Oh the woes....

I'm not sure the antics of turning 175 elementary kids into the 100 person cast of a musical production is the kind of thing you all want to read about, but it's what plagues my thoughts these days. Today we finished our dance auditions with 5th and 6th grades. Friday are the soloist auditions where all kids sing their 30 seconds as they compete for the top seat. After watching each of them dance, smile, sing, and shine - I'm stuck. My school seems to be overflowing with talent and somehow I have to eliminate. The other terrible thing is that I now know so many of the kids, either having taught them or a sibling, or having had them in a play before; and so the prospect of cutting every child is heart breaking. Despite all of that I am beginning to see my leads take shape. I think I could pick the big ones right now, if I had to, except the ever-important role of Annie - I just haven't found her yet. I'm hoping that Friday my thoughts will become actualities and I will find my shining star.

And now a note to the parents that read this...

One of my major woes over the last month has been teaching the election. Not because I don't love politics or I dread the discussion; in fact, I love teaching 5th grade because it is all about the evolution of our countries government. In my class we do an extensive unit where the kids parallel the real election with our class elections. We hold primaries, have debates, make posters, campaign, and the whole nine yards. It's a blast and we have so much fun! Until...we have to talk actual politics. You see one of the rules of my class is that you can have any opinion you want, as long as you support it with evidence. When it comes to our discussions of the the candidates that is where the evidence is consistently "Because my Mom and Dad are voting for him". I have so many kids who are staunch Republicans, and Democrats, solely and entirely because their parents are. When I ask them why? I get answers like "Because we're Mormon", or "Because we're conservative." And when I ask for more justification, I get blank stares. I am so happy that there are parents who talk politics with kids, and I think you should, but please - don't impose your views on your child. Teach your child how to come up with their own opinions. Let them know it's ok to think something different - because - guess what? - It is!! I'm never going to tell you who to vote for(ok, I will if you really want me to), but I am going to tell you to be an educated voter. But also be the educator of a future voter. They might be 10 now, but one day they'll be the President and when you ask them "Why are you a Republican?" I sure hope they don't say, "Because my mom said so."

Good Intentions...

I thought with a 4 day weekend I would get my papers graded...
I thought I would get my planning done for this month...
I thought I would get my laundry caught up...
I thought I would finish the Hardi-backer in the bathroom...
I thought I would walk the dogs every day...
I thought I would get my audition dance choreographed...
I thought I would write interesting and amusing blogs every day...
I thought wrong.

It's Sunday night and my adorable husband wants "lovies" (I shouldn't complain), I have a stack of spelling and math tests to be graded, Hard Knock Life is playing in the background, the bathroom is half done, and I'm finally getting in a blog entry(not the interesting and amusing kind). And it's not that I was lazy this weekend, I did A LOT of laundry (how 2 people create that much laundry I don't know!).

Thursday was chores day, I cleaned the house, wiped the baseboards, and dusted deep corners ,etc. (exciting huh?)

Friday I woke up to a double batch of peanut butter cookies for the wedding (Wendy on Saturday). Then Heidi and I went to Kassies for a play date. We went to visit Kyle for his 40th birthday and took him a pie. We took a trip to Thrift Town for some bargains and went back to visit and eat lunch at Kassies. Oh yeah, and the kids played.

Saturday was a working day with a lot of cutting and screwing and only 2 trips to Home Depot!!
My day ended with some sad news as Anna called to tell me that one of our close friends had died on Saturday morning. He was a great kid with a big heart. He and I loved to laugh together because we were the 'shy ones'. Jepson was the kind of friend who listened more than he spoke and was always full of smiles. He will be missed, but I think he was needed elsewhere right now. We will miss you Jepson.

Thank heavens for Sundays - a little catch-up, a little relaxation, a little family, and a little more time before we have to go back. Now, I think I'll go to bed.