Thursday-Monday 4

Arrrgh.

How much more do I need to write? My three favorite blogs that I used to read religiously were: Violent Acres, Waiter Rant and The Bloggess and I am pretty sure that they only posted once per week. I think it's important for me to try and maintain a daily writing regimen though—until I either write the kid's book I keep talking and thinking about or become a better typist. Or, you know, both!

Last week was 'pink week' at school although it's breast cancer awareness, i.e. pink month the entirety of October. So I wore a cute pink knitted cap from Winco every day and then gave it away on the last day because really, I wasn't going to wear it again. One of my favorite (you know what I mean!) kids lost her cell phone and I felt so bad for her. She is learning disabled and I just couldn't sleep thinking about how she wasn't going to ever get it back. So I got up and composed an e-mail to send out to everyone at school with more details and about how I felt that even if someone found it and didn't turn it in that they might still be bringing it to school and could we not be on the lookout for someone who all of a sudden has a new phone? But I never sent it, and I am glad now because it was really a noble (ish) but futile effort. And may have just made me seem quite odd to the entire staff. I mean, I am rather odd, in a proud to be silly and weird way, but I don't want to breach the protocol that I have not fully navigated as yet. You have to learn a lot about everything in this particular work environment on your own and by word of mouth because there is so much they don't tell you.

Stories.

I was helping a great kid write a story about Willy Wonka he wanted to make up and he very politely complimented both my handwriting (printing) and my cursive script. I was pleased as punch, but more belatedly aware that that would be a good teaching moment opportunity because it probably meant that he was interested in having equally nice handwriting or learning cursive himself. I did instinctively recognize it in the moment, just not in so many words, as a time to at least do some probing to see if they were interested in learning more, but didn't want to turn our creative story time into a handwriting lesson, and it was also on my mind that he might become resistant if I pushed too much or if he felt that he was not as good as I was. I  showed him how to draw a proper cursive lower case letter 'n' as well as the basics of Roman numerals (that came up for a different reason as we were naming the pages in his chapter book).

Art.

If anyone told me this during art school then I don't remember it because I swear I had no idea you could have a career painting portraits in the 21st century. Or I would have done it. TBC/PEACE