Fall in Full Force!

So... it's October 12th. The first official school-day off! Columbus Day comes at the perfect time- right after the first five-weeks of school are over.

This year's kiddies are a lot of fun. They're very skilled at literary discussion, and they have been able to spark some interesting discussion surrounding Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. This is one of my favorite novels to "teach." (The kids do most of the teaching...) The dual stories of Salamanca and Phoebe keep the students guessing and engaged. I like to have my students read this novel early in the year to set the literary precedence in the classroom. I am always surprised and excited when the kids develop their own theories and reasoning. They have started discussing stylistic features of the novel. This is super exciting and makes my job that much more fun. They've been applying the quotations, which mysteriously appear on the Winterbottom's doorstep, to current events and their experiences. The most recent "gift" was "In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" I love this particular quotation because of it's application for all types of people, any age, any race, any life experience.

How often do we worry about little, simple things... two weeks, two days, two hours even-later, that worrisome little detail is forgotten or put in perspective by something that will actually matter in the course of a lifetime. I tend to do a lot of this type of worrying in the beginning of the year... This year has been no different- it's nice to be reminded eloquently of what could be happening instead... I definitely do not have it so bad.

Soccer has been going well too. The JV girls have really surprised some fierce soccer critics. We had a tough loss on Saturday, but for the most part, this season has been one of the best JV seasons on record. I am proud of the girls on my team and their ability to rally and set a positive example- even when it has been tempting to act badly... (I'll resist the urge to name names or games in this case...) I have learned a TON through coaching at this level. It's not so different from being in the classroom!