Mitch Alboms "The Five People You Meet in Heaven"

I'm watching this great movie with Jon Voight, who plays a man named Eddie. Eddie dies at an old age from a freak accident and goes on a journey in his afterlife meeting 5 people that he met or knew in his life. Each has a story to tell and a lesson to teach him. It's an awesome movie and it really makes you think about your life. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

2008 Vice Presidential Debate

I'm sitting here watching the debate between Biden and Palin. So far, I think Palin is doing a great job talking about the issues and being down-to-earth with the listeners. I love how she keeps it real. I think they are both being careful with their facial expressions and body language in the debate. In previous years, the facial expressions and attitude of the candidates during debates weighed heavy with the viewers opinion of the candidate. We'll see who turns out on top of this debate. I think Palin will be the winner of this one!

Digitize Me!!!

I decided to join the other "95%" of the world (as my fellow blogger Katie said) and get digital cable. I was always envious of all my friends and their ability to record their TV shows, so they never miss out on the "important things". Now since I'm taking tennis classes on Mondays and hopefully playing soccer on Wednesdays I knew it was the time to switch over. I am a huge fan of Heroes and Project Runway both of which air their new episodes on Monday and the other on Wednesday. So now I'll be able to use my DVR to record the show and then catch it the next night when Grey's Anatomy is on. I don't know what percentage of the world watches Grey's Anatomy. I'm sure Katie thinks I'm in the minority, oh well, no one's perfect.

Alright soccer fans!...the game is cancelled.

Well, my fellow blogger, Katie, has decided to feed her love of soccer and continue to play as part of the house team for the Austin Indoor Soccer Arena. The game was set to start at 6:50, but come 7:00 there are only three soccer players for the house team. Their opponent was sitting around waiting in the bleachers, waiting for some competition. I was there in my athletic wear and this seemed to be qualification enough to play soccer so Katie, the ref, and the score keeper were suggesting that I play. I was not about to make a fool out of myself for nothing, so I didn't give in, but Katie has promised to teach me the basics so next time I can be a warm body on the field, not necessarily a talented warm body, but a body none the less.

Mine Isn't Working

My class had a lesson with the school librarian yesterday. The lesson focused on the rules when using the computer and internet. You know, things like not giving out personal information, visiting approved websites only, and not sharing log in information with others. The librarian turned the powerpoint into a turning point which is a program that can pose multiple choice questions for the kids and the kids are able to electronically answer the question with a wireless remote. Each remote has a number and the program keeps track of the remotes that have responded to the question. Unfortunately, the program wasn't working as it should. Some of the students were trying to answer the question but their answer wasn't being received by the program. I had my own remote and mine happened to be one that wasn't working. My kids noticed mine wasn't working and constantly informed the libarian that mine wasn't working. "Ms. Hernandez's isn't working." They would all give me advice to try to make it work like "Try getting closer Ms. Hernandez". I'd try and listen to their advice, but it still wouldn't work. Some of them even offered to try for me and would get closer to the receiver, but to no avail. I thought it was really sweet how they were looking out for me and wanted it to work for me. It was a great moment even though the remote wasn't working. A lot of my other kids' remotes weren't working either and they were constantly trying to get closer to the receiver hoping against hope that this time it would work. No matter how many times it failed to work they never gave up. At one point there were quite a few kids crowding around the receiver to try to get it to accept their answer. One of my other students, who I'll refer to as Collin, was sitting and trying to get his remote to work. The kids were all crowding around the receiver and Collin was trying to send his answer with the remote. Finally, he said, "Hey, guys these things aren't made to go through bodies!", as he continued to try to send his answer. I laughed out loud. I couldn't help it. He was right.

Starry Starry Night

As I was leaving HEB I was about to pass a Big Art Sale Tent with oil paintings, copies of original masterpieces of art by present day artists. I decided to stop a minute and take a look. I was browsing through the art and saw a lot of Vincent Van Gogh copies. I've always loved Vincent Van Gogh art and thought some of them would look great in my apartment. Well, I asked the sales rep. and he pointed me to an oil copy of Starry Starry Night, Cafe Terrace at Night, and Sower with Setting Sun. I hung them up above my bed and they look GREAT!!

Students Connect

I gave my students a reading worksheet for homework Tuesday night. We've been working on making connections to the story and characters as we read. This particular worksheet focused on readers connecting to a character's feelings and experiences by trying to relate to them with their own experiences. The students were to first read about a character named Jacey who was feeling sad about moving to a new city and then answer some questions. The final question read: Did your own experiences or knowledge help you understand Jacey's feelings? If so, how? Here are some of my kids' responses. These were so interesting to read because the kids really thought about this and some of their responses were sad, funny and insightful.

No, because when we moved I was only a baby.

Yes, because I moved once from all my friends.

I move a lot.

Yes, when I left to Colorado for the summer I felt sad.

I've had a friend move away so I know what it's like.

Not yet. (I liked this one because he was honest, but left room for the possibility of moving in the future)

I have never had that kind of experience or knowledge, but I feel sorry for her.

My experiences help me understand how she is feeling because one of my best firends moved last year and I didn't get to say goodbye.

Yes, because I had to move from Pflugerville to where I am now and I was a little excited and sad.

Yes, because I have moved houses many times and I cry too when I have to leave.

No, but I know how she feels.

When I lost my hamster I felt sad like Jacey in the story moving into a new house. We both lost something we love, and it's hard to seperate from it.

Futbol - The First Game I Attend

Although I do enjoy watching soccer, my experiences with it have been in front of a television. Tonight, however, I not only had the opportunity to watch my first soccer game in person, but I got to see my friend Katie and her mom playing as well. I was so excited to see them in action. I heard about Katie playing soccer and her mom, too, but now I was going to be able to witness it myself. The game was fun to watch and although the team they were playing for didn't win tonight Katie had some great kicks and I noticed she was even congratulated by one of the veteran players (at least I think she was a returning player). I must admit that I was secretly hoping that one of the opposing players would rough Katie up a little, just to see how she would react, but then again her students would probably wonder what happened to her the next day when she would show up with a black eye. I let go of the secret wish quickly when I realized this. Katie is planning on continuing to play and I'll definitely be there to support her and maybe, just a little, hope for some "excitement on the field", but not too much.

A Simple "Hello" Would Be Nice

I'm sure anyone with a pulse knows of this weather deviant called Hurricane Ike. My sister and brother-in-law live in Houston, so they came to Austin Friday night to escape the potential destruction and devastation (I'm being dramatic here). I like to call them refugees, but the precise term is evacuees. Anyway, I called the house this morning to see if they were leaving today (Sunday). My sister wanted to play poker and blackjack and I wanted to make sure we were still on. I called the house. You need to be aware that my relationship with my mother is on life support right now and has been for quite some time, so in order to not upset this weak entity I usually call my Dad for any and all information regarding family. My logic is the less interaction I have with my mom the better chance of the survival of the relationship. You see think of my relationship as a person and my interactions with my mother we'll call Momphine. Taken in small doses it's perfectly harmless, but taken under certain conditions and in higher doses, it can be hazardous to one's health and potentially fatal. In this instance I didn't want to call my dad because it was Sunday morning and I thought he would be asleep. My mom on the other hand is usually always up by 8 am and I wanted the information badly, I was desperate. Here is how it went:

Ring...Ring...

Mom: Uh, huh. (not the sleepy, I just woke uh, huh, the what do you want uh, huh.

(Fox News report in the background)

Me: Hello.

Mom: Yeah. (annoyed tone)

Me: Hello.

Mom: Yeah, yeah (repeated more fast to tell me to get on with it)

Me: Okay, whatever ( I say this low enough where she can't hear me and I'll explain why I'm a little peeved. She doesn't even greet me with a hello. A "yeah". What's this, what am I? I can't even think of an instance that greeting someone over the phone with quick "yeahs" is appropriate and not excited yeahs either. Annoyed because I think you're wasting my time "yeahs".)

Me: Hi, is Velvette and David leaving today?

Mom: NO! There's not even power over there yet. They can't leave. (She continues but I break in)

Me: Oh okay, that's all I wanted to know. Thanks.

Mom: Okay, bye.

CLICK

Recommended Dosage for Momphine: Take no more than once a week. Do not take on an empty stomach and do not operate heavy machinery for at least 5 hours after taking this medication. For best results take with a glass of any alcoholic beverage. Results may vary.

The Misadventures at Banfield Pet Hospital

Thursday, July 17 11:00am

Ring Ring...I pick up the phone

Hi, this is "J" with Banfield reminding you that Dusty has an appointment tomorrow at 9am for vaccinations, check-up, and to get a refill of Atopica.

Me: Oh, okay (my mom had scheduled an appointment while I was out of the country and I wasn't informed-usual occurences in my family. I had already scheduled carpet cleaners to come at 10am, so I found myself in jam) Well, I have people coming to clean the carpets at 10am.

J: You can drop him off instead.

Me: Okay, let's do that. Oh, and Dusty has extreme allergic reactions to the vaccinations and what Dr. B had decided to do was give him a couple at a time. You know spread them out.

J: Okay, I'll let the doctor know.

Me: Alright, thank you.

J: Your welcome. Have a nice day.

Me: Thanks, you too.

Friday, July 18 8:45

I take Dusty to Banfield, which is located inside Petsmart. I go up to the check-in counter and "J" is there to greet me.

Me: Hi, I have Dusty Miller for his vaccinations and check-up.

J: Okay. (She hands me a form that I've had to fill out every time I bring Dusty) Just fill out the purple section.

Me: Okay.

It's the usual things. Phone numbers that I can be reached at. I put down my home number and write until 11am. I then fill in the second space with my cell phone number and write anytime. Banfield has provided these spaces for the customer to fill in so if they need to get a hold of me they know what numbers would be best throughout the day. Good idea in my opinion, but it only works if they actually refer to the paper later on in the day. Move on down and see allergies. I put down environmental, food, and drug allergies. He has them ALL. I also put down, extreme reaction to vaccines. Move on down. Medications pet is taking at present: I put down Atopica. Which, let me remind you, is the medication they are supposed to refill for him today. (The reason I'm providing you with all these seemingly insignificant details will become all too clear as we progress through the day). Move on down. Anything else you would like us to do today during your pet's visit? I write down: clip nails. I sign my name at the bottom and hand it back to her.

J: Okay. What time would you like to pick Dusty up?

Me: Um, 2:00.

The rest of the details of this part of the story are definitely meaningless. In short, she takes Dusty to the back with Dusty whining and crying all the way.

I return home. My carpets get a well deserved cleaning and then I use the rest of my time to run some errands.

1:30 pm

I decided to call Banfield to see how Dusty was doing. I assumed thirty minutes to pick-up he would have already received his vaccinations and would be under observation.

Ring Ring...

T: Hey this is "T" at Banfield Pet Hospital. How may I help you?

I know T and he has worked with Dusty a lot so I feel pretty good that he's there.

Me: Hi "T". This is Jackie, Dusty Miller's owner. I'm just calling to see how Dusty's doing.

T: Hey Jackie. Guess who's in my arms right now.

Me: Really?

T: Yeah!

Me: Wow, okay.

T: We are just about to pre-med him and then give him his vaccines. Dr. V will call you after she's done. Okay?

Me: Okay, thanks. Bye.

T: Alright, see you soon. Bye.

I'm suprised that at 1:30 Dusty still hasn't been vaccinated. Especially with his history behind the whole mess. They know that he needs to vaccinated early because of the potential reaction he could have. I'm still calm at this point because I was thinking if they only give him to vaccines along with pre-med then he should be fine.

2:00

I haven't received a call yet, so I go to Banfield anyway.

Me: Hi, I'm here to pick up Dusty Miller.

J: Oh, Dr.V just called you.

Me: No, I haven't received a call.

J: Oh, well you must have just missed her. Dusty isn't ready yet. Some emergencies just came in, so we couldn't get to him.

Me: Okay.

J: If you could come and pick him up after 3:00 that would be great.

Me: Well I have something to go to at 4:20.

J: Okay, so you can come right at 3:00 if you want.

Me: Okay, thanks.

I'm just a little frustrated because we would be in this mess if they had seen him when they were supposed to, at 9:00am. He had an appointment at 9:00. That shouldn't change just because I dropped him off earlier. The fact remains that the 9:00 space was reserved for Dusty. Instead they push it to thirty minutes before his pick-up time and of course something comes up and everything is delayed.

Story to be continued...oh, yes there IS more.

What They Have to Say

It's the last week of school! Tuesday and Wednesday my kids performed their reader's theatre, three times for three different classes, two fourth grade classes and one third grade class. My students absolutely loved it and got great reviews from both teachers and students. I am so proud of them!

With the end of the year approaching I've been giving them assignments that focus on their thoughts and opinions of school. On Wednesday the students wrote a letter to my next year's class. I asked them to tell them "how to survive fourth grade." They laughed when I told them that. My kids wrote things like "don't forget to do your homework, so you don't have to sit out during recess" and "get quiet when Ms. Hernandez asks you to because if you don't she'll start coloring the word RECESS and each letter she colors will cost you four minutes of recess." The tips they gave my future class were funny and helpful. I love the letters. I can't wait to give them to my next class.

Today, my students wrote a letter to themselves that I would deliver to them their first week back from summer vacation, their first week as fifth graders. They were to write helpful hints to remember that would help make their fifth grade year successful. I had them seal these, so they wouldn't be opened until them. A few of them were calling them time capsules and another student responded, "No, not really. We'll get to open them in like three months."

These letters are definitely getting me excited for next year!

Tomorrow's the last day of school. It's going to be a fun day. They're bringing board games and I'm bringing my karaoke machine. My students gave me a cheer when they heard that. They're eager to demonstrate their singing talent. We'll see if Hernandez's Class Gots Talent!

Teacher Talk

RP is making a scrapbook cover that goes along with a book she read.

RP: Ms. Hernandez, how do you draw a dog?
Me: The best you can
RP: (smiles and starts coloring and drawing)

RP's goal was to actually get me to draw the dog for her, but with my response she knew that I knew she could draw it and it didn't have to be perfect.

BB comes over with his scrapbook cover.

BB: Ms. Hernandez, is this scrapbook cover good?
Me: What do you think, what do you like about it?
BB: (looks at the cover, thinking) Well, it doesn't have very much detail. I think I need to put more detail.
Me: Okay, if that's what you think.
BB: Okay.

BB wanted me to tell him something about his cover, but I left that up to him. I let him decide what he thought about it. It worked out perfectly because instead of me telling him he needed to put a little more into it, he decided that for himself. The less I have to dictate to them the better.

Reader's Theatre

My class is performing a play based on the children's book "And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon." It's a comedy based on famous nursery rhymes and stories like Little Boy Blue, Little Miss Muffet, The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk etc. The story centers around the characters from the following nursery rhyme:

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

In the story cow, cat and dog are searching for their missing friends the dish and the spoon who ran away together, like they always do, but never came back.

The kids are doing an awesome job with it. Some even change their voices to fit with the character. I have one who chose a sinister Hispanic voice for the big bad wolf and another chose a high pitched mischievous voice for the spider. They are really paying attention to their lines and making sure they are portraying the mood. I have to say, there might be some future actors in my group from what I've seen. They will be performing their play in front of some other fourth grade classrooms and I think I might invite some lower grade classes as well. Who knows, maybe I'll make it a tradition for my classes to perform a reader's theatre in the future years. That'll be something to look foward to from Hernandez's Heroes.

Lonestar 5000

I'm part of a Run to Walk club and we've been training for a 5K that we ran today, the Lonestar 5000. The group is made up of teachers at my school who are all at different levels and different goals. I was the "star student" of the group, but my goal was to run my best the entire race. I never was really concerned about my time, just that I would run a 5K for the first time. I usually just walk the 5K's I've participated in. In the morning I actually had some pre-race jitters, but I calmed down and kept reminding myself that I wasn't running for a competition. In the end, all the member of the club finished by their goal time or better. I ran it in 28 minutes. I was a little disappointed in my time because I know I could have done better, but I had to stop running for the 2 weeks prior to the race because of some knee injuries.

Along with the Lonestar 5000 another event started about 5 minutes after and used the same route; it was the Mighty Texas Dog Walk. The area was swarming with the four-legged pals. Some of the dogs had received special grooming for the event. There were dogs with mohawks and their hair was dyed fun colors like hot pink and neon green. I never thought of giving your dog a mohawk. I'm completely in love with the idea and have decided to give Dusty the adventerous look.

It was a great morning and I look foward to participating in my next 5K, which is tomorrow. I'm taking part in the Bagel Fest 5K with my friend Katie.

Mean Girls

We have a case of Mean Girl Syndrome at my elementary school. Some may say that it's just girls being girls, but the events going on have definitely crossed the fine line between girl drama and emotional bullying. Every class has 'em. Girls who seem to delight and thrive on making other girls feel miserable and inadequate. Girls making fun of the way you dress, the way you look, the way you act, or anything else they can beat you down with. I've come to the conclusion that maybe these girls wouldn't have such an effect if they didn't have an entourage mimicking their every move or not standing up to what they know is wrong. Unfortunately, I have more than a few of these girls in my class. Whether they're leaders or followers, both make healthy classroom relationships among the students next to impossible. What can we do? There are only so many classroom talks or discussions with the counselor that we can have. As teachers we can try to protect the girls being targeted, but we can only protect them at school. The bullying continues outside of school and we can't do anything about that except tell the girls to stay away from each other and alert parents, but that seems to never work. The mission seems impossible, but as teachers we will continue to fight back.

Comet, Meteorite, Same Difference?

I gave my students quiz 1 from the "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" book. I told them it would be a challenge to get all the answers correct. Any person that got them correct would get to pick a prize from the prize box. I told them they could use any resource in the classroom to help them answer the questions, but they couldn't help each other. During the course of that time Jason came up to me.

Jason: Ms. Hernandez, the dictionary says that a comet is made of rock and metal.
Me: Oh really, show me.
Jason: (runs over and brings me the dictionary open to the page he was looking at)
Jason: See!
Me: That's the word meteorite. Are they the same thing?
Jason: Oh, no.
Me: Okay.
Jason: (walks away, now searching for the word comet)

It's funny how he didn't even realize he looked up the word meteorite and tried to say it was the same thing as the word comet. Funny or just plain ridiculous?

Quiz 1 ANSWERS

Answers to Quiz #1:
1st: October
1st: False, Africa is a continent made up of many countries. It is south of Europe though.
2nd: The Gulf of Mexico
2nd: Four: Mis-sis-sip-pi
3rd: False, The year 1492 was near the end of the fifteenth century.
3rd: There are 225 feet in 75 yards, three feet to a yard.
4th: False, Comets are comprised mostly of ice and dust.
4th: Nitrogen
5th: Less
5th: A. The frontal lobe of your brain controls your learning and decision making.
$1,000,000: The intruments that most normally comprise a string quartet are: two violins, a viola, and a cello.

Teacher Talk

All names have been changed to protect the identity of the students.

Eddie comes up to me during the Science Benchmark and wants to ask a question. Eddie has the tendency to read the quesiton along with all the answer choices and then finally ask me a question about it. He started to do just that; when he started reading the answer choices I interupted and said, "Yeah, I know what it says, what's your question?"

I have no problem with him re-reading the question in front of me, but reading all the answer choices, too! That takes way too much time, time I don't have.

Paramount Event of the Day

This segment will be dedicated to a major events or occurences at school.

Today's event centers around my inablility to pop popcorn. I enjoy popcorn because it's a low calorie, low fat snack that I can enjoy without feeling guilty. During my planning period I decided to pop some popcorn into the microwave (couldn't resist making the pun). I carefully read the directions and punched in 5 minutes and pressed start. Pop. Pop. Pop. I was listening to see how close the pops were to eachother to make sure I didn't burn it. Well, I have a portable buddy and she happened to come in and struck up a conversation. Next thing I know I smell burning popcorn, turn around, and crap. I open the microwave and steam is billowing from the popcorn bag. Nooo! Okay, this is where I should have let the popcorn be, admit defeat and thrown it away, but no I had to see. I had to peek in and check for any surviving puffs. As I pull open the bag another cloud of smoke escapes and my room starts getting clouded with smoke and the smell of burnt popcorn. Oh no!!! I run over, open the door, grab the trash can and throw the popcorn bag in the trash can. I leave the trash can outside using it to prop the door open. It's not helping. The damage is done. I immediately grab one of my students books and start using it as a fan, trying desperately to get the smoke away from the smoke detector. Luckily, the alarm doesn't sound. I start thrusting all the windows open hoping it will help release the smoke and smell. In the end my room is smokeless, but the odor of burnt popcorn is still in the air and as many teachers have warned me the effect might be a lasting tribute to my popcorn woes.

Blog Segments

I've decided to shape my blog like a radio show with regularly scheduled segments. I think I'm going to have a segment called "Teacher Talk". This segment will focus on quick responses that teachers have to student behavior. The responses will come from me and some of my fellow teachers.

Another segment will be "Are You Smarter Than Really Smart Kids". You know what that one's about. I'm still thinking of a few others. If you have any ideas feel free to offer them up.


Again, these changes are to help me keep my blog updated.