November 19th: I Am Thankful for My Supportive Family and Friends

At 6:30 this morning I got online to find out if I had made the score to be considered a National Board Certified Teacher. I was so relieved to see my score of 286 because I knew I only needed 275 to pass. When I applied for the scholarship last year to support my effort,  a question I was asked was about my support system of people during the National Board process. It was not at all difficult to answer that question. JEJ had already agreed to support me by allowing someone else to clean the house, by volunteering to do shopping and even do cooking sometimes. He also understood the time it would take  be successful. He was also there cheering me on. My mom, brother and sister were there unconditionally to encourage me and I knew if I hit a wall, which I did, they would be there as my cheerleaders. They never let me down. I also had so many friends that had more faith in me than I had sometimes. My school staff was also a huge support group. Students heard early and all my sixth grade students were there in the hall to congratulate me as I arrived.  Today it was such a pleasure to say thanks to so many people as I kept pinching myself, still having a hard time allowing the good news to sink in.

November 18th: I Am Thankful for the Sky

I don't know why we have had amazing skies from the summer through the fall. I don't understand cloud formations enough to know why the sky can be filled with such a variety of clouds. What I do know is that I love these photo images of the sky.

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November 17th: I Am Thankful for Patience

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end." Margaret Thatcher 

A few days ago I received a new laptop computer in the mail. I knew if I didn't replace my "old" one soon everything would explode, implode, burn up, or just fizzle and die. These last few days have taught me patience. I love the smaller and more lightweight model. I love the shiny red color. I have spent lots of time figuring out what needs to be moved, loaded, uploaded, downloaded, put on an external hard drive, stored online, and/or dumped in the trash. I thought decluttering my paper files in August was a task!
Why do I save every document I have ever written on the hard drive? Go figure. 
Patiently I have learned new things about my new model. Patiently I have sorted documents, recipes, photos, and programs. I hope sometime soon to be able to donate my first laptop to my classroom and find everything I need on my new one.

November 16th: I Am Thankful for Shelby

Of course, I can't forget Shelby as our second canine family member. Shelby has such a different personality than Annie. Shelby is our herding red heeler. The only herding she gets to do involves all our cats, but she is happy to perform those duties. I don't know where she wants the cats to be herded to, but it is often comical to watch her. Shelby loves people, her chair in the gazebo, naptime, treats,her Kellogg cousins,and her sister Annie. She is loyal and is always there to protect us and alert us to danger. The only dangers have been skunks, raccoons, and stray cats. We keep trying to tell her the Avista driver, the UPS guy, and our neighbor are our friends. She just wants to be sure.

Shelby loves to go in the car. She would be content to ride around the driveway as long as she is with us. I will never forget the first day we brought her home. She was a round puppy covered with mud. (She was in an outside dog run and it had been raining). She won our hearts that day and we have loved her ever since.

November 15th: Today I Am Thankful For Math

 I have a secret that I have not told too many people in recent years. For a long time I didn't really understand math. I haven't had to teach it much the last fifteen years, so perhaps I got a bit rusty at understanding it also. I can balance my checkbook, I can tell you a discount if it is 50%, and I know the difference between the commutative and associative properties.
This school year I decided to relearn math.  I realized I remembered and knew more than I thought. I also realized that the students I am helping had many misconceptions about math that got in the way of learning. We undid some of those misconceptions together. I also found out that it can be fun. I just finished a math inservice today and feel like I can move into some harder material now. I am thankful that I am slowly overcoming my math phobia and feeling good about numbers! Does this mean algebra might make sense to me?

November 14th: I Am Thankful for Sleep

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap. " Barbara Jordan
I am thankful for sleep. I am thankful for the time I have on a week-end to indulge in a nap if I want or need one. There is nothing more comforting than curling up with a dog, a cat, and a warm bed on a Sunday afternoon after attempting to read a book for about two minutes. 
 I am also thankful I no longer experience chronic insomnia. I realize problems of the world can be solved while laying awake at night, but I would rather be rested. Besides, I could never remember what solutions I ever came up after I finally achieved those three hours of sleep on a Sunday night.
I know my week gets off to a much better start when I am well rested. Even though it is a busy one coming up, I know I am ready for the week because I squeezed in that very important sleep today. I didn't even splurge on the cookies and milk first.