All Shall Be Well: 8/1/10

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Good News

HA! Love it!

Ninjas, Crime Scenes, and a Singing Bunny

(r.a.n.d.o.m s.t.u.f.f)

We bid our Bethany Early Childhood Center (BECC) Director, Mary, adieu last Sunday. She's a hoot and has spent many (15+ years!) making BECC a child-centered place where kids can grow and learn about God! We'll miss her energy and spirit and wish her the best in retirement!

Considering neither of us really hold still

for very long, this is a pretty good photo!

Ron Squared. Dual-Ron Ron. I could go on...

Mary, her husband Ron, and Pastor Ron.

Judi prepped some gorgeous flowers for the reception!

There was a glowing bead in each glass jar! Beauty!

Sweet pea, Eliza, and I dancing.

I love hanging out with the BECC kiddos!

Jeremiah, the ninja. Tattoo included.

Seriously!? Enough already.

OH, the HORROR! When will I learn that maybe I just need to take more than ONE trip up the stairs to my third story home!? Nope. I am determined to carry everything. ONE TRIP. Super B.

I'd like to think that the bottle jumped all on it's own...

The crime scene.

Three flights of stairs covered by this gruesome liquid.

ALLIIIIIIVE! No, really. It's just fine!

I need my fish to be made out of this material...

Grandma Dot made me a bunch of awesome

dish towels a few years ago. Here's the one I'm

enjoying this week. Hand-sewn!

No, seriously. 105? Done.

And, finally, here's what I found in my classroom this past Friday. Gathered the kiddos at the piano, started singing our songs, only to hear these little giggles behind me.

"Ms. G, I just wanted my bunny to have as

much fun as I did in music class yesterday!

Don't worry, he's a good singer."

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Cupcakes in Heaven

.........................................................................................

Me: That's a great drawing! Where did you learn to draw like that?

Kid: The people in my brain have taught me how to draw turtles.

Me: Oh...well, thank them for me.

Kid: No need. They already heard you.

.........................................................................................

Me: Awesome mission assembly this morning. Highlights?

Kid: There was some kind of rule about a Golden Pool.

Me: I think you mean the Golden Rule...

Kid: Bummer. I was looking forward to the pool.

.........................................................................................

Introducing children to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald has been an absolute delight this year. This batch of first graders just seem to be in awe of the human voice, and the contrast between the gravel of Louis and the glide of Ella is reflected in the glee on their faces. They cannot get enough! Love these little learners!

Kid 1: He's hiding something in those cheeks.
Kid 2: It's just air. He's just a really good breather.
Kid 1: Not if he holds it all in. That's gotta hurt.

Kid 1: Did Mr. Chubby Cheeks marry Elbow?

Me: Elbow? You mean Ella?

Kid 1: Yeah, Ella. The singing lady - did she marry the guy with the cheeks?

Kid 2: He couldn't be married - did you see those lips? You can't kiss with lips like that, and if you don't kiss, you're not married.

Listening Excerpt: Cheek to Cheek - "Heaven, I'm in Heaven..."

Kid: OH MY GOSH!

Me: What?! What's wrong?

Kid: He's talking to us from beyond the grave!

Me: Oh, honey, those are the words to the song.

Kid 1: No, Ms. G. The Cheek Man is telling us where he is!

Kid 2: He's in heaven, Ms. G!

Kid 3: Are there cupcakes in Heaven?

Me: Cupcakes? What?

Kid 3: Cupcakes. Are there cupcakes in Heaven, Ms. G?

Kid 4: Of COURSE there are cupcakes in Heaven. Didn't you see his full cheeks?
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Monday, August 23, 2010

St. Paul and Ada Blenkhorn

The letters from St. Paul...
The text from Ada Blenkhorn...
I sense a common theme.

"Keep on the Sunny Side"
(read more here)

There's a dark and a troubled side of life

There's a bright, there's a sunny side, too

Tho' we meet with the darkness and strife

The sunny side we also may view.

[chorus]

Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,

Keep on the sunny side of life

It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way

If we'll keep on the sunny side of life.

The storm and its fury broke today,

Crushing hopes that we cherish so dear;

Clouds and storms will, in time, pass away,

The sun again will shine bright and clear.

Let us greet with the song of hope each day

Tho' the moment be cloudy or fair

Let us trust in our Saviour always

Who keepeth everyone in His care.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Chew on This

The parentals are sportin' the family pride back in Wisconsin.

We won't tell Brad that my sticker CLEARLY looks bigger.

Would you look at that, all legal in the state of Colorado!

Who knew looking out the

ENTIRE rear view window

would be so exciting.

Honestly, you would swear I'm not actually IN my classroom while teaching. I no sooner give directions, and am roaming about the room, checking in with teams, only to come across THIS! Quite frankly, I would much rather have this kind of relationship with my oldest kids - engagement is engagement! (And apparently, Space Man now knows his notes and rests, too!)

The kids figured out pretty fast that sub-dividing beats gets a bit predictable. One kiddo picked up the pink marker and added his very own important note. It's a fast one.

Seeing some pretty funny T-shirts this year.

I concur.

FAVORITE!

Each generation has their own trendy thing: slap bracelets, jelly bracelets (ok, perhaps it's just bracelets...) Anywho, the kids are loving these things right now: Silly Bandtz. Stretchy wrist bands in cool shapes. Animals. Sport figures. You name it.

And they are loving them by the HUNDREDS. Obviously, there is a NO TOUCHY TOUCHY rule in my classroom, and for the most part, the kids are really good about it. (There are some teachers that are all-out banning them already. I don't really think we have to go that far. Yet. It's just like any other craze - you model how to use them, and if that doesn't work, you remove the distraction. Really, now. Give 'em a chance.)

I can see some perks - I watched a child take 5 random bands off of their wrist, and then make up a story about how they were connected! (Example the kids said using bands seen above: "There once was this beautiful, yellow snail. She was the most beautiful snail in the land, forever staring in her blue mirror, etc...") I think it's a great way for kiddos to stretch their imagination! And their bracelets. Right now, I'm all for them. Stretch away.

Red Fish named Blue, meet your new Beta brother, Ulysses.

I know, I know.

I should stick with pet rocks.

But, rocks aren't as PRETTY!

And they certainly don't swim as gracefully.

3:58 pm. Two minutes before Friday dismissal.

The child RUNS into my classroom to deliver her birthday treat.

What is LEFT of her birthday treat, that is.

"Here, Ms. G! You can

have the part I didn't chew!"

50 days, 10,000+ pounds

These days, I'm busy maintaining two blogs: my personal one, The Cheese Stands Alone, and the Hunger Relief Day blog. While I've always had a link to the HRD blog on the sidebar of this blog, I just had to share two exciting posts with you tonight: our 50th Day post and our Big Food News!

Day 50. Dollar 50.
Marking the halfway point
on a journey toward wholeness.

Living with Christ and in the communion of saints,
we grow in faith, love and obedience to the will of God.

Let your light so shine before others that they may
see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

You took on the Hunger Relief Day challenge, letting people
know that fighting hunger was not a pipe dream after all.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your
welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."

"In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body give for you, Do this for the remembrance of me."

You are playing a key role in helping end hunger right here in Denver!

We are called to act with justice, We are called to love tenderly,
We are called to serve one another, To walk humbly with God.

Day 50. Dollar 50. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. (Hebrews 12: 14-15)

God of Grace, you have given us minds to know you, hearts to love you, and voices to sing your praise. Fill us with your Spirit, that we may celebrate your glory and worship you in spirit and truth, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!

Between additional food donations and the
food breakdown event, we delivered another
2,625 lbs to Metro CareRing this past week!

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!

This means we have officially passed the 10,000 lb mark!

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!

Our collection total as of Friday, August 20th is
10,304 pounds and counting!

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!

Imagine the number of pounds we will be able to
collect between now and October 10, 2010! AMEN!

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The Second Coming and an Octopus

How to Make Your Heart Rate Skyrocket: We had JUST concluded our Disciple Bible Study class on Monday - we had been talking all about the book of Thessalonians (one of Paul's letters) and the second coming, and how it would be so obvious, none of us would miss it due to the sounds of loud trumpets, etc.

We no sooner blow out the teeny, tiny candle in our classroom and all of the fire alarms go off! Holy smoke (ha), that alarm is loud! L-O-U-D! We all evacuate the building, the fire men (eventually) appear, and find a dusty fire alarm in a different part of the building! Whew!

Hey! My little blue fish has learned to

swim vertically in his tank!

Good job, little buddy...wait...oh, man!

I need to replace him. And fast.

So we've all seen the light-up shoes. NOW, however, they are making them with BLINDING LED lights! These things are INSANE and really distracting! (and really cool!)

All I wanted was a list of who goes where after school. Check out line #5. OCTOPUS!?!? I didn't know this was a method of transportation at our school! HA! (Each bus has an animal for easy identification - too funny!)

Although, I do like that the last 2 kids will be walking with Hope. If I had to walk with anything in my heart, it would be HOPE!

Well, that didn't take long. Space Man has already made

an appearance in my classroom. At least he's a team player!

Lesson on notes: whole note is an empty circle, add a stem for a half note, fill it in for a quarter note, add a flag for an eighth note. SO, clearly there's a pattern of adding things to the note. I asked the kids to predict what a sixteenth note will look like.....

These are my kind of people!