I Like to Laugh

That isn't true. I love to laugh, and would laugh all day long if I could. The past few weeks have been rather hectic. After our midwinter break that spanned the end of one week and the beginning of the next, everything has been in overdrive. School has seemed to have everything coming at once, from budget talk to state tests to student share night. Added onto that was buying a house (doing all of the many things that go with that) and trying to rehab from a pulled quad (2 times). But all the while I've found some funny things to laugh about...

• Crazy hat day was yesterday, and one of my kiddos wore a cowboy/girl hat. She came running back from recess and gave a "yeee-haww" with her arm doing the lasso. It was quite funny, and she cracks me up.
• The comparison of the Sign of the Beaver to camping. I'm not sure that Matt, in the 1700's, was going to be heading to the General Store when he ran out of molasses, but perhaps if he were camping...
• I laughed when I saw that the focus of a new school was on technology. Personally, I believe my district is a fairly tech heavy district. I also know that I use technology A LOT. But I don't think either of us says "we are focusing on technology." Instead the focus is on great instruction that will help students grow as learners. Can technology help with that? Absolutely. My kids are using the Internet to find/read articles for current events. They are researching to add information to our class wiki. They are creating presentations and Photostory work to go with reading and writing they have done. We create audio versions of work using Audacity, and we do all sorts of things. But those are all extensions of the instruction I already provide. Could I provide great instruction without technology? Yes. But it would be an adjustment. I always wonder, how will technology make this lesson better? If it won't, then it isn't worth using at that time.
• "Wait a second, you mean I need to summarize all that I read (20 pages) by the end of the week?" Yes, yes you do.