A Day in a Texas Heat Wave--by Jeff Haby

I found this poem and just had to share it.....Texas is used to HEAT!!!!  

A Day in a Texas Heat Wave After sunrise- The air feels sticky, Like honey drying and thick. Texas heat gradually builds As noontime approaches- Heat such as in a warming oven Or a roaring fire. The heat and humidity combine To a heat index of one-o-nine. Sweat drips from every brow. How a normal human can handle it- I don't know how. The sun is still only halfway Across the sky. Weak grass and bushes Begin to wilt and die. The temperature reaches 100 again. Only sunset gives relief From the red hot Sunburning thief. Praying tomorrow will be the day That there will be rain Because another 14 hours of the sun's ray Will send a few more people insane. Even with air conditioning A Texas heat wave can be so frustrating.

Jeff Haby

Rocking the Shedd!!!

Monday, July 2, was the 2nd annual 'Auntie Ann and kids' day (along with Grandpa).  I took my 5 precious lovelies to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  *Last year we took the train to the Museum of Science and Industry.  This year we drove the van all the way.  Dad did the actual driving in Chicago as it's not my thing to drive a big vehicle with precious cargo.....the aquarium was awesome!!! It was fun to see and experience so much wonderful sealife with the kids.  The dolphin show was amazing and the 4-D movie was a bit intense.  My favorite area was the Jellies.  The music they played was so relaxing and the jellyfish are so mesmorizing to watch.  They just float and move ever so gracefully through the water; almost in time to the music.  I took a video of the jellyfish in the 'pink' tank and plan to watch it over and over to remind me of being there.  It was a long, hot, and exhausting day but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Time with my 'kids' is PRICELESS!!!!  It's all about building memories and spending time together.  Never take anything for granted and embrace every day like the gift that it is.

 

Lost my friend, Summer...

I don't think this summer and I will ever be good friends!!!!.......the temperature has been well into the 90's for many days and not a drop of rain to be seen or felt. Once the temperature breaks the 90 degree mark, it' s much harder for me to spend time outside. It's either just tooooo hot in the sunshine or too humid for my breathing. So, this summer is going to pass without me spending endless hours at the pool. This year it's just not a part of my plan. My breathing and my skin are thanking me, that's for sure!!!! It's a summer for sorting, purging, and organizing the house instead. Maybe next year summer and I can be friends again....

The Case Against Assistive Technology

Love this video!!!! Just have to share it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNs88Ki1WSo

POHI -- Physically or Otherwise Health Impaired

What does it mean to be POHI? It means that an individual has a physical or other type of health impairment. Students in my program are identified with either a Physical Impairment (i.e.: cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury) or Other Health Impairment (i.e.: blood disorder, seizure disorder, ADD, ADHD). Many of my students also have Learning Disabilities or Cognitive Impairments. Combined all together, we have an eclectic group of students that love to learn but face many challenges.

*Don't let the POHI label fool you!!!!-----these are students that love to learn and are embracing the technology that is out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj12efH8ULU

It's time...

Here it is, the day before the MACUL conference...the day before Liesha and I present to people what we're doing in our classrooms with Dragon, Symwriter and e-readers. It's been so much fun getting all of this ready, with the help of our students. Now, it's time to show it all off!

I'm excited about doing this but am also terrified! Technology is a wonderful thing but what if?......what if the powerpoint doesn't work? What if the sound system fails? What if I/we get tongue-tied?......what if? But, Liesha and I know the material and are passionate about what we do and the kids we work with. It's time to share what we do with others....

It snowed, again!

So it snowed again yesterday--another day with Lake Effect Snow Warnings and advisories from the police to stay off the road. But, it was the February birthday party day for Brian (February 14th), Dad (February 18th), and Emma (February 28th), so there was no choice about staying home and being cozy. It was a fun day filled with Calvin girl's basketball at the new sports venue (what a place!!!), eating pizza, and opening presents. A very busy but fun day but the drive home was oh so not much fun! I'm really hating winter and driving in this yucky stuff (unless the yucky stuff warrants me a day off from school so I could get tons of homework/paperwork done....) and am counting the days until Spring! On the up side, all this snow (we're only a few inches from an all-time snowfall amount record) is doing great things for the water table for the Great Lakes. I guess that's a good thing, in the long run.