Storytime:
Jeremy's turtle, Myrtle, escaped! We were sure she was gone for good.  The smell she left suggested she had escaped and died. We had left her at the school during winter break, but went up to the school every other day to check on her (she has an automatic feeder).  We looked all over the school for hours to be certain she wasn't just hiding.  When we could not find any trace of her - we replaced her with a matching turtle, hoping the kids wouldn't notice. 

"Myrtle 2" had been happy and thriving for over a week when it was time for school to start up again. Early in the morning, as the custodians began moving the benches and chairs from where they stored on the other end of the school, one of them screamed.  Myrtle 1 had been hiding, after all.

We tried to keep both turtles in the tank together, but they were constantly fighting. So "Myrtle 2" became "Shelley the Music Room Turtle" and moved to the elementary school to be with me. (Jeremy has enough tanks in his room)

Jeremy's classroom has a "Living Lab" that he uses to teach 4th and 5th graders about biology. We started with Myrtle the Turtle and added Cosmo the Oscar (fish). Now we have Axel and Dani the Axolotls.   

As the year progresses we will be adding an aquaponics tank with fish and plants. 

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.