Brrr...

Whoever brought winter to us...take it back!

Winter weather is officially here, even if it is technically still fall. (A concept my first graders struggle with) I am already over it, but I guess I had better get used to it. My winter coat it out to stay!

Sorry about my lack of posts lately, nothing much happened for awhile, and then we got busy all at once and I didn't have time to write! Other than freezing my rear end off on the playground everything is pretty normal at school, everyone is just eagerly awaiting Thanksgiving break. Especially me! Last Saturday Jacob went to the Monon Bell football game at Wabash, I went shopping with my mom in hopes of getting some early Christmas shopping done. I did get a few things which is amazing for me (usually don't even think about shopping before Christmas break!) . Sunday I caught up on laundry, cleaning, and tried to get some homework done, but wasn't that successful. Monday night Ashley had a Pampered Chef party, so I went with Cathy. I only bought one item, let's hope my Mix n' Chop is worth it! Last night I buckled down and finished my reading, and tonight I finally got my work done and relaxed at yoga/pilates class. Whew...I hope the next few days are less eventful!

Have a great rest of the week, and stay warm!

Election 2008: From a Kid's Point of View

So today we had a mock election in first grade and I'd thought I'd share a few of the funny, somewhat true, and surprising insights from my kiddos. It makes me wonder how other people make their decision on who to vote for. By the way, Obama won, by a landslide (for some of the interesting reasons below). Enjoy!

Why did you vote for the candidate you did?
"He runs fast"
"Yeah, I definitely think he would win a race." (could be a philosophical answer without knowing it!)
"We've never had a president with brown skin before."
"He said he would give $1000 to my parents if he won."
"My mom was voting for him."
"He will make gas cost less."
"He's not old."
"I heard him say on tv that it was his turn to win."

What makes a good President?
"He has to be nice."
"He has to be good at doing papers."
"He needs to make things cost less, because when my family goes to Burger King things keep costing too much."
"He needs to get to work on time."
"He needs to pick up any trash he finds at the White House so it stays clean." (We've been learning about ways to help your community. Not polluting has been one of the many topics of discussion.)
"He has to be good at making laws."
"I think (another classmate) would be a good president." Why? "Because he is a good friend." Someone else: "Yeah, he is lovely!" (I don't know where "lovely" came from, but I thought it was the funniest thing I had heard all day, especially since he is a boy!"

Halloween, Voting, and Homework, oh my!

I must admit and apologize: I said bah humbug (wrong holiday I know!) to Halloween this year. Sure, we did the fun pumpkin and Halloween stuff at school, but I drew the line on Friday. My students were allowed to wear costumes to school for the first time and the craziness,distractions, and drama turned me into a Halloween Scrooge this year. Lets just say, two first graders in tears before nine o'clock didn't get me off on the right foot with our friend Halloween. I promise I'll try harder next year!

On a brighter note I turned in my long anticipated group project and got a good grade. I used my Fall Break last week to finish my midterm. A big weight off of my mind! Jacob got finished with his second course today. I'm so proud of my little student! I know he's happy to have another class behind him.

This weekend we got to visit with family. Last night we went out with my parents and Laura to the Willard. Then, today was Leah's birthday so all the Shivelys went to Kabuto's for a Japanese hibachi lunch. It's hard to believe little Leah is 20 years old!

This week should be interesting with the election Tuesday. We didn't vote early, so I'm interested to see how long the lines at the polls actually are. We're going to have a mock election in first grade. I think it will be fun to hear what the six year-olds have to say about the candidates!

Have a great week...get out and vote!