Remind You of Anyone?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_fe_st/odd_cat_reattached_face

Does anyone from my family of origin find this story reminiscent of Kinki? Hers was a full body "scraping" and I don't know if Mom fainted but the story made me smile.

Tour of Weaving Factory

Actually, the factory is an old greenhouse in Warsaw's largest park, Lazienki Park. The weaving company once worked for Polish kings and now weaves traditional Polish patterns for movies, museums, and personal purchase. Although the Germans burned all but one loom in WWII, they still have the largest number of pattern cards in all of Europe. I bought a lovely throw that now hangs over a chair in the living room.

Favorite Holiday Movies

Which movies do you need to see for the Christmas season to be complete? These, in no particular order, are our favorites-

A Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street (original)
It's a Wonderful Life
Love Actually
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
A Christmas Carol (1938 version)

Kyle Rocks!

This is the band Kyle performed with during the high school production of Cyrano de Bergerac. The group consisted of two guitars, bass, sax, drums, and Kyle's electric violin. They wrote all the music by creating some basic melodies and then improvising like a jazz group. Kyle had a blast although he is becoming more interested in the guitar (his guitar teacher is the player on the left) because the violin is not quite as cool. In the picture, Kyle is plucking his violin in that particular song.

Welcome to the War Zone

This is our street. Starting about two weeks ago, work crews first scraped away the pavement and then last week large diggers hauled away 18+ inches of dirt and replaced giant concrete pipes. The minivan is trapped in the driveway indefinitely and the Accord is parked on the sidewalk around the corner. Everyday we tiptoe through the mud and climb up to the gate of our house (on the right just past where you see Michael). No water delivery, no trash pick up, and lugging the groceries is a pain in the a@@!

I took this picture at 2:30 pm today- notice how the sun is already setting behind the houses on the right and barely shining on the left!

Have Mercy!

Too busy today to do more than throw down a couple of words- work, Polish class, grocery shopping (commissary at embassy), Christmas shopping, unload the car at home, back out for more grocery shopping (Polish store), put away all groceries, clean kitchen, and make two batches of gingerbread dough for the two parties tomorrow. Whine, whine and now I'm off to bed.

PS- If you want thoughtful analysis and commentary, read Ryan!

Teaching in the Local Preschool

For two weeks I have been substituting as the aide in a Kindergarten room in an international preschool. The class has eleven students- ten Polish, one Korean, one American- and the teacher is a Polish woman who was the aide in previous years. The school has a 2-3 year old room, a 4-5 year old room, and the Kindergarten class and all instruction is done in English (the parents want their children to be bilingual). Ideally, the school would prefer native English speakers but right now they have only native Polish teachers that speak English, except for the aide for whom I am substituting.

The school day lasts from 8:30 to 2:30 with extended care until 5:00. The teachers rotate responsibility for the extended care. A British woman provides music activities twice each week and a hot lunch is available for an extra fee.

The first two days I tried to observe, to get a sense of the kids, the teacher, and the schedule. The teacher didn't really tell me anything so I kept asking what she wanted me to do. I tried to help wherever I could but our teaching styles are quite different so I felt awkward. The children do a lot of worksheets which bothers my method of child-centered, authentic learning but it's not my classroom so I bit my tongue and tried to support her efforts. I brought in some of my story books today because the teacher was going to be gone, leaving me in charge, and I needed some back-up activities. The kids were quick to remind me if I did something out of order but I had a lot of fun. I let them color snowflakes with sparkle crayons (their teacher wants them to color things only as they exist in real life) and I read to them a lot. As much as I may disagree with some of the classroom practices, I had to honor and support the established routines and methods.

Tomorrow will be my last day and then I have to clean and cook for the Army-Navy game party on Saturday. THEN I'll finally get to my Christmas preparations!