Et Cetera

These second graders would rather listen to stories than

take reading and math assessments. So would I!

This is what a Happy Math Camper looks like.
Especially with chocolate milk (for a choco-holic).

This has been a busy week but in a good way. Lots of little things have kept me away from the old blog, but the rain has just begun once again and this seems like the perfect time to get caught up.

Let's just do the old day-by-day method.

• Monday. In the morning I began a little spring cleaning in the garage. My target date for completion is 2011. Just pick a month--any month. Ray and I played keyboard and guitar music in the afternoon to prepare for a little singalong at Manor Care Nursing Center this coming Monday. We practiced fewer of our country/bluegrass songs than usual and worked on the traditional folksongs our audience grew up with. Ray plays by ear, like me, and he can join right in on almost anything I play. We always close with our souped-up version of "Home, Sweet Home" that, according to his family tradition, was written by his great grandaddy.


• Tuesday. I continued working on the garage in the a.m. In the afternoon I headed over to Moore Regional Hospital to play the lobby piano for anyone passing through or waiting for patients. Just as much fun as ever. I was able to invite a young fellow with a broken arm to play the bass notes of the piano to accompany me on "Baby Elephant Walk," which is always a hit with the young folks.


• Wednesday. I made a few final preparations for my first session of Math Camp. Amanda joined me and Judy for lunch and provided a scrumptious ham and cheese soup plust "Stack-em-High" cookies with maple syrup flavoring. My camper, Jessie, joined me after school and we had a blast playing number games and exploring Math Magic. Sometime I'll tell you about "The Cuisenaire Game." That evening I had Children's Choir at church, which was fun. We usually conclude with a special game, and this time it was Indoor Hockey. Maybe I'll take a picture of that next time.


• Thursday was my busiest day of the week. Pam invited me out to good old Sandhills Farm Life for a singalong and storytelling time with Mr. Jackson's 2nd graders. Pam also treated me to some of her homemade barbecue, which was delish. She had prepared her kids very well to sing "The Desperado" with motions. Their participation was terrific. Another class joined us for the story time later, and I read "The Tar Baby," a Br'er Rabbit favorite, an African folktale, a Molly Whuppie story, and some traditional "whoppers" and tall tales. Pam has been reading Jack Tales and Grandfather Tales to her class all year, so I didn't read any of those. Molly Whuppie is like a female Jack, and her tales are hilarious. School was as busy as a beehive, as expected, but I had a chance to speak to quite a few staff and students who I hadn't seen since before Christmas. In the lobby I saw an artist's rendition of the upcoming classroom addition. It appears to add six classrooms and should allow the removal of the campus mobile units. If a new elementary school is built in the next few years, Farm Life's enrolment should stabilize. I also learned that next fall SFL will celebrate its 150th anniversary. How exciting! I plan to be back at school for some Nature Trail strolls after Easter vacation.


• Friday. Friday evening Jack and Thelma joined me and Judy to view the film "Fireproof" at Grace Church in Southern Pines. We highly recommend this movie for couples or singles. Judy and I are also using the accompanying book, "The Love Dare," which has excellent lessons, insights, and daily challenges (called 'dares'). It's not just about marriage, it's applicable to all sorts of relationships. After the movie it was time for UNC's late-night game against Gonzaga. I'll spare you the details--not many of my readers are big sports fans, but there's plenty about the game on the internet if you haven't already heard more than you wanted (Dook fans). I hope after their Sunday game with Oklahoma there will be more good stuff to read. I'd love another shot at the Final Four, but the competition is extremely tough.


• Saturday. That's today. We ate lunch at 195 for the first time since before Christmas. It was as delightful as we remembered. We ran a few errands and got home about the same time as the rain began in earnest.
  
  

It goes without saying that we ate like kings and queens all week. Some of the highlights were Judy's meatloaf, her homemade chicken salad, boiled cabbage, and boiled squash. We had some good canteloupe and strawberries, too, and it's not even farmer's market season yet. Our first garden peas have come up, and in a few weeks we'll be planting lots more yummy stuff.