Oh. THAT'S how you pronounce that...

Today in writing, we veered off topic by discussing how English has a lot of silent letters or swallowed syllables.  E.g. February, interesting, everyone.

One student shared that his middle name had a silent letter.  He began to spell, J-A-C-Q-U-E-S.

juh-QWESS.

The "c" is silent.

The whole country of France is crying.

Tardy much?

First grade, where all the funny stuff happens.

Co-teacher: "Ok, so how can we put this in a sentence?"

Student A: "We allll come to school... together."

Co-teacher:  "Do we all arrive at the same time?  Together?

Student B: "Not MEEEEEE!  I'm late!!!"


Tomorrow's lesson perhaps?  The importance of punctuality and school attendance.

BLING!

Big things have been happening in the life of well, me.  Hence my absence from blogging world.  In addition to ten glorious vacation days away from school, I also received one rocking Christmas present.  (Disclaimer: my siblings one and two gave me great gifts.  It's just hard to beat the other one I'm about to tell you about.)

Christmas Day:  My family went to church in the morning, marking three Christmas/Christmas Eve services in 18 hours.  Hard to believe, but it's not the record in our house.  We retreated home to lounge pants and presents and all the usual Christmas festivities.  After all was said and done, Dad mentioned he had forgotten his clarinet at church (in retrospect he has never ever forgotten an instrument).  We kindly volunteered to go claim it.  When we arrived at church I was feeling nostalgic and proceeded to give Shaun the GRAND tour of church.  I showed him the Children's Library where I read almost every book, the Youth Ministry, and the Parlor.  Poor guy was sweating bullets and trying to keep me away from his left pocket.

We arrived in the sanctuary and promptly retrieved Dad's clarinet.  Since we had a quiet sanctuary to ourselves, Shaun suggested we take some time to pray together.  As we finished praying, I opened my eyes and saw a red box.  With a RING!

I was so flabbergasted I laughed.  And then I cried.  And then I laughed some more.  Somewhere along the way Shaun got down on one knee, said some very sentimental things, and asked me a big question (I can't recall the details exactly.).  And then I managed a yes.

Shaun spun me round in circles, we kissed, and I haven't been able to stop smiling since!

Get ready!  July 7th is right around the corner!!  And we can't wait!

Engraving Character

What is character?  The word character comes from the Greek, meaning an engraved mark, as in describing the process of minting coins or stamping.  An engraver makes the same motion again and again, each stroke digging a bit deeper into the stone or metal.  If weather, everyday use, or natural disaster attacks the stone, it will still stand.  The top layers may begin to erode away, but the integrity of the etching is left intact due to the layers and layers of copied motions.

During the 1600's in France, character became associated with one's most defining qualities or nature.  Today, this is the most commonly used definition of character.  However the two are still related.  When you hear on the news about a man saving an elderly person from a burning building, or a woman diving into an icy lake for a drowning child, the response is often the same.  He or she was just a regular guy who happened to be in the right place at the right time.  When that opportunity arose, the person acted instinctively, out of habit.  While we may not regularly play hero, our everyday actions are quietly defining our character.  The small choices we make each day add one more layer of etching into our character.  Only when tested by fire do we recognize the layers underneath.

Sometimes I think I will arrive at age 40, 50, or 60 and magically be a wise and Godly woman.  But it is my practice now in the small things which defines who I will be both today and in forty years.

If I make a habit to take an interest in the grocery clerk even if I am tired and cranky, I will be more likely to be hospitable to all strangers around me.  If I pick up trash when I see it, even when it's not my own, I will cultivate a greater appreciation for creation and my responsibility to steward it.  If I spend a few minutes each day to pray for others, I will develop a habit of intercession.


What are some small actions you do each day to define your character?  Are there things you brush aside out of inconvenience or annoyance that are in actuality worthwhile to the engraving your character?

History FAIL

In elementary school, we teach our students how to make text to world connections. Ex/ We read a book about Henry Ford and then talk about cars affect our lives today.

"In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. moved to Memphis, TN."

"THAT'S WHERE HANNAH MONTANA LIVES!!!!!!!!!!"


Well, yes.




And later, same kid, in reference to TN, "Isn't that short for Texas?"


Oh, we have a big job to do.