One of MY best teachers

I imagine that great teachers are defined differently by different students at different times in their lives.  I can say that I certainly had a good share of wonderful teachers, as well as a few not so wonderful ones.  It is my belief that the key point is not what the teacher can force into the student's head; rather, it's how the student feels about learning in that classroom... what the student believes he or she can learn.

In my freshman year of college, I considered several options for my major.  None of them would guarantee me a job, but then, the real job market was still four years away.  I toyed with the idea of Psychology, Human Relations (what IS that?  I never bothered to find out) and English. I secretly wanted to be an English major, but I had heard from various sources that it was a difficult major wherein the student read and analyzed loads novels written in other centuries, and in their senior year wrote a 50 page thesis.  Yes, that's 5-0 pages... with endnotes and an extensive bibliography.   I nourished my secret hope until I got to Freshman English class.  Having been a student in high school who did relatively well in English, I did not realize what a surprise I was in for in this class.  Our first papers were returned to us with virtually no sentence untouched by the red pen.  The phrases, AWK, PASSIVE! and WHAT?  were written extensively in the margins.  I remember going home one afternoon, clutching my C+ paper in my hand and wondering if I would have to give up on the English major idea.  How was I going to be an English major when I was clearly unable to write a sentence worthy of Freshman English?  I slogged through my assignments until one day, Sister Loretta assigned this as our next paper topic:

"Write a paper supporting one of the following statements:

The purpose of education is to obtain a high paying career.

The purpose of education is not for careers."   

Now, I was not stupid.  I knew all of my college professors would be in favor of the second statement and not the first.  But the paper had to be backed up with supporting evidence in either case.  Still, even though I was not the typical liberal-minded college student (I later on wrote a paper supporting Reagan's economic policy - the "trickle-down" effect), this was the argument I fully believed in.  

At the beginning of the following class, my professor, Sister Loretta began the class session by telling us that overall, our essays had been abysmal.  "I gave them to a friend of mine, Brother Benilde, to grade, and as you may or may not know, he's a tough critic..."

The papers were handed out...  red marks and indecipherable doctor-like handwriting decorated every paper.  My heart sank.  I received my paper and there were marks, but not TOO many.  I read them carefully, and then, on the back page, this stunner:

"a well-written, logical argument...  AT LAST!"     

It was like the heavens had opened, and choirs of angels had serenaded me with their joy!  Brother Benilde thought I had a logical argument!  There was hope!!

Next, I took Classical Literature. Does any non-Literature major have any idea what Classical Literature even IS?  Try this on for size:  it's basically literature from the time when men walked around with olive branches on their heads and white robes and sandals were THE fashion statement. The Iliad, not to be confused with the watered-down, high school version of the much more entertaining Odyssey.  The Iliad (better known as, "... and the blade sliced through his throat, and fluids burst forth, and his head, still speaking, hit the dust") is about a very long, gory war, and this was before the movie version with Brad Pitt.  This time my professor WAS Brother Benilde, who was intimidating in class, but anyone could tell he was extraordinarily intelligent.  He had no tolerance for bullshit.   If you wanted an A, you had to write three papers.  Write two papers and you would get no better than a B.  One paper = a C, and that's if it's a good paper.  I worked my BUTT off just to read and understand the Iliad (one guy who sat next to me argued about why we got a quiz at the beginning of every class asking us, "how many toenails does Achilles' horse have") but I was stymied in understanding what he wanted for his papers.  I got my first draft back all marked up, with a curt, "see me"  written on the bottom, and I was forced to ask him for help.  I'll never forget walking up to his desk and asking that question.

"All you have to do is...."  (I don't remember the details, all I remember is the next part...) 

"Look, you can do this."  

And so I did.  I did Classical Literature, with the catalogue of ships and the endless bodies dropping into the sand, culminating with Hector and Achilles doing laps around the fortress until finally Hector, even with his noble heart, was defeated.  I had Brother Benilde for other classes - The Comedies of Shakespeare, "the quality of mercy is not strained...," The Tragedies of Shakespeare, in which even though I was born and raised a Roman Catholic girl, I heard the only explanation of confession that EVER made any sense to me, 

"... What was Romeo's mistake?  What was Juliet's mistake?  They didn't take it to the community... They isolated themselves from the community.  If they had joined in the FABRIC of HUMANITY (one of his all time favorite phrases - I loved it - doesn't it create a nice visual for you?  The Fabric of Humanity?  Like a beautiful, colorful quilt. ) If they had taken their PROBLEM to the COMMUNITY, they would not have killed themselves.  You see, the community SHARES the problem, lessens it.  Just like in confession.  In confession, you take your problems to the community - you unburden yourself, and the problems become smaller and more manageable."    

Did you ever have a time in your life when you could almost feel your mind expanding?  This teacher truly taught me how to think... not WHAT to think, but how to think... how to reason logically, create a hypothesis and follow it through to its conclusion with supporting evidence... in writing.  I underestimated the importance of that time in my life.  Sometimes you don't understand the importance of things when you are in them... that you can almost literally do anything you want to do.   When you have that feeling, you need to spend some time wallowing in it.  If you get that feeling, most likely you can thank some sort of teacher.  Sometimes you just need someone to back you up.  Someone to say, "Look, you can do this."

More Props - a Large Key, Money Pouches, Trays to Sell Soft Drinks, and a Chicken Feed Bag.

My daughter's class is putting on a play this week.  I'm not sure exactly what it's about, but it is social studies related, and if you saw my previous post in which I made her Native American dress, then you know it has something to do with Native Americans and the Early American Settlers.  Here is what I was asked to make:

Maps...  I made 3 of these earlier in the week.  My first two attempts did not turn out well, but finally I hit upon the method that created these.  I crumpled some scrapbook cardstock and dipped it in concentrated tea.  Then I laid out the sheets and let them air dry.  I ironed them the next day with a t-shirt over them - my first attempt at ironing this cardstock caused it to stick horrendously to the iron.  NOT FUN!!  I drew my designs on the maps with a Sharpie.  

Did you notice I put a few Princess Bride references in there?  The Bog of Eternal Stench (or was that Monty Python...?) the Cliffs of Insanity, and The Fire Swamp.  I'm sure no one will be able to see them let alone be amused by them, but hey, they amuse ME.  So much for the maps...

One of the characters in this play apparently needs to sell Coca-Cola the way they do at a baseball game.  I had to make trays to hold the cans, with the cans inside.  I got two small boxes and cut them down to a shallow depth.  Then I had my daughter search out a nice Coca-Cola logo on the internet.  We printed it 3 times for each box - once for each side of the box that the audience would see (see, I'm learning - don't waste time on the stuff they won't see!).  I glued some styrofoam peanuts to the bottom of each can so they stood up higher in the box, but if you measure your can in the box FIRST, BEFORE decorating the outside of the box, then you won't have to do this.  Next, I put the string on the box so it could be worn by the Coca-Cola salesperson.  With a pen, I poked two holes in the box for each end of each cord.  I made the cords crisscross so that they wouldn't fall off the actor's shoulders.  Lastly, I glued the empty Coca-Cola cans to the sides of the box.  The audience won't be able to see the tops of the cans so they shouldn't notice that they're empty.    

Next, my daughter and I worked on the chicken feed bag.  I learned today that having this particular prop was her idea - she said the boy who feeds the imaginary chickens in the play, "Doesn't do it very well - he looks like he's dealing cards, so I thought he needed a feed bag."  Nice.  

I bought about a yard and a half of burlap. This stuff shreds very easily, and it makes little particles that float in the air when you cut it.  Asthmatics beware...  I decided to make the bag 2 layers thick to make it more sturdy, and also less transparent.  First, I evened out the edges.  I think the guy who cut this at the fabric store wasn't paying attention to what he was doing...

I sewed the two layers together on the cut edge on each side with bias tape so help minimize any shredding.  Kids tend to be hard on props, so I thought this would be a good idea.  I stitched across the top just to hold the two layers together, but for the top, I liked how the raw edge looked.  This top edge was pre-stitched from the factory to keep it together.  It adds a nice rustic look.  After I was done, I folded the whole thing in half and sewed these two bias tape sides together, and then I sewed across the bottom with a nice fat zig-zag stitch.  Then I turned the bag inside out so you wouldn't see the bias tape.  WALLA!!

For the outside decoration, we used kiddie stamps I have from when I worked at a preschool.  I had my daughter stamp "Chicken Feed" on the front and then I painted a silhouette of a chicken in the middle.  

Finished!

For the key, I used 2 packages of Sculpy Clay in gold.  I had my girl soften the clay while I drew a key shape on the screening with hot glue from the glue gun.  I didn't want the tiny pieces of screening to come loose after I'd cut out the shape.  In retrospect, I should have used a stiffer wire - it would have given the key more body - but I was too lazy to go search for a piece.  

We started making flat piece of the clay, and covering each side of the key shape.  When both sides were covered, I pressed very firmly to get each side to adhere to the other through the screening, and I smoothed them out to attach the edges.  I also rolled some thin spaghetti-like pieces to run a line down the center of each side just to give it some more body.  I baked for 45 minutes, which I determined from the "30 minutes for each 1/4 inch of thickness" directions.  The finished product is a little bit bendable, which I don't like, but I think it will hold up for the shows as long as no one tries to use it as a baseball bat. 

The money bags were the last.

  

I found my biggest bowl and turned it upside down and traced its circumference with a piece of chalk on the fabric.  Then I drew another circle a few inches outside of that one to make it even bigger.  I cut out three of these.  

Then I folded the edges under so the seams wouldn't fray, but I didn't fold them under twice.  

Why?  

BECAUSE NO ONE WILL SEE THAT, AND IT'S NOT NECESSARY! 

See?  I'm learning...

Geez, my hands need some lotion.

Then I pinned on brown bias tape onto the WRONG side of the fabric to make a pocket for the cord to run through.  

I sewed BOTH sides of the bias tape down, then I carefully cut a hole in the fabric on the RIGHT side in a place where the bias tape would cover the hole.  Then I attached a safety pin to the 550 cord I bought for this purpose (got mine in the craft section of Wal-Mart) and then my daughter threaded it through the pocket, all the way around the circle until it came out the other side.   

 I melted the ends of the 550 cord  so they would look neat and not fray (careful - just melt it, don't set it on fire!).  Then I tied the ends together so they don't slip back into the hole.  They can pull the string tight and tie it in an overhand knot to secure.  

These are props they wanted for Friday (oh well, just a few days late).  Now I have to help my girl make some accessories for her costume.  The play is on Thursday - we have to get crackin'!

Costume Mom to the Rescue - Native American girl costume

As I have previously stated, I am the Costume Queen...  Me and my big mouth.  

My daughter's class is putting on a play in a few weeks, and she is a Native American.  She didn't really want this part because it has no lines, but she was pretty happy about the costume.  She likes to dress up, and she's also heard her mother brag on numerous occasions that she is the Queen of Costume Creation.  Of course, bragging, and doing are two totally different things.  Doing requires time, effort, and trips the fabric store.  I was happy to back up my bragging with lots of talk and even a trip to the fabric store, but then, the actually sewing had to happen, and this week was the deadline.  I've put off opening the box of my 200 dollar sewing machine after being brutally disappointed by the death of my 600+ dollar sewing machine.  Still, to make a costume, you need a machine.  

The good news is, the cheap machine works fine.  Here's how I whipped up this costume...

I had my daughter lie down on the floor on the folded fabric that was folded in half lengthwise.  With a piece of chalk, I traced a line around her body a few inches out on each side (If in doubt, make it too big - you can always sew smaller, but if it's too small, there's nothing you can do but cut again...).  The shape you see is roughly the shape I cut out.  Then put right sides together, an sew the sides, and then the shoulder seams.  If this was supposed to be a real, lasting garment, or was made of material that frayed on the edges, I'd have to turn the edges under and sew them, but luckily this fabric doesn't unravel (it's ultra suede - made to look like real suede) so I didn't need take that step, and as a friend of mine says, "THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SEE THAT FROM THE AUDIENCE!"

I then cut out strips of the lighter color fabric, and sewed it along the edges with the right sides together so that when the light color fabric makes a band at the bottom.  Then I snipped strips up the light colored band of fabric to make fringe.  She wanted two layers of fringe, so I did this twice, and I also did the same thing along the neckline.  

So the basic costume is done, and my daughter likes it.  Thank goodness!  I'm going to make a belt that ties with some suede string tomorrow, and she's going to decorate it.  Accessories really make the costume, so we'll see what we come up with as the date of the play comes closer.  I've also been asked to make some props, among them, a very large key.  

More to come...  

Git Along Little Doggies! Yeee Haaaaaa!!

Hello!
      Profound Pride is mine to keep since Melinda asked me, Aunt Josie,  to be a GUEST BLOGGER.    I do not really believe that I am worthy of this honor since she out blogs me handily.....but I am going to do my damnedest to impress.
     Two weeks ago, the Riley Avenue Elementary School in Baiting Hollow held their annual dance.   This year, the theme was the Wild West.    I was enlisted by my sister Mary, who is the self-appointed Queen of Riley, as a PTA Mom and volunteer class helper for her twin sons' teachers.   (She literally wears a tiara when she goes there)    So we went on a mission for inexpensive cowboy hats, bandannas, and some bales of hay to convert the halls of Riley School into Riley Ranch.

  

                                                                    My nephew, Sean

      Last year, the theme was SAFARI, and we crossed a few lines by creating a scene outside the front entrance of the school by parking a Safari-looking jeep and other supplies up on the grass, alongside the entrance.   We didn't ask, we just did it, because everyone knows it is better to beg for forgiveness later, than ask for permission before, particularly when you are pretty sure the permission will not be granted!   Soooo this year, Mr. Enos,  the principal, was mildly concerned about what we had up our sleeves.  This was an anxiety that could not go unexploited, and as I met him, randomly, walking in to the boys' Christmas concert, I told him I was looking forward to the dance this year. He knows me as "Aunt Josie" since I attend a lot of events at the school.   I told him, "we'll be sure not to park on the grass, but how do you feel about livestock?"  Well, this launched a 4 month long string of emails and conversational allusions to "ranch like" animals of all kinds and even the suggestion of borrowing the mechanical bull owned by a local country-western bar.   As the day got closer, he got more and more nervous, fearing the worst.

 

                                                                 Outside the "barn"

      The week before the dance, I emailed my sister and CC'd the principal, some off handed questions about how many water buckets we had, and that we probably needed more.   He asked her over and over, "Are you really going to have animals here?"  And each time, we answered with a question, such as "Are there animals on a ranch?"    or...   "Don't you know how much kids love animals?"   When the big night arrived, we enlisted the help of 2 local police officers who just happened to be there because they are parents of kids who were attending the dance.   As the unsuspecting principal approached the entrance upon his arrival, we made sure that he came in just in time to "catch us" mid-sentence with the officers about how "it's good that goats have small teeth or else more stitches would have been required."  As if there had been a goat mishap only moments ago.   And then we greeted him with "Listen, don't worry, it was only a few first graders who didn't read the sign about not hugging the goats!"     By this time he knew we were full of it, and luckily he appreciated our decorating job, saying that he thought the safari was the best dance ever but this was even better.  


                                              Mary and her husband, my brother-in-law John

          So the kids enjoyed the line dancing, cowboy hats, bandannas, cowboy tattoos, and taking pictures of themselves in the "jail," and we enjoyed it all right along with them.    My nephews are "graduating" from Riley this year, and I just want to send a HUGE and heartfelt THANK YOU to all of their teachers, who were all fabulous in their own individual ways, and also to Mr Enos and Ms. Grimm, the principal and assistant principal, who have created such a positive atmosphere for students, teachers and parents (and AUNTS) at Riley Avenue Elementary.

And THANK YOU Melinda, for allowing me to be a GUEST BLOGGER!!!!!!     :-)

 
                                                                 Mary and Mr. Enos

                                                              That's me, in the lock up!!

FINISHING your Easter Tree or, The Importance of Finishing a Project, even if it's slightly defective...

     I take after my dad in that I tend to be too much of a perfectionist sometimes.   Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it just prevents you from getting the job done.  My house is seasoned with the remnants unfinished craft projects that I started and, midway through, discovered a problem with, and then abandoned since they did not meet up with my perfectionistic standards.  Then there are times when life interferes and you just lose your momentum.

     This Easter tree, for example, started out wonderfully.  I worked all day on the first part, which I showed for you in my last post.  However, then Easter was almost upon us, and I had to battle the crowds for chocolate bunnies and edible whatnots, not to mention taking my daughter to the orthodontist for braces, etc, etc.  When I finally had time to work on this again, it was the day before Easter, and there were eggs to color, etc, etc, and also...  it was crooked.  Well, not exactly crooked, as in, tilting, but it was taller on one side than the other.

     I debated cutting the tall branches, buuuuttttt... in order to really fix it correctly, (here we go, folks) I had to take the one branch completely OFF, and reattach it further down the main branch, which would mean I'd have to take the duct tape off, and the wire, and what if it twisted?  What if I wrecked something else in the process?  How long would that take?  Why didn't I check it before?  What was I thinking?

I delayed.

... and delayed.

... and delayed.

     And finally I decided that a finished project is better than an unfinished and abandoned project, and I will just make a mental not to check for symmetry at the appropriate time on the next project.

     So now that I had decided to FINISH this project, even though Easter was over, I was kind of sad about what to do with it, and then I realized that April (yes, even though it's just about half over) is National Poetry Month... and I had an idea.

National Poet-tree Month

     I'm going to bring this to school and make it a Poet-TREE.  I'm going to ask the kids to write a short poem on a leaf, and hang it on the tree for National Poetry Month.  And now I'm excited about my tree again! 

     Here's what I did for this stage of the project:

     I wrapped each of the branches in plaster strips, purchased from my favorite craft store, Michael's.  Each roll of plaster coated fabric (It looks kind of like the bandages a hospital would wrap around an injured limb, on the bandages are infused with plaster pellets.  You cut strips of the stuff, dunk them into water (in a disposable container, NOT your sink - it would clog your drain!) and wrap them around your  piece of artwork.  The rolls of plaster fabric are about 8 inches wide, and I cut them into strips about 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide.  This tree took two complete rolls.  Each roll was under 10.00, but I used a coupon to purchase each one, so the cost wasn't bad.  

     In the picture above you can see the plaster roll packaging, as well as my disposable bucket (the bottom of a 1 gallon milk container, a pair of yuckied up scissor, and the ruler I was using for who knows what).  This is how far one roll got me.  As a matter of fact, this is where I was a few days before Easter. I wrapped the strips diagonally around the branches, putting a second coat in the opposite direction around branches that needed to be sturdier.

Today, I got smart and finished this project outside, because it's messy.  See how messy?  

OUTSIDE, I tell ya...

My jeans look like they contracted a bad case of white chicken pox.

     Not to mention that it's dusty.  So if it's windy and you can't stand upwind, wear a mask so you don't breath in the dust.

     I would have painted it today, but I wanted it to be COMPLETELY dry first so it's as sturdy as possible, and it doesn't get moldy inside.

Stay tuned!

Make a STURDY Easter Tree! Part 1

I love Easter decorations, but what do you do with those hanging eggs?  They're always so heavy and the only Easter trees I've seen in the store are these wimpy little things that look like they'd collapse under the weight of one egg.  In fact, I have a box of very pretty glass Easter eggs that I bought about 10 years ago, but I've never used them because I could never find strong enough tree to hold them.  This year, after working with metal screening for the school play and seeing how versatile it is, I decided to make my own STURDY Easter tree.  By the way, you can purchase ALL of this stuff (except the wire hangers) at Home Depot.

First, I purchased a circle of wood from Home Depot.  As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect.  It was about $5.49.  I gave it to my dad and asked him to attach a piece of wood to the center of it for the trunk of my tree.  (See the one screw in the bottom?  Simple!  Well, for my dad, anyway, but I'm sure you could do it, too. Thanks, Dad!)  

We used a 1x1" instead of a round dowel because I thought the flat sides would be easier to staple the screening to later.  Oh yes, I was right!!  

Next, I found some wire coat hangers, straightened them out and cut them into long strips for the branches.   I drilled holes at angles into the top of the trunk so I could attach the top of the tree.

Then I drilled more holes at angles along each of the four sides of the 1x1 for the branches.  Again, I was so glad I used the flat sided wood instead of a dowel.  I would have definitely drilled a finger otherwise! I had to drill some holes a few times to get the angles I wanted, but no big deal - the extra holes will be covered up in the end.

I hot glued the end of each piece of wire on the end before I stuck it into each hole I had drilled.  Each one set after just a minute or two.  

So far, all of this took maybe 45 minutes. 

Next, I attached extra branches to each main branch.  This took quite a bit longer.    I folded a piece of wire in half, or in a lopsided half, for support on the main branch.

  Then I bent each of the branches back into position depending on the angle I wanted.  Once I had the right configuration, I duct-taped each set of smaller branches onto the main branch. 

 When they were all attached and all the "holes" were filled, I wrapped each branch with wire screening, stapling it to the trunk in the center, and taping it with duct tape on the other end.  

Finally, I attached a thick strip of screening to the tree's platform and ran it up the tree, cutting slices in the sides where it ran into a branch.  I stapled where I could, and duct-taped the rest.  Did I mention that duct tape is amazing?  I probably could have covered this whole tree in white duct tape and called it done, but I really want the extra sturdiness that a layer of plaster sheets will give it.  

Look for part two in a few days.  I want this done before Easter!

Treasure Hunting in the Woods

This weekend, the family and I went out for a little walk in the woods nearby to do a little treasure hunting with our metal detector.  Let me be clarify right away - we had no idea what we were doing.

Right down the road from us is a house where, supposedly, George Washington once slept, so we thought we might get lucky and find something old...  maybe some old coins, or buttons from the Revolutionary War.

Or more likely, a hunk of metal from the 1960's.

Well, first we found some deer scat.  In case your wondering, that's the official term for deer poop.

...and some hoof prints.  

I found some of this stuff.  

If I was a deer, I'd sleep on it.  It looks nice and soft, doesn't it?

We crossed a few small streams, most of the time with the help of pre-placed planks and/or logs.

...and then we dug for treasure.  The beeper kept going off.  As soon as we'd finish one hole, we'd walk a few steps and find another possible site.  Of course, most of the beeps were caused by bbs.

Our big metal-detected treasures of the afternoon were a nail...

...and a couple more nail-like things.

My son got a lot of joke mileage out of the object on the top  in the picture above.  He's 13.  

That may explain it.  

More impressive was the moss....

the views of nature...

the few, weird plants

What IS this stuff?  It look like something that might eat meat.  I suspect it's skunk cabbage, but if you really do know for sure, feel free to comment...  I see it every spring.

Placing bets on who could jump a stream and NOT get wet was also fun.

Success!!  (THIS time...)

Poking around in the water was also fun, but would have been even better if it was warmer.

Turns out the real treasure was the walk itself.

Looking forward to next time.