Learning About Daily 5... and Learning to Relax...

My summer adventures began with a trip on an airplane. I hate flying. I really, REALLY hate flying!
I thought I was being quite smart when I tried the same approach suggested last winter to take my fear out of air travel...

I limited my carry-on luggage. I waited until the last minute to board. Then I practically lunged at the flight attendant and screamed (as nicely as I could under the circumstances), "BEVERAGE, please!" Unfortunately, I was so exhausted from the sleepless night before that my plan seems to have back-fired.

Aaaah... if only the beverage had looked more like this...

I did receive my beverage, but it seems that drinking it may have happened concurrently with a much-needed nap. Somehow I ended up wearing most of my orange-juice-and-other beverage all over my shirt. I'm still not sure if I tipped the cup into my lap or simply snoozed head-first into the fortified juice. Either way, when I woke up fifteen minutes later, my white shirt was less than dry... and it was newly-patterned. And I was orange-scented. And that cup was EMP-TY.

My travels began in Tacoma, Washington 

where I was stopped by

for a little professional development...

   
                        YEP! I spent two days with
                               THESE Two Sisters!





I attended both the Daily 5 and CAFE workshops and I learned a LOT. (I really tried to hide the recent "issues" behind a brain cell for the duration of the workshop.) Initially, I was worried that there wouldn't be enough content applicable to sixth grade. However, with a little encouragement from Sweet Katie at The Adventures of a Sixth Grade Teacher, I decided to give it a try. And I am so glad I did. There were goodie bags! And hand-outs! And cookies! (Golly, I love all that stuff. I MUST be a teacher!) Best of all, I feel like I have a better understanding of the whole process and it made me look forward to the Upper Grade Daily 5 Book Study even more!

Want to know more about the Daily 5/CAFE Book Study? There's a new blog in town! Check out the information about this exciting BlogEvent by clicking on the picture below...

And there are even more Book Studies going on... Just click on the Book Study tab in the right hand column at TBA!

Currently, I am sitting in a "Cyber Cafe." My friends have a beach house on the Oregon coast and they don't have Internet access. And they don't have TV. I am going though some serious withdrawals.

This morning, I snuck out of the house and found a funny little mildewed building with the words, "Wi Fi Hot Spot Here!" scrawled on a faded piece of paper taped to the window. YEE HAW!  Happy dance in the street! (Did I mention the entire--adorable--town is only six blocks long?!)

At the moment, I am paying in half hour increments to pound away on my computer. I want to blog about Guided Math, and share some of my thinking about Daily 5, and talk more about my plans for September. But I think they might start missing me soon and the ticking timer is telling me I almost out of minutes.

I know I am supposed to learn how to relax... I am just not sure that is part of who or how I am.

So... I am going to walk down the street in search of ice cream or a mocha (or both!). Obviously, there is no Starbucks here! (Thump Thump ____ Thump. That was my heart skipping a beat.)

Then I am going to hurry back to the house and try to fit in with the "vacation-minded crowd."

Any guesses on how that is going to go?

I miss you, BloggyPals! I hope you are enjoying your summer!

There WAS Enough Air on That Airplane!

I lived through the airplane ride.   YYYyyyyyaaaayyyyyy!

     

It may seem odd that I am not the least bit concerned about crashing while flying.  It's BREATHING I am worried about.  So that not-enough-air-in-the-airplane phenomenon just erodes all rational thought in my tired, little mind.

Consequently... I had forgotten about the little silver cart.  I should have reviewed the Sally Takes A Ride In An Airplane picture book before I left...

Frequent flyers (who, apparently, have lost their zeal for oxygen) know about this important fact:
A (usually) nice man or woman pushes a silver cart down the middle aisle of the airplane.  First, they give you a snack....

I REALLY like snacks, but I have never seen this iteration before... it was like miniaturized pretzels and the smallest little bread-like shapes and something-else-I-forgot-and-you'll-know-why-in-a-second and it was ALL covered with cinnamon sugar which was soon everywhere!  And, I AM NOT KIDDING, when the people in my row saw that I had eaten the snack, they all gave me their little packets, which seems weird now, but seemed very generous at the time!  This also meant my purse was bulging with bags of miniature sugar-covered snacks when I got off the plane and I was really glad I didn't have to explain that collection to the security folks!

Oh, yeah, the cart... You know how they have soda on that cart?  And coffee?  And juice?  And OTHER beverages?  The man sitting next to me on the plane (NOT the one from the airPORT) looked a little alarmed when I was digging my fingernails into the armrests (before we took off).  And I could tell he was thinking:  I hope this woman does not dig her fingernails into my ARMS...  And by the time I was starting to cry, he gently, kindly, and oddly proactively, suggested I might like a beverage.  And I had already had regular coffee AND Starbucks, and I didn't think I needed any more coffee, so I said, "Thanks, I've already had coffee."  And he said, I wasn't thinking coffee..."

And I KNOW it was morning, but there WAS orange juice in it, and I've always been one to cover all of my food groups {says with smirk}, I agreed he was right....

And then I was in Washington.  Uhhhhmmmmmm.  Skip a few steps, Kim?  Yep, a sleepless night before the trip, mixed with pure panic, and a little morning pick-me-up put-me-out... and, well, it is now all a distant memory.

 I know I will have to fly BACK to California in a few days (and, yes, I have considered buses, trains, and walking).  Barbara from the Corner on Character explained (via her aeronautically-inclined husband) the physics of where airplanes get their air, so there SHOULD be enough for everyone.  Irrational thought doesn't always yield to the laws of physics, but I will do my best.

And speaking of LAWS, I will have to break one tomorrow.  I'm not sure if there is a BlogJail, but I may have two posts in a day.

NO!  Technically not!  I have to proof-read quickly and then amend all of the mistakes. (Remember... I am the one who types, inaccurately, with four fingers and a thumb!) (Wait... let me clarify:  I HAVE all of my fingers and thumbs, I just can't type with that many digits.)

So... I can have this post stamped on December 27th, and then I can post again on December 28th... No rules (completely) broken.  Ahhhh.  My conscience is at ease.

But not really, because I am sooooo behind on BlogFun! 

I have to catch up on three Linkys (See: 1) Kristin/Hadar's 11 in 2011... which is also at linked at Hadar's/Kristin's 11 in 2011  2) Fern's Top Three Most Viewed Blog Posts... and Mor's/Teacher's Treasure's Resolutions) and I MUST find out about Hadar and Kristin's IRL link-up (and what DID Kristin wear?), and I HAVE to get those freebie math posters at Ladybug's because I am teaching geometry on Wednesday (and have you seen those tags from her [famous] colored MATH BINS (Matchy Matchy Heaven!) at her TN store?!) and then there are new organizational details coming at CFC, and there's a Giveaway at The Crafty Community (Hobby Lobby GIFT CARD, anyone?) and there are 472 blogs I need to peek in on, and 148 comments to be left, and there are naps and movies and reality TV, and MMmmmm snacks, and listening to the Washington rain and special time with my sweet NIECES...  Goodness, I have to sleep fast!

Wishing YOU wonderful times too!

WooHoo.  It's 11:46 (despite the time posted below)... 14 minutes to spare!

Is There Enough AIR in the Airplane?

 
I am in the airport.
This is not good because I am afraid of the airport.
I am afraid of the airport because that is where they keep the airplanes.
And I am afraid of airplanes.
First Question: Why is it called an airport?
If a port is a place to house something... doesn't an airport mean they are housing air? Why would they do that? Shouldn't it be called an airplaneport?

Anyway, I am afraid of airplanes because I am afraid that they do not have enough air inside.
Now I know that sounds like a contradiction of terms. An AIRplane should have plenty of air. But I'm not so sure.

Second question: Are they making more air somewhere?
They close the doors, and then they "pressurize the cabin." What does that REALLY mean? I know they won't let us open any windows. And I know from third grade. we breathe in oxygen and we breathe out carbon dioxide. Where does the carbon dioxide go if the windows and doors are closed? I think there are vents  or the air "crawls" in somewhere... Maybe?  Is there a giant exchanger somewhere? Is it clear why so many of the children in my class do not do well in science?

There is a tall man sitting next to me as we wait for the air(filled)plane. He is on my flight because I saw his ticket.  I am pretty sure he is reading this over my shoulder.  Hey, Tall Guy!  If you are tall and I am not, are you going to breathe more of my air?  Is that really fair?  If he sits next to me on the plane, I am going to ask for a seat change next to someone shorter who will breathe less of my air.

Third question:  How do kids figure things out so quickly?
I am going to Washington (state) to visit my dear friend. That's why I have to go on an airplane--and I don't like that idea any more than I did when I started writing this post twenty minutes ago (I type REALLY slowly).  My dear friend is the mother of my nieces. I've always been "Auntie Kim." Two years ago, the younger of the nieces told me that I was not their aunt. I said, "How do you know that?" She said, "You are not my mother's sister and you are not my father's sister, so you are not our aunt." In the previous eight years, I spent a lot of time worrying that I would spill the beans about Santa, the Easter bunny or the Tooth  Fairy.  And they figure out that I am not the Aunt before I even have a story ready!  Thankfully, they let me BE an Aunt if even if I am not REALLY the Aunt.  (I am capitalizing Aunt even though I know I should not--but I think Aunts are important--especially if you need to get on a plane to be one which means you should get a capital letter, even if it just for bravery.)

I love my "nieces" like crazy! They like to play board  games with me and sometimes they let me win--but not very often, because they are good at games and I am not, so even when they try to let me win, I usually lose anyway... which is also okay because when we play games, we often have snacks, and I am a big fan of snacks.

It is almost time for the air(fullyfilled)plane to get here.  It is not yet six in the morning... where has my plane been? I hope they were getting extra air. I should say something about teaching, because this purports to be a blog about teaching.  Or do I purport it to be a teaching blog?  I guess I'm not sure what that word means or who is expected to do the purporting.

Here's the teaching part.  My suitcase weighed 51 pounds.  That meant I had to take one pound of "stuff" out of my suitcase and put it into my already stuffed backpack.  Know why my suitcase is so heavy?  Because I have all of the papers from my classroom for December and half of November--and I think there are some from October too, but maybe they will get sucked down that scary toilet in the plane and then I won't have to grade them.

There.  I said something teacher-y.  Now my conscience is at rest.  Except for the worry that there can't possibly be enough air on that airplane plane for a really scared teacher with too many papers!

I  know this is not like my "normal" posts and instead sounds like Iamtalkingreallyfast, but that's because I am really scared.
And now they want people to go ON the plane even though it is 45 minutes EARLY...

AAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

MyOhMyGoodness.
Wish me luck.

PS  I didn't check for typos because I was FREAKING OUT.  I hope you can read gibberish...

                                                                          -Kim