Tinkerbell's Trick-Or-Treat

It was a good Halloween despite Adelaide having a cold. We took it easy yesterday and today and saved our strength for the big night.

Waiting for trick-or-treaters to arrive:
Excited!
Time for a quick picture with her pumpkin before heading out.
Some spooky sights along the way:We saw many kids out tonight, and most of our neighbors had their lights on and welcomed the kids. It felt much more cohesive in the neighborhood this year than in some previous years, and it was a great night for a spooky walk. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Prep

Nothing beats a Halloween costume which involves unbending a wire hanger. Except maybe using two wire hangers and some duct tape. Oh, and fabric paint and a Sharpie. And lots of stuffed animal stuffing foam.

Marge, I need some time alone with the sandwich

Dinner tonight was open-faced sandwiches: field roast and Irish cheddar on Essential Rosemary bread, with squash and kale for me, and carrots on the side for A. That is, until she saw me adding the veg to mine, and she followed suit. Delicious.

Party On, Excellent

It's been a most excellent week for the first graders in room 10/13. On Monday it was a SeaHawks Birthday Surprise celebration for a teacher who reached the 50 yard-line, complete with Seahawks hats and football drills in the gym.

Wednesday was "Room 10/13 Day," celebrating blending. Adelaide's class of general ed first graders spend a portion of their day together with special education peers who have a self-contained classroom which adjoins their class. Parents were invited to come and check out the activities the classes do together, including calendar, a group craft project, and blended music and PE. This special day also included headgear.Today, Friday, was a Mad-Hatter tea party for another milestone teacher birthday (names and numbers omitted to protect the innocent). The teachers executed a quick change mid-morning from normal clothes to become Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, and other assorted Mad-Hatters, while the students donned their own Mad-Hatter hats. "Tea" was served in real china cups which went home with the students for party favors, and scones and fruit were enjoyed by all.

In a time where the number of required assessments, the level of academic standards, and student achievement are all increasing rapidly, it is wonderful to have a school where the arts, social connections, and having FUN are so valued. I believe that our students achieve here not only because of the dedication of teachers to expect academic success from everyone and make accommodations for that success, but also because we celebrate and value the kids beyond their reading, writing, and math triumphs. There are many ways kids can succeed and feel good about themselves, and if they have fun at school, they just might find themselves learning along the way.

Hard Pressed to Think of a Single Good Reason Why This Would Be Necessary

Came across this during my lunchtime walk today.

Happy Long-Life Meal

Signing out of Yahoo earlier today I glanced at the headlines, as usual, and was drawn to this one:

McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months

It was fitting given yesterdays post about crap staying crap over time, so I clicked the link and viewed the photos of the Happy Meal, taken daily by the artist Sally Davies to determine if any change would occur in appearance over time. I think it would be curious to determine if there were any change in taste or nutrition content as well, but I supposed they'd be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to take a bite of something that looks the same after sitting around for 6 months.

Here's Day One:

And Day One Hundred Eighty:

I'd like to do a similar series of photographs of real food, to show the contrast. I think I would only have to do 6 weeks or less to have a completely transformed plate, whereas the only difference I could detect in these photos were that the french fries seem to have lost a little moisture, and the back of the bun got a sizeable crack in it.

Crappy Meal

Saw this walking home today:I was reminded of a bumper sticker I saw on campus when I was in grad school, which had the Gap logo on it. I was always confused as to why there would be Gap stickers all over the columns of Kane hall (I saw it frequently as I sat outside for lunch between classes) until one day I looked more closely and saw that it was a very clever adaptation of their logo. The G had been replaced by a "Cr." In a quick search online just now I didn't find the image for you, but I did find that the new image generated a website whose sole purpose was to create your own crappy Gap logo. I guess no matter the attempt at re-branding, some things are always just crap.

Sunday