School

13 January 2016

Posted on by debbrasmith

I am grateful for paper.

Let me explain a bit more about what I mean. Yes, we all at one time or another have been grateful for a piece of paper – a card, a letter, a paycheck, a piece of art, some money, something to color, Christmas wrapping, a concert ticket, or even better a plane ticket to some place we’ve always wanted to go.  But today I have an even more meaningful reason to be grateful for paper.

Today, I began my science class by talking about how we should all be so happy that things have changed since I was in my 7th grade science class, because of the project that we are getting ready to start has to do with guts.  (As I’m saying this, I’m calculating in my head how long it had been since I was in 7th grade and almost let out a HUGE shriek when I realized its been over 40 years!  Yikes! Sorry for the side note – back to being grateful.)

You see we’re starting a section on organs and organ systems in animals. When I was in frog7th grade we learned about organs and organ systems by dissecting frogs and baby pigs, and a few students, who chose to do so, dissected cats.  You can imagine the reaction I received when I told them this – yes, the age thing also got some reactions too, but we’re talking about science here.  My students couldn’t believe that cutting animals apart could have ever been okay, ever!

As an alternate to cutting real creatures apart, to see their insides, we are working on a project where students will be researching the various items found in different systems, (i.e. digestive system, circulatory system), drawing the organs and associated parts, as close to real human size as possible, then ordering them and gluing them on a life-size middle school person’s cut out.  So no rubber gloves needed, the scalpels have been exchanged for scissors, and the smell of formaldehyde is being replaced with vinegar, (we’re working on an Osmosis Lab using eggs bought at the grocery store, humm…) But that’s not the best part, for their assessment my miniature scientists will be taking cut out paper frogs guts, coloring them, ordering them, and gluing them down on a paper frog.  See isn’t paper just the best!

I am grateful I have paper to use at school.

 

Image Source: http://thecouponkeeper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Frog-holding-paper.png

 

4 January 2016

Posted on by debbrasmith

I am grateful for time.  Yes, can you believe it?  The last couple of days I’ve said multiple times to my dear husband, “I wish I had one more week before going back to work.”  However, vacation time has past and it was back to work today.  These past two weeks have flown by; as they say “Time marches on.” So, what’s so good about time marching on? Why be grateful for time? I’ve actually spent a lot of time thinking about this.

Over the vacation break, we spent time with some of our nieces and nephews and I thought about what it was like to be their age, and how long ago that was.  I’m not sure that I’d want to be any of their ages (all were 15 and younger) again because I’d have to go through those tough teen and twenties again and to be honest, at this point, I’m not up for that. And, if I did hit the reset button I wonder if I would I end up where I am now?  I love my life too much to risk any possible changes that would happen along the way.

I’m not saying that I don’t wish for more time – more time to spend skiing or mountain biking with my husband, or more time hanging out with friends or family, or more time to cook that awesome meal, or more time to read, or go for a long hike, or more time to travel, etc.  I’d love to have more time for those special things that make my life worthwhile. I think that I’m starting to understand that time is precious, (yes it’s taken me this long), and I only have the time that I’ve been given – no more or no less – so why not be grateful for the time that I have. I guess this is ending up being another resolution of sorts.  I need to be more thoughtful of the time that I do have, and spend that time as wisely as I possibly can.

A have a dear friend that sat down one day and figured out how many more weekends he had with each of his daughters before they turned 18 and headed off to college.  There weren’t as many as he thought, it also put that time into perspective.  I know he appreciated those Saturdays and Sundays a lot more and was probably a little more thoughtful about how  those days were spent.DogWalking6

So in other words, I want to take and make the things I’m grateful for into action items, not just words to share in a blog, but things I can actively show my gratitude for.  I’m going to do my very best to make the most of the 361 days left in this year.

I am grateful for the new year and for the time it’s offering me.