times are changing

I was a little sad when I read this story today. After SEC and MLB baseball (of course!) I have a huge passion for SEC football. I grew up in this small college town only 8 blocks from Ben Hill Griffin -- so close you could hear the crowd roar through an open window and watch tailGators enjoy the pre- and post-game festivities on the street outside. I learned all about football in high school when my father and I would go to as many home games as we could -- back when the Gators were still just trying to win an SEC Championship. When they were on the road, we would watch them on TV. This gradually led to me watching more and more football until I reached the point where I watch almost every SEC game on any given Saturday (about 3 games a week, give or take.)

The noon game was almost always reserved for the Jefferson Pilot Game of the Week. Everything about the JP broadcast (which was bought out by Lincoln Financial and then apparently Raycom) was second or third rate. The announcers mispronounced names, the camera crew had trouble following the ball on the field, and they never, ever had timely updates on other SEC games (you'd have to switch to ESPN for those.) You made fun of them, but eventually the telecast grew on you. It was regional sportscasting in an age of big media. Some might call it quaint.

All that will be over come the 2009 football season. The SEC signed a contract with ESPN to pick up any games not chosen by CBS. Up-to-the-minute stats will replace Excel-style graphics, a crisp HD picture will most likely stand in for grainy '80s-highlights-quality footage. It will be different. A cookie-cutter version of a beloved southern pastime. I will make it a point to watch as many JP telecasts as possible this season and enjoy the last bit of regional flair in SEC sports. I will be sorry to see them go.

here we go again

It's not a real storm until the Asplundh truck convoys start to roll through town.

We were only in school for three days before TS Fay decided to swing our way. The school board's automatic notification system reached me at 10:47 p.m., well after I had gone to sleep. Grrr. I wonder how they reached the kids whose phones don't work (ie. quite a few of mine)?

It's 11:30 and we've barely had more than spitting rain for the last 24 hours. *sigh* There goes a hurricane flex day -- and one of our scheduled four-day weekends! You know the worst part? I'll probably go into work anyway. There's too much to do to let a little rain get in my way.

my new home

I've decided that moving classrooms before school starts is like moving into a new house and having to host a fancy party two weeks later. Only in my case it was moving into a house that was still full of someone else's stuff (it took me two days, 8 garbage bags, and a freebie day for other teachers just to clear it out!) You can't just toss boxes out of sight to unpack later because the contents has to be available for kids to use. The decor has to be finished and things need to be cleaned. Not to mention I can't plan until I'm organized!

That being said, the classroom is finally finished and ready for kiddos. It started out in Miami Vice colors: the walls were teal and orange in a nod to the 'Phins with a wall of magenta thrown in for that South Florida flair. At least that's what I'm guessing:











But thanks to Tim's bright color selection and our 10 hours of painting in a non-air conditioned classroom a couple of weekends ago, I now call this home:



These are views from my front door. This place is so much bigger than my old room.



This is my teacher area. The star bulletin board will eventually hold kid work.



This is my office. Yes, my very own office. I would have painted it too, but I share it with my next-door neighbor (and I'm only showing you MY half -- it's huge!) It will be used mainly for storing teaching materials and other crap from the district. I have so much storage space in there that I had to label cabinets because I kept forgetting where everything was. I prefer to plan out in my classroom because I'm inspired by my kids and their work. But it will be a great place for one of my many college volunteers to tutor kids in a quieter space.



This is the reading center and Word Wall area. I'm going to lower the table for more comfortable seating. The books are all from my personal collection (except for the library books on the table.) Can you tell I love reading?


I now have an actual space for my computers. I'll be getting another one in the the next month so I'll have four for the kids to use! Our school also just added wireless so I'll be able to use my Mac at work for lesson planning and such. I don't have a Smartboard like some other classes, but maybe soon...


Here is our Math Meeting Board (not quite together yet), our recycling center (lovingly schlepped home weekly by yours truly since the school only recycles office paper), and the geography center. The cabinets house art and cleaning supplies.


This is my Accelerated Reader book area. The labeled cabinets all hold kid materials for math, language arts, games, and art projects. I prefer to have them out on open shelving so the kids can see what is available, but it will help keep the dust and dirt at bay. Also check out the flowers on the window sill outside. I hope they survive!


And this may look like just a door, but it's a door to the most amazing thing in the world to me: more storage. You had to have seen my old classroom where I stacked plastic tubs three high on top of the built-in cabinetry (and used a precarious ladder of chairs, tables, and stools to get them down) to really appreciate how much I love this closet. I will post a picture of its interior sometime this afternoon. Oh, and that cabinet on the right is holding more tubs of primary teaching stuff. It was supposed to be a coat closet. In Florida. How silly!

Thank you for visiting Miss Lynn's 4th grade class. I'm sure I'll post more about what we're doing as the year progresses. Right now, I'm just glad to have it done!

scaredy cat

This was as close as Madeleine would get to Mouse (and she was interested in getting to know Mad!) A dog afraid of a cat -- isn't that sad?

Sorry for being a non-posting person. I decided to take a break to deal with real life for a while. Honestly, the last month and a half have been filled with so many changes. It started with a change in grade level for me. I'm going from teaching primary to intermediate. I am quite upset, frazzled, you name it. I love teaching little ones -- this is such a scary move! I was in the middle of changing classrooms (think moving houses) when my principal "retired" due to low test scores. Getting a new boss -- especially when you've only had one in your professional career -- is nerve wracking. So far I like my new principal, but it's only been two weeks. School starts Monday, and I've been working 10+ hour days for the last two weeks trying to get ready.

In mid-July I decided to put my house on the market and move to St. Pete. I interviewed for jobs, got offers, but can't sell my house -- so I'm stuck in Gainesville for at least a few more months. Going back to the classroom also means going back to teacher's union work. I love fighting for teacher's rights, but let's face it: being a teacher in Florida right now is down-right depressing. Even the superintendent has teamed up with the union to fight against several state constitutional amendments slated to go on November's ballot. Pay close attention to 5, 7, & 9. They're going to destroy public education in this state.

Anyway, I'm back to blogging. Look for an update on what I've been up to for the last two weeks coming soon (ie. classroom pictures!)

sweep!

We went to two of the Rays/Sox series games for my birthday. Let me tell you, major league baseball with first-place implications is not for the faint of heart. It certainly rivaled any UT or FSU game I've ever seen in Ben Hill Griffin in terms of excitement.

And when Rays fans drowned out Red Sox fans' cheers with "Let's Go Rays," well, that was the best part of the evening. I hope the fans keep turning out, even without sweeps.

priorities

The Countryside Publix in Clearwater's definition of a storm basic. You can tell they've been through a few hurricanes.

vacationing by the numbers

Number of days gone: 13
Number of beds slept in: 12

Number of miles driven: 2460
Number of miles driven by me: about 500

Number of miles walked in new heels to meet friends for dinner in downtown Cincinnati: 1 1/2
Number of blisters gained from said walk: 6
Number of times we walked/ran across the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge going back and forth from Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky: 7







Number of weddings attended: 2
Number of dresses for weddings left hanging in a closet on the other side of the state: 1 (the one I needed!)

Number of flights of stairs climbed to do laundry in Cincinnati: 6
Number of times we had to climb them: 3 (mercifully)

Number of baseball games attended: 4
Number of baseball games attended where the home team was celebrating both youth recreation day and senior citizens day: 2 (really, what are the odds?)
Number of Jimmy Buffet cover bands performing after a baseball game: 1
Number of fans who stayed to watch the Jimmy Buffet cover band: about 600 (yes, including us)




Number of homemade lemon meringue pies eaten by each of us: 1/2
Number of ice cream-based desserts eaten by each of us: 5
Number of pounds gained by each of us (despite running): 5 1/2

Number of times finding a great song on the radio changed our mood: 4
Number of books on tape I fell asleep listening to: 2
Number of times a five-lane interstate full of traffic was stopped for a funeral procession: 1 (that was one brave cop!)

Height (in feet) of the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 6,643
Number of miles we climbed to get there: 1/2
Height (in feet) we climbed to get there: 330
Angle of said climb: unknown, but very, very steep





Number of times I wanted to come home: 0

We had an amazing trip. More pictures should be up by the end of this weekend.