In Honor of Chinese New Year - this proverb is so "me"

Remember this...

I hear, and I forget...

I see, and I remember...

I do, and I understand.

-a Chinese proverb

I am looking over some lesson plans today for next week. I found this GOLDMINE of free stuff at www.teacherspayteachers.com . Now one thing after all these years of teaching that I still struggle with is working with learning styles. I know that I am a visual learner and I love to do projects and craft things to go along with our lessons. The Boy, on the other hand, is as auditory as they come...and then couple that with the fact that he is in lazy teenager mode and wanting to tune any adult voice out - well, it's a struggle to get through a day, let me tell ya.

So back to my dilemma - as I choose the lesson plans that I want to implement I keep choosing things that appeal to my visual needs thinking that I will be able to adapt to his needs as I teach the lesson. Maybe I'm doing it the right way - but I always second guess myself that I'm doing it wrong. Argh! I hate not being omniscient!!!

Classic Children's Literature

So my friend (and you know who you are) is taking a class on Children's Lit. this semester and while we were discussing her first journal assignment we both decided we needed to record all the classics that we have read as children (before high school) and then record the books that we have read to our children. It's amazing how quickly you forget those things! So here are my lists (and I'm sure 50 more titles will come to mind after I've gone to bed):

My childhood books (*favourites):

The Pokey Little Puppy
The Egg Book (A Golden Book)
Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne
A Child's Garden Of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Fox in Sox by Dr. Seuss
The Old Man
The Big World
Katy No Pocket*
The Story of the Loaves and the Fishes
The Tax Collector
Little Bear*
No Fighting, No Biting*
A Birthday For Frances*
Harry the Dirty Dog*
Lyle the Crocadile*
The Red Fairy Book*
Is This the House of Mistress Mouse*
Frog and Toad Are Friends
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Little Women
Julie of the Wolves*
A Wrinkle in Time*
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
To Kill A Mockingbird
Oliver Twist*
The Prince and the Pauper
A Christmas Carol
The Chronicles of Narnia*
Strawberry Girl
Watership Down*
Lord of the Flies
Jane Eyre
Stuart Little*

The Boy's list (*favourites):

Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom*
Goodnight Moon*
Ferdinand
Corduroy*
A Little Old Man
Little Bear
A Bargain For Frances
One Kitten for Kim
Verdi
The Salamander Room
The Crows of Pearblossom
Come Over to My House
The Planets
The Universe
Our Solar System
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
Richard Scary's Biggest Book Ever*
Glad Monster, Sad Monster
The Chronicles of Narnia
Treasure Island (hated every minute of it)
Halo Series* (Fall of Reach, The Flood, First Strike)
Sunrise Over Fallujah
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (hated every minute)
Mad Magazine (under much protest from me!)
Dupont Registry (another magazine but he hauled it around till destroyed)

Teaching How To "Get On Board"

He couldn't believe it. I was forcing him to learn about Barack Obama and actually study him! I know that I will always be able to take this day as an example of doing something right as his mother, the Boy does have his own mind and he will stand up to anyone to defend it. However, he also knows that his mama is wise and can cut off his "fun" supply, so he does do what I ask. Obama was not his choice for President in '08 and he comiserates with his father daily on the election results. (I remain "Switzerland" since there wasn't a candidate on the ballot that I wanted to choose from.)


His vehement opposition made the day's lesson all the better. *picture me rubbing my hands together with mischevious delight* We did a study on the presidential inauguration using a couple of pre-made curriculae from Teacher's Book Bag and Gears For Learning (both from http://www.currclick.com/) and some ancillary sources from the internet. He not only got valuable lessons in American Government, History, and Current Events -- but the lesson of letting go of your bitterness and supporting someone else's choice for authority and leadership. The Boy's always had issues of letting go of perceived wrong doings and being able to move on -- so this lesson was a great illustration to him of understanding the necessity to support your President so that your country can flourish and be strong. Not blind obedience, but knowing when to give a guy a chance.

A New Year, a new hope!

I'm off to a great start! Well, sort of, since my New Year's resolution was to blog and here it is the 12th of January. I'm going to try my best to blog each week what we're doing, take pictures of the boy, mind myself with our SouthBeach dieting, and chronical our life and adventures. One day we'll be able to reflect back and reminisce on the crazy chaos-filled life we lead and smile that it was ALL WORTH IT! :)

For now, I'll just have to plaster the smile on my face (even if it takes a glass of wine or two to put it there) and live it!