Identity Crisis

Me-"Esther please turn around and pay attention to class."

Esther-"my name is not Esther!"

Me very confused - "oh well what is it then?"

Esther-"Estherlyne!"

Me-"OK so what name do you want me to call you then?"

Esther-"call me Esther! "

alrighty then kiddo, Esther it is...

STRONG

Very interesting thought.....

"Being strong doesn't mean you have to feel strong inside. In fact, being strong means admitting when you don't feel it. God is our strength and He can walk us through any memory, any raw emotion, any deep scar. They are not to be feared, because He has them in His hands." Christi Armstrong

Sodom Pond 4 Mile Run

Well I checked something else off of my to-do list yesterday. I ran my first race in Vermont! The run went well and it was a great way to see what kind of shape I was in. The course was a 4 mile dirt road loop around a pond in the VERY country town of Admant, Vermont. The route had nice rolling hills and gave runners a magnificnent tour of country farms and pastures, showed glimpses of the rapidly changing fall foliage happening in the woods, and ran runners past intricate mazes of maple syrup tubing intertwined throughout roadside maple groves. There were only 30 runners in the field but it was neat to find out later that a former Female World Champion Ironman was in the pack! It was a very low key race. With only a $5 entry fee there were no t-shirts but i really liked how I got to choose a prize for my finish position instead of getting another plastic trophy! After the awards ceremony the club invited runners to partake of FREE pasta and garlic bread! It was delicious and getting to talk to some of the different runners really allowed me to experience the true culture of being in Vermont. Yep, a 4 mile run, 2.5 pounds of honey, free supper, and being introduced to some really cool Vermonters was an awesome way to end a Wednesday!

A glimpse of the fun!



Part of the race course.....



The prizes I had to choose from! Some were more tempting then others....



The obvious best choice! 2.5 pounds of Vermont honey!



Free food!!!!!



Post race treat to myself! Amazing gelato!

Good Wednesday!

Exploring Nature

*names have been changed*

A couple days ago it was a beautiful sunny day so I took my K-3 PE class outside to run a few laps around the parking lot to warm up for class. I learned a little bit about the level of focus kids that age have.

"Alright kids when I say go I want you to walk, jog, or run around the parking lot 4 times."

"Okay, Miss Marlier!"

"Ready, GO!"

Running running, walking, walking, jog, jog......"No kids go AROUND the parking lot not through the middle"

After about 2 laps the kids start walking more to catch their breath. Meanwhile I spot Leroy and Joe* digging around in one of the flower beds in the middle of the parking lot.

"Hey boys, what are you doing?"

"Look, its a Caterpillar!!"

"Wow that is great, why don't you let me hold him and you finish warming up, OKAY?"

"Okay, Miss Marlier...run, run, walk, jog, jog, stop at a different flower bed"

"Did you find another Caterpillar, Joe?"

Leroy responds, "I think Joe wants to explore nature instead of run today"

Yes Leroy I think you are right.

Ahhh nature!

No laughing matter!

One thing I was taught when becoming a "real" teacher was that it is never good to laugh at your students when they are performing a task incorrectly or poorly....or both. Sometimes I have a hard time with that concept. Today for example my students where performing a 5 minute jump rope test. I had to turn around several time to keep from laughing at the very interesting and inefficient technique that both of these big bad macho guys were using to jump.....wow!
Anyways now I know what we need to practice more often....jump roping coordination and maybe keeping a straight face :-)