Sunday Six - I forgot.

"Sunday Six!" is a game where Kelly asks us to have six questions answered. Remember, the idea is to post answers to the following six question, but the trick is to get your kids to answer them! If you don't have kids, use your imagination... Your pet, your neighbor, your elderly family member, your roommate, etc. Did you play? Let me and Kelly know so we can visit you. Today I was able to ask Sarah (SB - age 6) the questions. Sydney didn't want to play.

1. What does it mean to forget?

SB: It means you forget to do something and you don't do it.

2. What does it mean to be late?

SB: It means you are not in time for something and so you can't get there on time.

3. Why do people forget things?

SB: Because sometimes they don't listen and so they don't listen.

4. Why are people late sometimes?

SB: Because they don't like getting there on time or because they wake up late.

5. Who is usually late, Mommy or Daddy?

SB: Mom.

6. Did you forget something?

SB: Sometimes.

Introducing the Class of 2010

When I arrive in class on September 5th, these are the students I will be teaching. I graduated from college the year they were born. They are the last set of students I will teach who I would have been in school when I got prg if they had been my kids.

Recently, I saw a little snipet of a TV show that talked about Doogie Howser, MD being the first public blogger as he ended every show with a computerized diary entry. When Doogie Howser started in 1989, these kids were only 1 y.o. and won't remember the reference at all!

So, I introduce you to facts about the Class of 2010 as put together by the group at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST® FOR THE CLASS OF 2010

Members of the class of 2010, entering college this fall, were mostly born in 1988.

For them: Billy Carter, Lucille Ball, Gilda Radner, Billy Martin, Andy Gibb, and Secretariat have always been dead.

1. The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
2. They have known only two presidents.
3. For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.
4. Manuel Noriega has always been in jail in the U.S.
5. They have grown up getting lost in "big boxes."
6. There has always been only one Germany.
7. They have never heard anyone actually "ring it up" on a cash register.
8. They are wireless, yet always connected.
9. A stained blue dress is as famous to their generation as a third-rate burglary was to their parents'.
10. Thanks to pervasive headphones in the back seat, parents have always been able to speak freely in the front.
11. A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
12. Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.
13. Faux fur has always been a necessary element of style.
14. The Moral Majority has never needed an organization.
15. They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.
16. DNA fingerprinting has always been admissible evidence in court.
17. They grew up pushing their own miniature shopping carts in the supermarket.
18. They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.
19. "Google" has always been a verb.
20. Text messaging is their email.
21. Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say.
22. Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.
23. Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
24. Madden has always been a game, not a Superbowl-winning coach.
25. Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.
26. "Boogers" candy has always been a favorite for grossing out parents.
27. There has never been a "skyhook" in the NBA.
28. Carbon copies are oddities found in their grandparents' attics.
29. Computerized player pianos have always been tinkling in the lobby.
30. Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing religious organizations in the U.S.
31. They grew up in mini-vans.
32. Reality shows have always been on television.
33. They have no idea why we needed to ask "...can we all get along?"
34. They have always known that "In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups."
35. Young women's fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.
36. They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.
37. Brides have always worn white for a first, second, or third wedding.
38. Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.
39. "So" as in "Sooooo New York," has always been a drawn-out adjective modifying a proper noun, which in turn modifies something else.
40. Affluent troubled teens in Southern California have always been the subjects of television series.
41. They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.
42. Ken Burns has always been producing very long documentaries on PBS.
43. They are not aware that "flock of seagulls hair" has nothing to do with birds flying into it.
44. Retin-A has always made America look less wrinkled.
45. Green tea has always been marketed for health purposes.
46. Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.
47. Small white holiday lights have always been in style.
48. Most of them never had the chance to eat bad airline food.
49. They have always been searching for "Waldo."
50. The really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties.
51. Michael Moore has always been showing up uninvited.
52. They never played the game of state license plates in the car.
53. They have always preferred going out in groups as opposed to dating.
54. There have always been live organ donors.
55. They have always had access to their own credit cards.
56. They have never put their money in a "Savings & Loan."
57. Sara Lee has always made underwear.
58. Bad behavior has always been getting captured on amateur videos.
59. Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.
60. They never saw Bernard Shaw on CNN.
61. Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.
62. Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have always been luxury cars of choice.
63. Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.
64. LoJack transmitters have always been finding lost cars.
65. Diane Sawyer has always been live in Prime Time.
66. Dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale.
67. Disposable contact lenses have always been available.
68. "Outing" has always been a threat.
69. Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss has always been the perfect graduation gift.
70. They have always "dissed" what they don't like.
71. The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.
72. Richard M. Daley has always been the Mayor of Chicago.
73. They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water, and play games with, lest they die.
74. Ringo Starr has always been clean and sober.
75. Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

The mind of a 3 year old

Last night, we took the girls for haircuts. A few weeks ago, Sydney announced that she needed a shortcut because her hair was getting too long.

So, we chose a cute short haircut for her and insisted that our hair dresser cut it for her. She was, for some reason, insisting that she grow her hair long like her sisters.

As Sydney cried through her haircut (and the hairdresser and myself coming close too), we cut her hair a little shorter. We heard more tears for the 20 min drive home until it suddenly dawned that if she didn't put her hair behind her ears, she looked like her friend 'G.'

So, life is OK.

Here is the before and after pictures (oh, and as a bonus, you get me too when Sydney and I spent the day together).

Before:


After (note the remnants of tears)

Sunday Six - School.

"Sunday Six!" is a game where Kelly asks us to have six questions answered. Remember, the idea is to post answers to the following six question, but the trick is to get your kids to answer them! If you don't have kids, use your imagination... Your pet, your neighbor, your elderly family member, your roommate, etc. Did you play? Let me and Kelly know so we can visit you. Today I was able to ask Sarah (SB - age 6 yrs) and Sydney (SK - age 3 yrs) the Sunday 6.

Sydney wasn't much in the mood to play, so we asked Sarah first then Sydney who only answered a few questions. Here they are:

1. What are school supplies?

SK: I'm not doing any more. She answered number 6.

SB: scissors and crayons, markers, pipe cleaners.

2. Who usually buys the school supplies?

SK: I don't know. (her preschool does).

SB: The teachers (yes, I live in one of the few school districts in the U.S. where the parents don't buy school supplies)

3. What do you carry your supplies in?

SK: I don't know.

SB: A box - an art supply box.

4. Do you take your lunch to school?

SK: No, but sometimes I bring cereal.

SB: Sometimes.

5. What is your favorite school book?

SK: I'm not answering anymore questions. I already told you that. So no more questions for me.

SB: Junie B. Jones

6. Do you have a backpack? Is so, what does it look like?

SK: Mine is green and I also have a Bob the Builder backpack. And Sarah only has one and I have two.

SB: Yes. It's sort of a purpley color, it has wheels, it's really easy to wheel if you can't carry it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah had a really neat thing happen at school this week. At bedtime Thursday, she realized she left her puppy on the blacktop and the school playground during the summer program. I drove back by the school in case he was left outside, but could not find him. Since all the teachers know it's her puppy, I figured that someone put it in the office.

Joe called me Friday morning to say that puppy wasn't at school. We were both a little sad at the idea that he was lost. After all, this had been Sarah's constant companion since she started to walk.

When I got home Friday night (after girls night), Joe told me that puppy had been found. One of Sarah's friends had found puppy and brought him home with her so he wouldn't be lonely. She even gave the puppy a bath. It was too sweet.

I loved this idea that this little girl didn't want to leave Sarah's friend at school, but want to personally make sure that he was taken care of!

I hope everyone has a good week. My boss is out of town, so I might have more time to post this week.

Girls night!

Last year, my book group started a new tradition - in August we rent a cabin on the big lake and get together for Friday night.

It's a pot luck, and anyone who wants to spend the night can.

Everyone brings the books like want to propose for the next year and we all vote on them.

We have a blast together. There were 8 of us last night and there is not a single grouping that doesn't get along either as a group or individually.

One of my friends called me yesterday afternoon to announce that she wanted to leave earlier than we had planned and wanted to go swimming in the lake.

After we got everything unpacked and organized, four of us decided to go swimming. I've never been swimming in the big lake in the four years I've been here. It was so much fun playing in the water like little kids.

After dinner, we built a fire and sat around and discussed our books. The only thing missing last night was the amazing sunset.

Last year, we had to stop our discussions because the sunset was so amazing. Unfortunately, it was cloudy last night and we didn't get to see a cool sunset.

But, it was fun anyway.

I love girl's night.

Sunday Six - College

"Sunday Six!" is a game where Kelly asks us to have six questions answered. Remember, the idea is to post answers to the following six question, but the trick is to get your kids to answer them! If you don't have kids, use your imagination... Your pet, your neighbor, your elderly family member, your roommate, etc. Did you play? Let me and Kelly know so we can visit you. Today I was able to ask Sarah (SB - age 6 yrs) and Sydney (SK - age 3 yrs) the Sunday 6. I asked Sydney first so she was not influenced by her big sister's answers. Here they are:

1. What is college?

SK: That means you go away.

SB: Someplace where you go to school and you learn a lot of things and you can get the job that you want.

2. What are the names of some colleges?

SK: I don't know.

SB: "H" College ("H" is our home town), is that a real one? Middle School College, I'm just making up some. First Grade College? Long Grade College.

3. Is a college the same thing as a university?

SK: Yea.

SB: I don't know.

4. What is a major?

SK: That means, I don't know.

SB: A job?

5. What do people do in college?

SK: Play and sing and paint and read.

SB: Write stuffffffff (put a lot of f's)

6. Do you want to go to college and if so, where?

SK: No.

SB: Yes, "H" College.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday, Sarah had her first soccer game. Last year, they just practiced for 1/2 hour then scrimaged for 1/2 hour. This year, games are 4 quarters and there is a ref. I didn't expect it. Her team lost, but they did a great job and never got discouraged.

We had an hour to kill between the game and pictures, so we headed to toy store to buy a birthday present. By the time we finished with the game, the errand and the pictures, it was amost 1:30. We were starving. The girls had done great, so we went to McDonalds. Sydney was asking why they got a toy. After thinking for a few minutes, Sarah says "So kids will want to come!" That child is too smart.

Here are a couple of pictures from her game. - that I'll upload later when Blogger lets me.

Just three more weeks

Just three more weeks - sounds like a long time, probably isn't as long as I need.

I've spent all summer thinking that I'd have all the time in the world to work on revising my class. I need to do a bit of work on my class. Last year I taught the class meeting one night per week. This year, I'm meeting two days a week - so I need rethink how to arrange my readings and class activities to split them.

One fun thing - we have a couple of speakers coming to campus this fall who fit my topic. SO - I get to replace a couple of class sessions with having the students attend the speaker instead.

I'm still struggling with the first big paper they have to write. The paper topic I've used the past 2 semesters just doesn't work. It didn't work the first semester but I couldn't figure out what else to have them write about.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

The way my course is set up, we look at the cultures of business, politics and religion. We look at the barriers to change each organization faces and how understanding the culture helps overcoming these barriers when attempting to implement change in the organization.

For my business paper, I've had the students look at their opinion on employee theft - what constitutes theft, how do you punish, how do you prevent theft without creating an environment of suspicion.

What I discovered is that most freshmen still have a very absolute way of viewing the world. It's very black and white for them.

I've thought about using the Eron case to have them write a paper, but I'm having a hard time constructing a two sided question that is researchable.

I can always fall back on the one paper, but I think I'll have to restructure the class so it's not the first paper they write - they need something to instill confidence - not insecurity.

Any ideas from the peanut gallery welcome.

Oh yes, in three weeks by oldest child becomes a first grader and my second child a preschooler - it's going too fast.

Sunday Six - Sugar and Spice

"Sunday Six!" is a game where Kelly asks us to have six questions answered. Remember, the idea is to post answers to the following six question, but the trick is to get your kids to answer them! If you don't have kids, use your imagination... Your pet, your neighbor, your elderly family member, your roommate, etc. Did you play? Let me and Kelly know so we can visit you. Today I was able to ask Sarah (SB - age 6 yrs) and Sydney (SK - age 3 yrs) the Sunday 6. I asked Sydney first so she was not influenced by her big sister's answers. Here they are:

1. What is a spice?

SK: That's Sprite, right? Sprite is really spicy.

(for some reason the girls started calling carbination in beverages "spicy")

SB: Something that's spicy

2. Do you like things that are spicy?

SK: Uh uh (No).

SB: Sometimes

3. Name some foods that are spicy.

SK: Sprite, I call sprite.

SB: Cars?

4. Which is better, sugar or spice?

SK: Spice

SB: Sugar isn't good for you
ME: This isn't about which is better, it's which do you like better.
SB: Sugar

5. Can spicy food make you cry?

SK: Yea, it can.

SB: No.

6. What is not spicy?

SK: Apple juice is not spicy

SB: Sandwiches.

One for me. One for . . .

This year, I decided to try to grow tomatoes. I love them, but the grocery store ones are almost always mealy and tasteless.

I have had a good size tomato on my plant for the past few weeks. The other day, I noticed it was finally turning red! YIPPEE. Today, I discovered it on the patio half eaten.

I guess I now need to pick them when the turn red and let them ripen in the window.