The One About the Christmas Gift

So, I haven't been teaching for decades, although next year I'll be wrapping up my first one.  Yikes, where has the time gone?  But I digress.  Anywho.  9 Christmas seasons into my teaching career and I have had my share of gifts as I'm sure you have.  There are your usual ones: candy, gift cards (Starbucks being my favorite!), and ornaments.  Then there are the thoughtful handmade ones.  Then there are the random ones.  You know what I'm talking about.  The ones that make you think, "Huh?!"

Now, don't get me wrong.  I truly to love and cherish everything my kids give me.  I always believe it is given in love.  Even if I can't for the life of me figure out what would have possessed someone to purchase it.  Like my first year teaching when, I kid you not, I received a nose hair trimmer.  Seriously.  You can't make that stuff up.  I of course hightailed it to the nearest mirror to see if they were trying to hint at something.  Thankfully that was not the case.  But still, huh?  

As random as that is, it is not the gift I mention in this post's title.  Nope.  This gift is far more random than a nose hair trimmer.  See, it was a few years ago, 4 or 5.  I still remember the little girl, Marcia.  Sweet.  Great parents.  Good student.  So Christmas came around and I have never been a fan of opening presents in front of the kids.  Too intimidating.  Plus there's always so much going on at the Christmas party that sitting down for any extended period of time seems pointless.  So, I always open my presents after the day is over when I'm enjoying the quiet of a classroom and as many leftover sweets as I can consume.  Anywho.  I opened up the present from Marcia.  I was dumbfounded.  It was a giant ostrich egg.  But folks, this was no ordinary ostrich egg.  No sir.  This one was painted with a charging elephant.  But wait!  There's more!  It also came with a stand that was carved to look like, you guess it, an elephant.  I didn't know what to think.  It isn't a horrible gift by any means.  Just random.  A giant painted egg.  An elephant.  I wrote my thank you note and brought it home.

But what do you do with a giant ostrich egg with a painted elephant?  It was not really in keeping with our decor.  So it stayed in its box in the garage.  I guess in a way it's fascinating and I'm drawn to it.  I think about it every Christmas and have occasionally taken it out to look at it.  In a way I guess it has served a purpose.  I remember it.  I remember Marcia.  I'm blogging about it.  It just got me thinking.  What random gift(s) have you received.  Anything better than a nose hair trimmer or painted ostrich egg?  

This post wouldn't be complete without pictures of said egg.  Now, I have to warn you that the pictures do not do it justice at all.  It's extremely glossy so it reflects any kind of light.  But I did my best and I think you get the picture.  Thanks for hopping by!  :)

The egg, in all its glory

Close-up of the stand

It's huge!

It's an elephant.  Painted on an ostrich egg.  How random and awesome is that?!

     

The One Where I Wish You a Happy New Year

Well,  I'll admit that I did have pretty grandiose plans for my Christmas Break.  I was going to blog more. I was going to make several things for my TPT store, namely my January Math Journals.  I was going to actually get out the several posts flying around in my head.  But I didn't.  Oops.

What I did do though was have a fantastic, and relaxing, Christmas Break with my family. In the end that's better than my initial plans anyway.  Wouldn't you agree?  Posts will get written.  Items will get made.  Hopefully the January Math Journals will get done ASAP.  But until then I will continue to relax and enjoy my vacation.

Well, the entire 1 day I have left.  Yep, I return to school on Wednesday.  Yikes!  Has the break flown by that quickly already?  What will I do those first 3 days back?  Oh, I mean, I need to check my lesson plans.  No, just kidding, I do have a slight idea of what to do plans for those days when the kids are totally crazy and still all jazzed up on Christmas Break, toys, and candy.  

How has your break been?  Do you return on Wednesday?  Thursday?  Or are you super lucky, like my wife, and have all the way until next Monday?  Well, whenever you return I hope the remainder of your break is good.  I hope you've enjoyed the time away from the classroom and have rested, relaxed, and rejuvenated yourself so you're ready to greet all of those little faces when they return in January.

One half of the year is gone.  The 2nd half of the year is always so much fun as you begin to see the kids grow so quickly and they suddenly gain so much of the independence and skills you've been working on for the previous months.  

But I'm rambling a bit here.  Sorry.  Maybe it's the late hour.  I've got 20 minutes left until New Year's here.  Everyone else in the house is asleep.  I'm too stubborn though and always insist on staying up.  Then about 5 minutes later I turn in.  And again I'm rambling.

So, I think I'll just wish you a Happy New Year and sign off.  I hope that 2013 is awesome for you and you have a wonderful and blessed 2nd half of the school year!

The One About A Desk

My desk.  And an excuse to play with the panoramic feature on my iPhone!

Do you have a desk?  A table?  A landing spot?  I have to personally.  I know a lot of people are anti-desk, stating that a teacher should be up and about and around the classroom at all times.  Well, me (and my feet) slightly disagree with that notion.  See, I need a landing spot.  See how I italiscized that?  To stress the need.  A place to put my stuff.  A place to grade.  A place to organize, gather, sit, collect, hold, etc.  I think you get the picture.  

Now, I don't sit there all day.  I am up and about most of the time.  But if I am using the ELMO or grading or working one-on-one with a student, I'll be there.  That and, of course, on breaks.  See, you agree now don't you.  I'm sure most of you have a similar spot somewhere.  Mine is a table and student desk put together in an L-shape in the front of the room.  The location is crucial as my laptop must be connected to the ELMO and the SMART Board, both of which are in the front of the room.  See, yet another important need for a desk.  So, it's not a desk per say, but you get the picture.

I've had a lot of difference set ups over the year.  There was the ginormous (I kid you not) 6 foot by 4 foot metal monstrosity I had at one school.  It was huge!  But I loved it.  Do you know how many piles of stuff neatly organized stacks you can create on a desk that size?  I've also had a smaller wooden number, basic but it got the job done, a simple computer desk, and another art class-type table.  I have to admit, the ginormous beast aside, my latest arrangement is my favorite.  I'm a fan of the L-shape.  

I wish I could say that I was the most organized teacher out there.  Like some of the great blogs I follow.  But I don't like to lie.  Now, I'm not a mess, exactly.  I like to think of it as organized chaos.  Yeah, that's probably a good description.  But, I'll have you know, I know exactly where everything is and there is a method to my madness.  You know how it is.  You're busy.  There isn't always time to put it away neatly where you found it (despite the fact that you tell the kids that about every game, manipulative, and project they get into).  Sometimes you just need to put it down somewhere.   

There are times though, that it even gets to me and I must purge and reorganize.  With the Christmas season upon us I'm quickly getting there.  So, I've bared my soul, and desk here to you.  I hope you don't think less of me as a person or teacher.  I'm sure everyone has their dirty little classroom secret.  Like my closet, but that's a topic for another post!

So, what about you?  Desk?  No desk?  Everything neatly organized and aligned or creative piles?  I promise I won't judge you either!  It takes all kinds though!  :)