Secret Identity of a House Cat?

An alumna has proposed that my cat, Winky, the most adorable little awkward-kitty in the WORLD . . .

. . . has a secret identity!

This lovely gal even did me the honor of taking (making) a picture as proof!

Are you ready for this? 

I can sort of see it, actually.

Le Vocabulaire Extraordinaire!

A few weeks ago, I shared a stellar student vocabulary doodle, if you’ll recall. . .

Well, time has passed and my lovely student has continued to make me chuckle daily with her creative interpretation of le vocabulaire !

Check out her humorous illustrations of:

“un/une colocataire“

(aka: a roommate)!

“un sbire“

(aka: a henchman)

“un sans domicile fixe (un SDF)“

(aka: a homeless individual)

“un double/un sosie“

(aka: a lookalike or doppelganger)

“un enquiquineur“

(aka: an extremely boring person)

How great are these?! This student is AWESOME!

Unorthodox Problem Solving

With alarming frequency, big, terrifying kafka-esque bugs get into my classroom. However, this is neither metamorphosis nor metaphor. We’re talking about the real-deal, multi-legged, blood-sucking, ear-buzzing, skitter-across-the-wall kind of bugs. In case you cannot tell, I don’t like bugs…  at least not inside. If they’re outside (where they belong) that’s fine, but when they start coming in our classrooms and sucking our blood while we’re just trying to do our job, something has got to be done.

So, recently, in a fit of frustration/weirdness/reluctance-to-clean-up-an-icky-smushed-mosquito,

I decided that I would publicize my zero-tolerance-for-bugs policy to the insect population at large…

(Sticky notes are poster-sized when you’re an insect.)

While my students have found this equal parts hysterical and disturbing, and while you can say what you will about my sanity levels . . . there have been remarkably fewer bugs in my classroom lately. 

Obomney 2012

If you haven’t yet (and you’re 18), GO VOTE.

I hopped in line at 6:50 am this morning with the rest of the early-morning crowd… lets just say it was not exactly a cheery crew.

Stressed out commuters shifted from left foot to right faster than a three year old in line for the potty, but none of that nervous energy came out in noisiness; the entire elementary school was eerily silent. One of the poll workers walked by the line and muttered “Geez, it’s so quiet. ‘ts like a funeral out here.”

Thankfully, the (mostly adorably elderly) poll-workers were rockin’, and the line was speedy and it was not long before I stood, ballot in hand and ready to vote. I do not plan to tell you who I voted for. . . (if you know me, you can probably guess), but vote, I did.

And, speaking as an almost-perpetually-stressed-out special education teacher who woke up at 4:30 am with a full day ahead; if I can vote, so can you.

If you need a little extra motivation to vote, please note that google is doing its best to inspire civic duty today.

Also, before election day is over, you should also watch my new favorite political campaign add. I don’t care who you are (Republican, Conservative, Libertarian or Librarian), but this is extremely wonderful:

watch?v=Alzz11k9yMk

Well, Color Me Impressed . . .

Sometimes I am just blown away by the artistic talent of others.

Now, I know this probably doesn’t come as a shock to you, but I actually have very limited artistic abilities. What I can’t decoupage or color in is pretty much beyond me.

Every once in a while, I stumble upon an artist whose talent AND story are astounding, and those are the times when I feel compelled to share.

Stephen Wiltshire is an artist from England who draws absolutely unbelievable cityscapes, among other things. He also was diagnosed with autism as a young boy, and he used his incredible artistic abilities to communicate during a period in his life when he was completely nonverbal. . . Check him out!

Students With Skillz

And, yes, that’s skillz with a Z.

Check out the  gorgeous bow bracelet one of my students made! Isn’t it adorable? She made it out of an old purse with a little help from a YouTube tutorial. I’m in love with how it looks, SUCH a pretty piece! Next time I have an old piece of leather (or faux leather!) lying around, this will be my model!

She did such a good job with the finishing/closure- it looks professionally made, doesn’t it? 

Now check out the insanely delicious “Cauldron Cake“ my student made (inspired by the descriptive goodness of J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter, for those of you who may not be aware) . . . I can personally attest to the fact that these tasted as INSANELY good as they look! They are also getting added to my things-to-bake bucket list (my Oven List?)!

My final share of the week? Check out one student’s wonderful (and on-topic!) sense of humor!

Un béguin (as we learned this week) is another word for a crush (as in: Young girls often had a crush on Jonathon Taylor-Thomas during the 1980s and 90s.)