (but then I'm a word girl). This time Kaylin must face her fear of the Tha-alani in order to retrieve a pandoras box. I do wish there had been more of Nightshade( I like the tall dark, brooding and dangerous in my romantic leads); however, I suppose Severn needed some of the spotlight.
*****
While in Portland I restrained myself and only came home with a few items;

The Black Sheep, Balzac

Hikaru no Go, Yumi Hotta

Classical History of the World for Children, vol. I

The Songs of the Kings, Barry Unsworth

The Portland Bridge book

The Rise and Fall of Alexandria, Justin Pollard and Howard Reid

Alexandria and the Sea, Kimberly Williams

Gods Graves and Scholars, CW Ceram

******

Okay I guess it's time to return to writing progress reports****CV

Scroll XVII.iv a

The conference I attended was all about the ancient city of Alexandria. It is essentially a way to recreate aspects of an historic multicultural setting in which children can learn about the people places and events as well as that language of a specific city in a specific time. There are stories, paintings, mummy portraits (paintings of themselves people had made while they still onsidered themselves beautiful), timelines, who am I games, a model of the city, an ancient coptic scroll : all sorts of fun things to do inluding learning to speak and read Alexandrian latin.

This particular course was created by an amazing person named John Wyatt. He has been working on it for over twenty years. I am so very glad that I was able to attend this past week as Mr. Wyatt is reaching a point in which travelling cross country is not the best use of his time. He is very funny and charming and extremely smart. (Well anyone who speaks at least five languages should be, right?) He also likes fairy tales and of course is a classicist.

I also heard him speak two years ago and this is why I can say that I hope he takes good care of himself so we have him for a very long time :)
**
Before telling the story of Alexandria to the children this afternoon I went on line looking for pictures of the new Library Alexandrine and discovered: they are looking for a head librarian.

If ONLY I'd studied Arabic *sigh*

Perhaps I should apply anyway. Can you imagine having a rejection letter from the Library of Alexandria?!***CV

I am the Pause

You Are a Comma

You are open minded and extremely optimistic. You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything. You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests. You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time. Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to. (But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.) You excel in: Inspiring people You get along best with: The Question Mark

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

animal q & a

One of the aspects of presenting lessons the way they are done in my school is that there is that potential for great work. Not great in the sense of, omg you just dicovered a new source of pollutant free energy that will last forever! But great as in large. I honestly haven't seen much of that type of work this year.

Until today.

Today I decided to present a material that was completely upended and confused yesterday. It is a set of photographs of different animal species with facts about each animal on the back. So today I invited three children to come play a game with me. (It's another classification work). We chose how to organise a miscellaneous set of cards under a broad category and then refined it into subcategories. After the lesson the children chose to either continue in the same category or another.

One group decided to continue the same and also decided to do every single animal card -that was not already in use by the other two gropus (yeah I had this lesson double again in process). Anyway the box contains easily 100 cards. The pictures were literally climbing the walls in one subcategory. And in order to have all the cards fit the children had to move tables and chairs to create space to lay out the rugs to lay the cards on. I think they used 8 rugs total.

They reorganized the cards at the end of the day (because they spent all day on it) so that tomorrow they could start making their chart of it.
**
On another note, and taking into consideration that not all people percceive things the same, I presented the Noun work to a different group today.

Facility with words: a natural gift or a learned skill?

Discuss.****CV

to Name

I have to share.I had the most fun lesson today. One of the children last week requested a lesson on the spiritual noun (we have a really pretty symbol for it) so I said sure. So today we arranged a time and I set it up in one of the rooms. Meanwhile I got sidetracked by questions and when I came back another child who had seen the chart asked if he could join: sure.

Also during this time I invited a third child who really needs the busyness of lessons. So we sit down and I ask them what the work of a noun is.

"A person place or thing"

Yes a noun can be a person, place, or thing but what is the function, what is the work of a noun?What does a noun do?

Once that was answered we could get into the classification: Because people who work with words realised that if someone didn't organize them it would become really messy. Nothing but nouns everywhere.

So of course we seperated the common from the Proper (Sherlock Holmes versus detective) and then the concrete from the abstract. That was fun because the children could see, literally, as we stacked our cards of nouns that the concrete pile was so much higher than the abstract one, then we seperated the high stack into collective and material before sorting though our 4 abstract nouns into aspects of quality, action, state, idea.

In fact I lifted ball from the concrete pile after we all agreed ball could also mean a dance.

Where does spiritual come in? We had the word 'word' as an abstract idea (it can't be touched, it can be given and kept but not seen) and from that we had a conversation about the Word.

I love socratic type lessons and the children were so involved that some other children sat-in! ***CV

Cardboard Box part II

How, you might wonder, did I find out that the hotel was sold out? (It still boggles me that such a thing is possible. I really can't fathom a400+ room building selling out. But I digress.) Using the handy phone number attached to the conference acceptance letter (uh yeah so I can attend but you won't let me actually sleep 'cause, I dunno, the conference will be so fascinating I would rather be awake all 84 hours of it. Riiiight).

Said number connected me to a lovely and chatty lady who, in the time of our conversation of finding out the rooms were gone and locating other possibilities which were either twice the original rate or so far out that cab fare would make the flight ticket look like the cost of a cup of tea, or rooms that had their own conference table for eight, seperate loft bedroom and breakfast included - all I want is a bed I kept saying, not my own conference hall: the one affordable room she found was booked out from under me.

*sigh*

So I went online. I found a room with a web discount only slightly more than the conference rate. It's located maybe ten blocks from where I used to live which means (quel horror) I will have to walk past Powell's: every. single. night.

Oh dear***CV

Cardboard box to spare?

About a week ago I received a flier for an upcoming teacher conference. One of those get on a plane and travel kind. It looked really interesting. It was all about the city of Alexandria and incorporated latin language as well as ancient history. However, part of my team is still in training and so both have to take time to go and do observations at other schools; as well as the fact that the conference is not months away but less then two weeks from the date of my receipt of the flier.

(I really want to go)

So I figured it couldn't hurt to ask as the worst that could be said is, "The notice is too short so maybe next time".

(Did I mention I really want to go?)

I gave the flier to my admin. and she said she'd talk it over with the directress but .... I said, I understood it was really short notice. Both of them came back later and told me that it looked wonderful and wow they sure wished I and another of my team members could go, it would be such an opportunity but the timing ... again I said I understood, and really, who knew if there was any space anyway, you know? They said let's see what works out with the observation rescheduling (one of my team has been trying to rearrange her 2 week observation so she can be back in time for an important school function). Sure, I said.

(I so want to go)

Last Wednesday, while my team mate was still waiting to hear back from the school she is to observe at my admin said, "Just go. We'll figure out coverage". That night I booked my flight and paid my conference fee. Yay!

Today I called to book a room.

They're sold out.***CV

How did they know?

You Should Be a Teacher

You are patient, optimistic, and good at explaining things. You work well with all types of people, and you are a good role model. Success and positive outcomes are extremely important to you. You are both a good leader and instructor. People look up to and depend on you. You do best when you: - Can see the results of your work - Are able to teach someone a new skill You would also be a good nurse or non fiction writer.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

But I just don't get the non fiction writer bit***CV

9 1/2 beats

Last night I went to the city to see a demonstration of Kathak dance. Kathak is a north Indian style of dance which involves storytelling, stylised movements, adherance to beat counts and the ability to improvise.

After the performance (which included a brief tale of Krishna and Radha celebrating Spring by covering each other in colored water and colored powders) there was a workshop in which the audience got to try and do four things at once :) Me I can't sing and clap at the same time let alone stamp, count and sing, so I all ready knew what it would be like for me. What made it even more challenging was they divided us into two groups so that one group counted to 16 aloud while stamping at various speeds at the same time that the other group counted to match their stamps: then we switched.

The dancers follow 16 beat cycles in their minds (sometimes 12 and sometimes 9 1/2), while keeping 4, 8, 12 or 16 with their feet, singing and playing musical instruments. As one of the perfomers said it is like patting your head while rubbing your belly and walking on a tightrope; oh, and wearing 3 pounds worth of bells on each ankle.

It really was fun to do. I also got the opportunity to revisit the Castro. Found out Peets was no longer there, that Starb*cks is really umm of the hood now but not much else seems changed.
**
This past week has been in service meaning days and days of meetings as well as first aid and CPR training. We were also slated to work on progress reports but the memory sticks weren't ready so that could not be done. They are supposed to be ready tomorrow but this just means instead of having free day times to do the reports we'll have to do them on work nights in order to have them out on time.

When is that you ask? The end of February.

Meanwhile we have a major parent event this Thursday and one at the end of March to prepare for.***CV

reincarnation

Oh yay, I belong two years before I was even born.......hmmmm what can it mean?

You Belong in 1965

You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Cinque-Folios

Firebringer, David Clement-Davies (498pp) The saga of a group of Red Deer somewhat similar to Watership Down except told from the perspective of the Efrafran warren. That is, when the group leadership is taken over by a stag determined to control at the expense of decency and nature. Another difference is that their's is a mythology in which a hero is foretold, whereas in Watership Down the mythology was more tales of resourcefulness.
**
Book of Thousand Days, Shannon Hale (304pp) I first thought this to be a Rapunzel tale which in some ways it is, if a pricncess locked in a tower is all one requires for it to be so. However, Ms. Hale says that she based her story upon the Grimm's tale of the Maid Maleen which I have never read. Set in Mongolia the story is told from the perspective of an orphan Mucker from the steppes who unknowingly becomes tangled in the betrothal arrangements of a shining one. The book is her journal of all that befalls her as she does her best to make the best of a pretty odd turn of events. Werewolves, handsome kahns and uppity jilted princesses make for a fun story.
***
Un Lun Dun, China Mieville (471pp) Once the true heroine of this tale made her appearance I really had fun. Until then I kept wondering if I should continue reading. (And I must say: the Black Window of Webminster Abbey? Absolutely fabulous. ) However I am interested now in reading Perdido Station as soon as I can find a decent editon of it.
****
Stickeen, John Muir (79pp) The true adventure of a day on an Alaskan glacier with a tiny and devil may care dog.
*****
King of the Middle March (the Arthur Trilogy vol.III), Kevin Crossley-Holland The conclusion in which Arthur learns of his namesakes end, crusades may be better in hindsight and that love can change over time. ***CV

Ergo

The quiz result was funny considering what my week has been like.

It is very hard to imagine myself as this contemplative, centered individual when three co workers are out on Monday, 2 on Tuesday, one shows up but leaves early on Wednesday; parents are submitting recommendation forms at the last minute, observers drop by unexpectedly, you have to figure out what lessons children should practice to show their parents, your hairdryer decides to catch fire early one morning when you've already overslept and it's 40 degrees outside, you're the opener but never manage to leave school until 5 o'clock pm, and even though some lessons caught on incredibly well you still have to virtually sit on some people to get them to focus on work (which they started in October!) and they act as if you are this fiend from hell.

Oh, and some students who you figure, Of course they've had this material so I can move on ummm haven't. "No honey: neither a slug nor a worm nor a starfish is a vertebrate." "No, up and down is not a geometric term for the position of a line." " As far as I know the word 'upon' is not an adverb."

So yeah. The result was a bit of a hah!
**
In other news I finished knitting the stole (there were knots in the skein which flipped the colour sequence) and I need to block it. Also my kilt hose book has arrived so I hope to pick it up tomorrow.

Pardon me while I move like a cat and collapse into bed***CV

Ha!

**CV

two ringy dingies

I spent most of my weekend reviewing my lessons journal and transferring all the lessons from one notebook to another. Then I transfered those into an online system. Finally, I figured out how the online sytem enables lesson planning and did that too.

Found out today we may not be using this sytem at all.

*sigh*

Anyway when I arrived bright and early today I saw the first spring Robin! That sight kept me in spirits all through findng out that not one but two team members were out sick and a third arrived barely able to stand. So it was me and one other allll day with 40 children. I say 40 cause I consider two of the parents in that category what with their calls and emails and general tantrums of: serve me now!
**
But I am home and I had fun today. I got to parse poetry with a good sized group and they all have various moon poems to work with. So fun!

Currently we're reading four books(yes 4: as the opener I read one about Jesse Owens; for morning group I read Harriet Tubman; and then there is the fiction group with Watership Down and the History group with Gods, Graves, and Scholars).
***
I'm almost done with my Shale stole. About half a full colour repeat in the skein left***CV

Cross Quarter II

Weekend Glory

by Maya Angelou

Some clichty folks
don't know the facts,
posin' and preenin'and puttin' on acts,
stretchin' their backs.


They move into condos
up over the ranks,
pawn their souls
to the local banks.
Buying big cars
they can't afford,
ridin' around town
actin' bored.


If they want to learn
how to live life right
they ought to study me on Saturday night.
My job at the plant
ain't the biggest bet,
but I pay my bills
and stay out of debt.
I get my hair done
for my own self's sake,
so I don't have to pick
and I don't have to rake.


Take the church money out
and head cross town
to my friend girl's house
where we plan our round.
We meet our men and go to a joint
where the music is blue
and to the point.


Folks write about me.
They just can't see
how I work all week
at the factory.
Then get spruced up
and laugh and dance
And turn away from worry
with sassy glance.


They accuse me of livin'
from day to day,
but who are they kiddin'?
So are they.


My life ain't heaven
but it sure ain't hell.
I'm not on top
but I call it swell
if I'm able to work
and get paid right
and have the luck to be Black
on a Saturday night.

Cross Quarter

The Goose-Girl

Spring rides no horses down the hill,

But comes on foot, a goose-girl still.

And all the loveliest things there be

Come simply, so it seems to me.

If ever I said, in grief or pride,

I tired of honest things, I lied:

And should be cursed forever more

With Love in laces, like a whore,

And neighbours cold, and friends unsteady

And Spring on horseback, like a lady!

Edna St. Vincent Millay