Wednesday, December 19, 2012

WNBP: Not Quite, But Close

It's not really the last day of school before the holiday break.  I mean, it was...except not.  The kids are done.  Ms. Sheep isn't.

Ms. Sheep has to return for two days of mostly mind-numbing workshops before the powers that be will allow her to finally collapse in a giant heap of sugar coma.  This, the aforementioned powers seem to think, will make me a better person and a more dedicated educator.

We'll see about that.  I like to think the powers know stuff I don't because the alternative is kind of disturbing.

Meanwhile, I'm going to take what I can get.  It's two days without kids and a slightly later start to the work day.  If I don't focus on all the stuff I need to get done before the holidays, perhaps I can stay on task until the end of teacher workshops.

Or at least remain upright and semi-conscious...

Here's your Weekly Wednesday Night Bullet Post:

*Jolly Boy's mother likes to bake.

*She particularly likes to bake for Christmas.

*She is also an involved mother who enjoys including all her children in the process.

*She is quite creative, too!

*Which is why Jolly Boy showed up yesterday with homemade fudge wreaths for his teachers.

She puts a can in the middle of the cake tin and pours the fudge around it.  Seriously brilliant...



*I was prepared to be depressed that Jolly Boy didn't bring his mother's amazing cherry cookies again this year.

*But I got over it.

*I mean...it's A WREATH MADE OF FREAKIN' FUDGE!!!!

*I was going to have just fudge for dinner last night but that seemed wrong.

*So I had some leftover Christmas cookies that didn't fit into the goodie trays I was making up for staff gifts and that seemed to round things out nicely.

*Or round me out nicely...

*The Christmas tree remains upright, against all odds.



*And by, "against all odds," I mean "in spite of feline interference."

*They chew on it and steal the ornaments.

No.  This isn't cute at all.





*Almost took my darned arm off when I tried to get it back.

*OK.  It was one of the Decoy Ornaments I use on the bottom of the tree to distract Da Boyz from their more fragile counterparts, but still.  It's the principle of the thing.

*He Who...PROJECTS came to school today fully prepared (and a little resigned) to class participation.

*Then he learned that today was a Fun Day for those students on his academic team who had finished all their work.

*At which point, he invented the I Don't Have Any Work Today song.

*Followed quickly by the I Won't Have Any Homework Either song.

*There was a little dance involved as well.

*All done to the tune of Jingle Bells.

*I'd give you the lyrics, but we were all laughing so hard I managed to miss most of them.

*For the record, recent media reports are misleading to the point of making me furious.

*Not all persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder are prone to violent outbursts.

*They are individuals with unique temperaments and life experiences just like everyone else currently wandering the planet. They should not be classified according to the actions of one disturbed person who happens to have a similar diagnosis.

*Sometimes folks with ASD are prone to bursting into spontaneous song.

*But that is only if they don't have homework for Christmas vacation so I don't think the general public has to worry about it too much.

*The powers that be allow us to sign up for a couple of wellness sessions during the teacher workshops and I signed up early this year so I had my choice.

*I decided to try my hand at paper bead making.  I didn't look too closely at the description.  I just thought that might be fun and certainly something I could later do with my class.

*Today, I went back to check on what I needed to bring for the session.  And I was giddy to see who was teaching it.

*THE CHEERFUL TEACHING ASSISTANT!!!

*I like The New Teaching Assistant, but I miss my CTA.

*And tomorrow I get to make paper beads with her.

*If I remember to bring some paper with me since that is a class requirement.

*Unlike HW....P, I have homework.

*It is still school time for Ms. Sheep.

*I finished reading The Business of Death: The Death Works Trilogy.

*Really a bargain for all three books and a unique read.

*I'm not sure how I feel about the ending of the third book, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that it simply cannot end there.

*I'll keep you posted.

*After checking the budget, I decided that I should go with library downloads until after the holidays.

*It took some searching, but I managed to find a good one that no one else had snapped up.

*Xombies.

*Because you really can't have enough versions of the coming apocalypse.

*And because blue zombies seem kind of festive...


I have checked the clock upon the wall and suddenly realized that I haven't eaten dinner yet.  And I promised myself I would start remembering dinner before 7:00 from now on and the fact that it is actually 7:07 isn't going to deter me.  I also need to get a handle on the fact that it is only "almost" vacation and that I need to get up for school (sort of) tomorrow.

It isn't quite time for the No Homework song, I guess.  Almost, though!

SA

7 comments:

kmkat said...

We used to tether the top of the Christmas tree to a nearby curtain rod with a length of fishing line. Nearly invisible and kept the tree upright in spite of marauding felines and mischievous toddlers.

Still trying to determine exactly how paper beads are related to wellness. Perhaps in the same way that arts and crafts are part of therapy.... Although if the Powers That Be think so, I am happy you were able to sign up.

Have a great Christmas!

Donna Lee said...

One of my kids used to make paper beads. They're cool.

Yea, the autism thing made me a bit miffed. If they're going to blame this whole thing on this kid's mental illness, I hope somewhere they address the slashed budgets of those of us who are continuing to try to provide services.

I'm off the soapbox. I hope your vacation is restful and sugarful as well.

Elaine said...

And just why would you need paper beads.....?

Beth said...

Love the idea of decoy ornaments!!! Merry Christmas!

catsmum said...

a very happy and healthy Christmas to you and the furrbabies from me and mine [ and I promise to be a better commenter next year - persuant to no major surgeries or infections ]

Julia G said...

Merry Christmas, Ms. Sheep! Mmmm, fudge... Your tree looks lovely and the AGK looks supremely pleased with his mischief. And thanks for sticking up for ASD kids - they are far more likely to be victims of violence and bullying than the cause of it, in my experience. Enjoy your well-earned vacation!

Anonymous said...

God jul!! (Merry Christmas, in Swedish)
All the best to you and the boys - thanks for all the Good reads, hope you keep them coming.