Yet another theme day! This time we used a pair of matching shirts we found while cleaning Granddad's things. He had two of the same shirt - one used and one new. He LOVED blue button down shirts. We found dozens of different ones. Many still in their original packaging. The take away: don't wait for a special occasion. Wear your favorite outfit now.

The learning specialist in my school has been tasked with teaching all the reading teachers in the district the new reading program "Reading Academy". A few days into the school year she asked if I had a bridge prop she could use in October for introducing some of the key concepts. Surprisingly, I DON'T!  Which mean I NEED one!  Donnie's carpentry skills to the rescue! He built this amazing three piece bridge for us and Mom brought it down in her car on her next trip. 

I added door hinges to hold it together and make it easy to store and carry through doorways as well as grip tape for the a bit steep sides. It worked perfectly and everyone in the district was very impressed!

Another theme day at school! To be a little "EXTRA", I gorilla taped my other black shoe to the wall of my classroom. Any classes that pointed it out got to read the book "Wacky Wednesday" by Dr. Seuss. (Only two classes noticed.)  In fact, not as many kids mentioned my outfit as you would think.  Apparently, I'm so weird so often - it just doesn't phase them anymore. 

Our district does a theme day each week through football season. This one is one of our favorites.

I had to stop and take a moment to capture this eerie, yet beautiful morning. I took these shots just out back of my school at just before 7:15 in the morning.

One of our friends has decided to retire from teaching before next school year, so we have taken in her class pet, Myrtle the Turtle. She lives in apartment for now, but will move to Jeremy's classroom next school year. 

It took a few weeks, but my "green screen studio" has arrived! Now we look like a professional operation making our teaching videos for our students each week. We move out the couch and record the following week's videos each Wednesday.

Using some blue tablecloths from Dollar Tree and a cheap lamp from Home Depot covered in wax paper as a makeshift "blue screen" to make short music videos for my students. 

Hosting a Google Hangout. This is our new reality.  

We're back in the US and back to a world filled with unbridled panic for no real reason. You can't buy TP, paper towels, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, water, milk, eggs, rice, or beans in almost any store.

I'm not sure what leads people to the panic purchasing. It took several stores to accumulate this much. We will try again tomorrow. 

Update 3/16/20:
Our schools have decided to shut down through April 3rd. We will be 'distance teaching' beginning Monday, March 23rd. Right now we are all self quarantining and using Google Hangout (video conference calls) to connect with each other as we set up the system for the students to receive their lessons moving forward.