HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ONE AND ALL . . .

or so it seems. Four of our family members celebrated birthdays in the past week. There was a great party, and here are some pictures we took:

Kacole & Uncle R brought Baby C,
but they were mean and didn't give him cake!

Uncle Bro and Aunt K

(Uncle Bro looks a bit like Kramer!)

V enjoyed the cake!

J and his sweet friend, Zoe.

YEA! TAKS TESTS ARE OVER!

I've survived yet another year of teaching sixth grade (well, almost--I still have one month left before summer break). Today I feel almost normal again and ready to begin blogging--not that anyone really ever reads this nonsense. Anyway, there are lots of neat pictures to share and now, maybe, time to share them!

Reading by the Colors

I just returned from a two-day training seminar in beautiful, downtown Buda, Texas, but Buda is another story for another day. Someone else was scheduled to attend the conference at Buda Elementary but was unable to go, so I was asked to attend in her place. What I learned is fascinating, and I hope that I can begin to make a real difference in the lives of my students and possibly others as well.

For as long as I can remember, I have been bothered by bright lights--especially those darn flourescent lights they use in modern-day structures that have no windows, such as my school. For years, I have felt ill working at my desk under those lights and at times have felt incapable of getting anything accomplished. Driving at night is often terrifying because sometimes I think oncoming cars are about to hit me or that things are closer than they really are. Even riding in the car when someone else is driving can be frightening because the glare of lights distorts what I see. Shopping, believe it or not, is sometimes a challenge because I can't see colors under the lighting used in certain stores, and I feel the need to shade my eyes when making a color choice. I truly prefer stores that have lots of natural lighting in them (Chico's on University!). Even though I am a reading teacher, I sometimes find reading difficult. After reading for a while, the print becomes blurred and even sometimes begins to move around on the page. When reading aloud to my students, I often throw a word into a sentence I am reading only to discover that word belongs on the next line in another sentence. Weird! It is fun, however, when I locate a design on a wall or some object that moves and dances around for me, but somehow I have always known that couldn't really be a normal thing--just my eyes playing tricks.

I discovered this year through a colleague of mine that my problems, which I really believed everyone experienced and were, therefore, normal, were indeed not shared by everyone. In fact, she offered to test me for something called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. Since she often tested students for this, I agreed. She told me she was positive I had it.

Anyway, the training seminar I attended confirmed that I do have what is now known as Irlen Syndrome, and I am now a certified screener for this. In completing the certification process, I had to test a couple of students as I was being observed by the psychologist who trained us. That was truly an eye-opening experience. But that is also another story. My heart goes out to all the students whose negative behaviors are just an outcry for help. It is suspected that many students who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (and because of this are heavily medicated) are really just suffering from Irlen Syndrome. It is even believed that some children with autism can benefit from treatment for Irlen Syndrome.

What is the treatment? People suffering from this can benefit from the use of colored overlays placed over their page, and possibly colored Irlen lenses. The particular color of the overlay or lens must be determined by a certified screener or diagnostician.

Pass this information on to anyone you know who might benefit from a screening. At the very least, check out the Irlen website and take the self-tests. It just might be the information someone needs to know--the information that might keep a child from slipping through the educational cracks.

Reading by the Colors is Helen Irlen's book about how she discovered this processing problem and how it might be the answer to the difficulties of many. I brought home a copy, so I guess I'll get my turquoise overlay and begin reading--in dim light, of course.

And if anyone wants to be screened for this, I'm your girl!

PIONEER WOMAN, MOVE OVER

One of my favorite blogs is Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I spend way too much time keeping up with her life, but she totally fascinates me! How does she do it all? Anyway, GP and I took J and V to the "hometown" yesterday to visit Pawpaw and to see the cattle.

Here are some of the pictures I made while we were there. Making all these pictures made me feel a lot like Pioneer Woman, except I think she might be a better photographer than I am. Oh, well. I'm just getting my feet wet.

GP with J and V (I love the rubber boots.

Wish I had had some on. Those poop pies were gynormous!)

J and V wait in GP's trailer.

J and V standing on gate at cattle pen.

J and Deli

While GP's dad was hauling round bales of hay from place to place on his tractor, we took J and V in to see the herd bull, who was waiting for his "dinner." There was lots of snot and loud bellowing. And wait until you see the bull. Be sure to look for the bubble J makes at the end of the video clip. I think you will agree also that V is a city girl at heart. Also, you may need to know that "mee-mu" is J's word for all big animals, and the purple thing on J's head is from a fall in our kitchen about an hour before.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE . . . WHAT'S YOUR VIEW?

Lunch conversation usually includes at least one of us teachers relating a story about something a student did that landed him in the principal's office. Today's story led to a thought-provoking question: Would punishment be more effective if we dealt these kids the same misery that they dished out to someone else?

This morning a student put a pencil in his pants and then forced a girl to stick said pencil in her mouth. YUK! I'm so glad I'm a teacher and not a principal. I would have had to excuse myself to go into the hallway to laugh hysterically over this one.

We just wondered how Kid A might feel if we had Kid B (our choice, of course!) put a pencil down his crack and then make Kid A put it in his mouth.

Would this cause Kid A to make better choices in the future?

Sorry if this disgusts anyone. I guess I'm just used to this kind of thing having spent fifteen years in 6th grade.

YEAR OF THE . . .

My 6th graders are working hard to read at least five books that are nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award. Students must read at least five of the nominated books in order to be eligible to vote. Voting is at the end of the month, so I am reading aloud one of the selections in class. It is the story of a young Asian-American girl whose family is celebrating Chinese New Year as the Year of the Dog begins--hence, the name--The Year of the Dog. I led the students into a discussion of New Year traditions in various cultures, including our own. I expected to hear the comments about eating blackeyed peas, attending New Year's Eve parties, and staying up until midnight. I just didn't expect to hear the following: Well, my granddaddy just drinks till he passes out!

Year of the Redneck!

OSAMA MAMA?

GP's 88 year old father recently asked: "If Osama becomes president, do you think he will get Ofra as the First Lady?" Translation: Osama=Obama, Ofra=Oprah, and First Lady=Secretary of State.