Christmas Fun 2010

We rode the carousel in Seattle. Weeeee!

We visited the Gingerbread house display. Such creativity & the CANDY!!

Horse and Buggie ride in the rain. Poor driver was out there in the rain. Poor horse was soooo wet. Thank you Mr. Horse & driver for pulling our buggie so nicely through the streets of Seattle in the rain.

Merry Christmas to all & God bless you in the New Year!!

An Apple For The Teacher

Check out this awesome cupcake! It was delicious!

The last week of school at my job site, one mom from the PTA made about 50 of these cupcakes. She placed them on what looked like a parade float in the teacher's lounge as a thank you to teachers for all of their hard work this year. These cupcakes are a work of art.

On the top of the cupcake secured with frosting is a small donut. The stem is a piece of Tootsie Roll rolled to be smaller and the leaf is a premade or purchased white chocolate candy leaf.

The whole top is rolled in red sparkly sprinkles. The crafter of these delicacies said her fingers were red for most of the day from the frosting dyeing process.

Many thanks to the PTA of Rainier View for being so organized and involved in the school that their kids attend.

Good News About My Job

Remember my first day of work? Well I finished the school year and have been offered the job for next year with forty more minutes which gives me a four hour day instead of three hours and 20 minutes.

Now that doesn't sound like much, but that means I get medical insurance coverage as well. My schedule has also been changed to compact my day down to working four hours over a six hour period instead of working 3.33 hours over a seven and a half hour day.

One small step at a time and I'll be there with all the others working 6.5 hours with 30 minutes for lunch. It's a start.

I'm excited actually! I will also be working in the lunchroom for 55 minutes with my new schedule. To some of you that may sound horrible, but I think I'm going to like the opportunity to see the kids in a different setting. I enjoy helping them with all kinds of small tasks that they just have a hard time doing themselves. They appreciate your help so much and I just get a kick out of that.

So to the 2009-2010 school, year I say good bye. Hello summer!! See you soon 2010-2011 school year.

Have a GREAT SUMMER everyone!!

Feeling Sad For Kids

This week I've been working out on the soccer field at the school instead of near the Big Toy.

The kids are older and more competitive, but they are also more brutal. I am sad today because no matter how I try to encourage good sportsmanship and discourage cheating and just plain unfair practices it seems I am just met with bad attitudes.

The kids who want to be on the same team come out with the ball (the same boy everyday so far) and the same boy selects all the "good" players and starts the game. The other kids feel unfairly treated and for good reason.

The first time he did this I made them start over and pick teams one player at a time. They were furious & some kids wouldn't play. I couldn't believe what poor sports they were about it. I was disappointed.

I've just been observing them the last two days to get a feel for the group. I did cheer though when the underdogs stopped every goal attempt by the "good" players.

Please pray for me that I will share wise and useful advice and make statements that will be helpful and create an environment of good sportsman like behavior. I don't want to make everyone miserable, yet I do not want to tolerate "cheating" and poor sportsmanship.

Kids need advocates and other kids need a reminder of what is right and wrong.
God bless them all. I pray for them everyday. Some days it's just sad though.

I do know that God is in control and even this is important to Him.

Green Eggs and Ham Dinner 2010

There was a "Read Across America" event the first week of March. Naturally Dr. Seuss books were in the Library window of our school. And apparently this Green Eggs and Ham dinner has been a hit with the families in our school so I thought I'd take my kids and check it out.

Our welcoming committee. The coats on the floor are part of the lost & found. Whenever parents will be at the school for an event the lost and found is layed out all along the hallway in hopes that the items will be claimed.


Some teachers served us. The second one in is the All Day Kindergarten (ADK) teacher that I volunteer with in my down time.


More teachers serving. The first one is the para for the ADK class that I help in. She has been a tremendous help to me in my first year working as a para. The male teacher is another one that I help on occasion in his classroom.

And here it is "Green Eggs and Ham" just like Dr. Seuss taught us. Will you eat them Sam I Am? I did eat them in a school.

Two more teachers. We had dressed for a Western theme that day. Each day of the week had a theme.

The Principal. How do you like his western vest? His badge is a button that says "Read Across America" with The Cat In The Hat in the middle. The music teacher made them for us. Very cute.

The guest Eric Ode. Singer, poet, author, teacher and a great entertainer. He did a fantastic job with the kids. He isn't teaching presently, but he and our Principal had worked together several years ago.

It was a fun time and the Green Eggs and Ham were okay. I don't recommend them for guests at your house this Easter, however, LOL!

Have a Wonderful Resurrection Celebration. God be with you and all of your loved ones this special time of year!!!

God Is Always Good

God is good all the time.
God has certainly watched
over me and answered
prayers this year.




Right now I just want to share that when I started this job I wanted more hours and was hoping to find permanent work that gave me such. I had no responses to any applications I had sent in so I accepted this job when it opened.

The prayers have been answered with me being able to substitute in my own school that I work at in my down time. So far I have had quite a few hours that I have been able to substitute.

I am very happy with the way God has created these extra hours for me. When I took the job I didn't know this was an option. Isn't God so creative? No surprise! He always knows what's best for us.

Thank you, God! Have a great weekend everyone.

An Uncomfortable Few Moments

One day I was leaving work and a guy pulls up behind my pickup and asks me what is the current time (weird I thought). I told him the precise time I had on my watch. He then asks, "Why aren't there kids running around everywhere?"

I responded, "Because they're all gone." Then he asks, " What time does school get out?" Now my radar has gone up. "I'm not going to give you that information," I said.

He says, "Am I lost?" (weird again). I ask, "What are you looking for?" He asks again, "What time does school get out?" I give him the same answer I gave him before.

He calls me rude and starts grumbling at me about how rude I am. Then he says the dumbest thing he could say, "I pick my kids up here everyday. I can't believe you are so rude."

I suggested he go to the school office and they would help him with the answers he needed. He got even more angry and called me rude a few more times. He took off in a hurry. I wish I had gotten his license.

I went into the office and told them what happened. I went home and wrote down everything I could remember and I gave it to the principal the next day. The school district police have been in touch with me and I've told other crossing guards. We keep our eyes out for this character.

I despise this kind of thing. I do not want anyone messing with children if I can do anything about it.

God protect all the children out there who are so innocent and unaware of the dangers that lerk. Help them not to have to live in fear everyday. Help me to protect them at all cost. Help us all to be vigilant in protecting ourselves and others.

What's Recess Like?

Working at an elementary school for the past twelve weeks has opened my eyes to the kinds of things that kids do and deal with on a regular basis. If you want to know what might be going on at your child's' school read on.

This is what the front of the school looked like two weeks ago. Now these trees are bare, the sky is almost always gray and things are getting mushy and muddy.

On another note, this long term substitute job has come to an end...I have just applied for the permanent position which finally opened up November 19, 2009. I hope to have a chat with the principal some time in the next week. Things look good for me to fill this position mostly because we don't think anyone else will apply. And hopefully because they like what I've been doing at their school for the past twelve weeks.

Now let's get started with RECESS! At first the kids run out of the school onto the playground screaming with joy. They head straight for the swings and the cart with balls and jump ropes.

The first complaints begin within five minutes, usually about "those kids who won't let me swing". Apparently five minutes is a very long time to wait, for the younger ones especially. So I look at my watch and tell "those kids" they have about two more minutes before they need to let some other kids swing.

Meanwhile two kids need a restroom pass and another needs her shoes tied. Little Suzie is tugging my vest to tattle on little Jenni who called her a name and Johnnie fell and skinned his knee. Time for the band aids or send Johnnie to the nurse.

There's a lot of running and screaming at the top of their lungs and quite often two kids collide and fall down crying and holding their hurting limbs or heads. Time to survey for injuries and decide if anyone needs to go to the nurse for an ice pack. More shoes to be tied.

In theory the kids aren't suppose to run on the black top or around the Big Toy area. It has taken about ten weeks to get that point across to about 75% of the students. When any known rule is broken by a student that student will spend time standing next to any wall outside. At this point there are no more warnings given. They should know the rules by now. They go straight to time out on the wall.

Some kids will look at you with the "What? You are so mean" look and sometimes they'll argue with you trying to get out of it because they've "Never heard that rule before."

Some even shout at you and some come to their friends' defense shouting at you. I find it quite disturbing that elementary kids have such disrespect for adults and think that it's okay to yell at them. Makes me wonder what it's like in their homes.

This behavior usually gets a student a free pass to see the dean in her office. Some even yell at her. This behavior usually earns a student a behavior report to take home with them and possibly a call to mom & dad.

Basketball is always interesting on the playground as well as Tether ball. I don't see the Soccer games as I keep an eye on the Big Toy and black top areas, but I'm sure it gets wild out there.

Basketball is basically make up the rules as they go and the stronger willed kids always win. This is when I step in. I played a little basketball in junior high and most of the rules are the same. Most kids will listen and play by the rules for a couple of minutes.

Quite often they return to "Street Basketball" and someone ends up hurt or mad. At this point the ball is taken away and the game is called off. Tether ball is the same. Stronger willed kids make up the rules as they go and feelings get hurt or there's a fight. Kids just have to move on or play by the rules. More shoes to be tied.

Most days there aren't any major problems in which the dean has to be called upon. However, one day at lunch recess, about ten boys, kindergartners included, were fighting or playing very rough in a big mob. There were three playground monitors and none of us saw this happen.

After it was all over, one kindergartner came and told me that a boy broke another boys' glasses. It was time to go back to classes so it took me a while to follow up. I found the boy with the broken (very bent) glasses. The para in that class asked some questions and she found out who did it.The boy was found and sent to the dean. By the next day it was discovered that ten boys had been fighting.

The principal was notified and he took it from there. The boy (a kindergartner) with the bent glasses was a part of it by choice. He thought it was fun to be in a big brawl. His mom wasn't upset about the glasses and had them bent back into shape before the next day.

Another day a bee stung a boy right near his eye. I was concerned and took him to the nurse myself. He was okay and back out to play before recess was over. More shoes to tie (my aching back).

The next incident bothered me. Two boys were playing "Wall Ball" or "Power Ball". One boy came to me saying the other boy kicked, punched and slapped him. His face was red on one side. We confronted the suspected angry boy and he denied it. I had to call for the dean because I believed that the angry boy had at least slapped the other boy.

When the dean came out the angry boy got very angry saying he hated the school. She took them in and got to the bottom of the story. It's hard to get to the bottom of things on the playground because kids are usually shouting and other kids are standing around giving their two bits. It's best to get a third party and remove the kids involved.

This school is a very nice school with a great principal and dean, great teachers, and all other staff. The things I have mentioned are not daily occurrences except tattling and tieing shoes. I never imagined what it would be like on the playground.

With the people to back you up with discipline and great teachers to give us incite into why some kids act the way they do it has been a good experience and I'm willing to continue as recess lady and crossing guard to get my foot in the door and we'll see what God has in store for me next.

The Crossing Guard's Day

Recently, I have been substituting for a crossing guard/ playground helper at an elementary school. Each morning & each afternoon I stand at a corner and wait to cross the two or three kids that cross that street.

I have to stay there for a half an hour each time even though the kids cross the street at the beginning of the half hour. So I stand there for the next 20 to 25 minutes with nothing to do.

By the third day I decided to start memorizing some of the Awana T & T scriptures. Since I work with that group on Wednesday nights, I am trying to complete a handbook. I started book one last year and I made it to Discovery Zone four. That's about half of the book. I'll finish it this year. Now I understand better when the kids don't finish their book in one year.

Anyway, This is an excellent time to recite to myself what I've memorized. I write the verses on paper in case I forget. I don't want to stand out there with the book. It might look like I'm reading to the parents driving by.


This is me in my vest trying to smile as I take a picture of myself. I tried three times, but I never caught myself while I was smiling.

This is my flag that I hold up two times a day for thirty seconds.

This is my crosswalk. Not much to look at over there. I walked over and looked in the bushes and walked up the street a little ways. Nothing exciting to see.

Looking to my right up the road. Wow! Still not much. Nothing much to the left either.

This is the eye sore house. Weeds, rotting wood and roof and several old cars & trucks in the driveway. I walked over there and looked around. There was a black cat sleeping in one of the window sills. At least I hope it was sleeping and not dead. Ooh, not a good thought.

This crow kept me company for a few minutes while he picked at something in the road and sat on the wire above me. I kept an eye on him. I hate being pooped on.

Now this is a science experiment. One afternoon I noticed this chocolate chip cookie near my post. Guess how long it takes ants to finish a chocolate chip cookie?

About 24 hours. Guess what else I learned? They don't like the chocolate chips.
This is just the grease and chocolate chips the next day. So I learned something that might come in handy someday. Hmm...

Here is what is behind me. Very exciting (not).


And I can stand and look down in here for hours about a half a second.

I understand why the principal keeps asking how I'm doing and thanking me for subbing. The secretary thanks me too. They know that this is a boring job with a lot of down time in between jobs.

The recess part is full of action and things to watch out for. Kids need band aids or restroom passes. They get knocked over by some other kid running and not watching where they are going. They step in unmentionables that are left on the play field from the night before. There's an argument now and then that needs to be defused.

But my favorite question of the week is, "Do you know where my friend is?" There are only 100+ students out there and I don't know any of them by name. Bless their little, innocent hearts. Most kids are so sweet and just want to play and learn.

All in all I've had a good experience. But I want you to wave at the crossing guard as you go by and thank them if you get a chance cuz they are devoted to the safety of the kids, whether there's two or 100. Smile!