Tuesday, September 30: Describe how to play your favorite video or computer game.

When I was a kid,

My family watched TV once a week.

Most weekends, my dad would give my mom a break

And take the kids to Blockbuster

Where we would pick out a movie

That we would take home and watch

As many times as we could to make up for

No TV at all during the week,

And no cable, EVER.

As you might guess, we did not have

ANY kind of video game

So I learned to read, and read, and read

But not how to play anything at all.

When we got a computer I played Oregon Trail,

A game about a family who headed west to find land and

Hoped to strike it rich in gold country.

But after awhile, I stopped playing and

I still mostly only play games with

Lots of WORDS

Like Scrabble.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Monday, September 29: Write about the things you did NOT do this weekend.

This weekend, I did NOT write. I've got feelings bottled way up in me right now, and I feel like a shaken soda bottle ready to pop, but the words just aren't ready to come out yet.

This weekend, I did NOT cook. Usually I cook for a few hours on Sundays so that I have good lunches to look forward to, but the only things I made this weekend were a weird breakfast with rice and potatoes and some split pea soup. I also baked a loaf of bread. So, I did cook...but not as much as I usually do. I usually cook a LOT.

This weekend, I did NOT read. I know...crazy, right? I spent a lot of time watching TV! All my favorite shows started last week, so I spent several hours catching up on them on Friday and Saturday.

This weekend, I did NOT get very much sleep. I tried to sleep in, but I woke up early on Saturday and Sunday, which is so frustrating! Thank goodness for coffee...

This weekend, I did NOT perform poetry, but I saw some unbelievably talented poets perform at the Poets for Ferguson event at the McKenna Museum. How would you feel if we got to perform at a museum one day?

- Ms. Radding

Thursday, September 25: Write or type your final draft of your personal narrative paragraph. Bring your final draft to class to turn in tomorrow with your rough draft, graphic organizer, and packet.

Wednesday, September 24: Who do you look up to?

I look up to so many people, I think it's how I keep from looking down, and dwelling on how very hard it feels sometimes to live the good life I'm striving for.

One of the people I look up to is someone who's been around this blog. His name is Lou.

I look up to Lou for more reasons that I can name here, but one of them is that Lou sees what's truly beautiful about every person he meets. When he talks to you, it's like he can see what you're most proud of, or even what you want to be proud of but you don't know how, and he celebrates it. He makes you feel like being you, really all of you, is a gift you can give to other people.

I want to celebrate my students the way that Lou celebrates everyone in his life. If I can even help a few students feel like they're a gift to the world, that their strengths are the key that will unlock our world, then I've learned something from this man who I look way, way, up to.

- Ms. R

Tuesday, September 23: Describe your grandparents (if your grandparents aren't alive, choose another relative and describe them).

My grandmothers...

Are both teachers

Are both wives

Are both mothers

Are both lovers

Of learning

Are both listeners

Are both readers

Are both the source

Of my strength

And the roots

That tie me to

Our family tree.

Monday, September 22: Sit in one spot. Look around and make a list of at least 10 proper nouns and at least 10 plural nouns that you see.

I am sitting at my desk in room 316.

Proper Nouns:

1. Promethean Board
2. SHARP television
3. Haier microwave
4. ELMO document camera
5. DELL computer
6. Khullie Seals
7. Hollister Davis
8. Ms. Radding
9. Now and Laters
10. KIND Bars
11. I Love my Hair!

Plural Nouns:

1. cookies
2. books
3. headphones
4. chairs
5. posters
6. desks
7. markers
8. pastels
9. pencils
10. maps

Thursday, September 18: Write about a conflict you recently had. How did you resolve it?

Wednesday, September 17: Write about a time when family came to visit, or when you went to visit family.

Recipe for a Ventura Visit:

One eight hour car ride

Lots of stops at gas stations, and

One stop on the side of the road...

Two stressed out parents

One screaming sister

Two grandparents

One tiny condo

One enormous ocean

Turkey meatballs

Cottage cheese and tuna fish

Two parents on the futon,

Two children on the floor, or sleeping on Aunt Sari's couch

One trip to the county fair

One trip to Aunt Jodi's bookstore

One boat trip to see the whales

One trip up the mountain to Ohai

Two dinners at Aunt Sari's

Lots of barefoot walks in the sand

At least five trips to the end of the pier,

And many, many breaths of  the salty, sticky air

That tells me I'm home.

Tuesday, September 16: Make a list of things that make you smile.

I smile when...

I'm cooking,

Teaching,

Exercising,

Eating,

And right before I'm sleeping. 

Monday, September 15: How full is your bucket today?

My bucket is mostly full today. Yesterday I went to a training for Yoga Power Play, and I'm feeling excited and nervous about starting yoga at Benjamin Franklin on Wednesday. I'm excited because I love yoga, and my bucket is full when I'm sharing what I love with my community. I'm nervous because many students have signed up for Yoga Power Play, and I'm not sure if I can teach all of those students by myself. I'm hoping that some volunteers will come so we can do yoga in smaller groups, but I don't know who they are yet which is making me nervous. One thing yoga has taught me is that the best way to deal with my anxiety is to take deep breaths, so right now, that's what I'm doing...

- Ms. R

Thursday, September 11: Invent a new food. Describe what it looks like and tastes like.

I've always thought that banana and peanut butter

Went together even better than peas and carrots.

Rarely do I eat one without the other,

So I propose a hybrid:

Introducing, the PANANA...

The incredible, peanut butter filled

Banana!

It looks like you might expect,

Usually yellow, sometimes splotched with brown,

But tastes INCREDIBLE,

A blissful banana oozing

With smooth peanut butter in every bite.

YUM.

Wednesday, September 10: Write a thank you note to someone in your family who cooks for you.

Dear Grandma,

Have I ever told you that your turkey meatballs were my first favorite food?

When I was a kid, you made us turkey meatballs every time we visited you in your little condo on the beach. We would drive the eight hours from Sacramento, and whole time I would think about your meatballs. Sometimes I'd swear that I could smell them once we got off of the highway.

Even though I don't eat meat anymore, your meatballs continue to inspire me. I make all kinds of "balls" these days - out of beans, tempeh, nuts, and more - but I'm always trying to recreate that flavor that reminds me of arriving in my favorite place - your condo on the beach.

Love,

Rebecca

Tuesday, September 9: If I were a food, I would be...

If I were a food,

I would be Sriracha,

Because my words are spicy,

And a little of me

Goes a long way.

Monday, September 8: Describe the best meal you ate this weekend.

The stir fry I made on Friday night

Wasn't my best but it sure

Hit the spot after a hard day's work.



Into the pan went a fat onion,

Diced into quarter moons,

And a red bell pepper,

        Bright as a fire engine,

        Sliced thin,

        Its strips dancing

        With the onion moons

        On a sizzling hot dance floor.


Into the blender went a knob of ginger,

Several pungent cloves of garlic,

Many shakes of salty soy sauce,

A drizzle of sesame oil,

Several squeezes of Siracha,

Some sweet agave syrup,

A splash of vinegar,

And a fat blob of ketchup.



Slivered cabbage and broccoli joined the

Party in the pan and when

I added the sauce the onion pepper dance became

A swimming stir fry sensation.

Thursday, September 4: Where do you live? Describe your house and your neighborhood.

I live on the second floor of a two story house. When you open the door, you'll see four bikes tucked not-so-neatly under the stairwell. Come up the stairs and you'll find yourself in our living room.

The old couch in the room slouches like it had a hard day at work, its pillows always askew. Two big plants stand on tables in the living room, thirsty for water and growing toward the sunlight streaming in the three long windows. The kitchen table is the heart of our home, a place where you'll find a roommate or four dining, studying, playing games with friends...

In the kitchen someone's almost always cooking. Our refrigerator is always overflowing with vegetables, except on Saturdays, before we go shopping. When the pickings are slim, I get creative. Sometimes the best food comes out of an unusual combination of ingredients!

My room's the first one off of the hall. It's the smallest, but has the biggest closet. With so many people in my house, I like my room to be a calm space without much stimulation. My favorite part of my room is my bed. It's so tall that it's like a throne. It's made of thick, dark wood and to get on my bed I have to jump like I'm running hurdles! My bed is my oasis and when I'm in it I sleep like a baby.

I moved into this house a few months ago, so I'm still getting to know the neighborhood. It used to take me twenty minutes to drive to work, and now all I have to do is drive up 1st Street to Tchoupitoulas and take it to Jefferson. From my house to Ben Franklin it's only ten minutes! This means I can sleep for ten extra minutes every morning...which means I'm a little fresher when I get to work. I live in the Irish Channel, and from my house I can walk to my gym, my friend Catherine's house, and many restaurants. The only thing I don't like about where I live is that many of my friends live in Mid City, near City Park, and it's a twenty minute drive to see them.

- Ms. Radding

Wednesday, September 3: Describe your best birthday party.

When I was a girl,

There was nothing I loved more than a sleepover.

Every year I made my list

Of all the nice

Girls, and the

Not-so-nice but maybe they'll come

Girls, and the

If-they-come-I'll-be-more-popular

Girls.

And every year I passed out invitations and

Held my breath until

School let out and June passed and

July fifth rolled around

And my day was here.

I'm old enough that I remember them all the same—

Pizza dinner,

Tents outside, or rows of sleeping bags in the empty living room,

No sleep,

But silly stories, and ghost stories,

And even more gossip than pizza,

And finally sleep, but not too long,

Because morning light meant,

Birthday waffles with Breyer's mint chip ice cream.