Let the Holidays Begin

The last week of school before vacation is always challenging. Kids are hyper and teachers are worn out. After 26 years, not much has changed there. ;-) But all in all, not a bad week. We managed to keep the kids relatively occupied with a review, a test and then a 2 day computer activity. They were researching the stages in the life cycle of a star and creating a PowerPoint. They may not have finished their PPT's, but they sure spent quite a bit of time reading about all the pictures they were finding. And in the end, that is what mattered really.

They finally understood my fascination with these sites, too. During the unit, I would pull up photos or video clips that were pertinent to the topic of the day. One kid remarked that I must spend hours looking this stuff up. I agreed that I did, but I thought it was really cool stuff. Cue the eyeroll from students. Their teacher is trying to get us to do something "educational". Warning, danger Will Robinson! Danger! For two days, however, I was happy to hear "Hey Miss, look at this! This is cool!" and "Hey Miss, did you know...?"

So now I can concentrate on finishing the holiday preps. Finish decorating the tree, finish the outside decorations, finish the shopping, send out the cards, and most importantly CLEAN THE HOUSE!!! We have not had our housekeeper for several months now, and it shows. Even though she only came every 2 weeks, knowing she was coming helped us keep things picked up for the most part. We have gotten so lazy, there are piles of junk everywhere.

We are staying put for the holidays this year. I miss visiting with family either in Illinois or Florida, but honestly, I would rather go when it is not holiday time. It is just less stressful for everyone and we are not driven by a set schedule. And the weather is nicer everywhere later in the year. It is always so unpredictable, maybe snow and cold in Chicago, rain in Florida...even here in Houston. But at least we are at home. I can deal with that. But I still miss the family!