My "Amazing Race" Recap

Another part of the Saturday night festivities were games run by a group that E is a part of. As I mentioned earlier, E was put in charge of making an Amazing Race for people of all ages to participate in (which actually meant I was put in charge).

I was a little stressed out about the whole thing. I had no ideas. And with a crazy week of work and socializing before the trip to Duluth, planning for The Amazing Race got put off until the last minute (no surprises there for anyone who know me). So while E was at his conference, I was busy running around the hotel coming up with the game, and getting all of the materials ready for the race.

I doubt the activity I created was anything like the show, but it was a hit with crowd. Everyone started in the conference center with a little competition. The groups who did better got to start earlier. E gave groups their first clue, and at each stop they had to answer a question and then pick up their next clue. Each spot had a gift back with the envelopes containing the clues. The clues sent the teams all around the hotel and back to the conference center where they started. When they got back they had one more contest- throwing 10 Skittles into a cup. I didn't see this part, but E said it was incrediably funny to watch the adults who just got done running all around the hotel try to throw Skittles. The teams I did see while they were running around the hotel were really in to the game. One woman completed the race barefoot, including a run through the hotel parking lot!

I think it could be a really fun activity to do with a group of kids at a birthday party or even a family reunion.

Another Wonderful Weekend

E had a work conference in Duluth this weekend, so I tagged along for the fun. For the Saturday night social hour, the woman running the conference hired various "street entertainers" for the Mardi Gras themed party, including a fortune teller, a judge giving harmonica lessons, and my personal favorite, a caricature artist. He had a line that kept going and going (he actually stayed on more than two hours extra to draw all the people who wanted to get their pictures done).

Didn't our picture turn out great? I think I'm going to frame it and put it up in our house. Check out more of his work here.

On a side note, one of E's coworkers had a great idea, which I may or may not steal. Scan in the caricature and use the picture on our Christmas card this year. Wouldn't that be cute!

What a wonderful weekend!

Saturday night E and I went ice skating at The Depot, an old train station in downtown Minneapolis. I haven't laughed so much in a long time. E hasn't been ice skating since he was probably in elementary school, so he was pretty scared at first. Before we left the house, he estimated a 30 percent chance of a major injury. But, as he was happy to point out after he got a little more comfortable, he's faster than me.

Unfortunately, although I remembered my camera, it did not have working batteries, so all I have are blurry Blackberry pictures. Here's a taste of the fun...

Crafting Fun

I am teaching in a new school this year. The school is a middle school, with grades 6-8, while my previous school was 7-9. I student taught with 8th graders, and haven't taught the younger grades until this year. Teaching 6th and 7th grade has been challenging for me this year, so I'm always looking for new things to try with those classes especially.

A few weeks ago another teacher mentioned how well her 6th grade classes did making 3-D posters. I had planned for my students to make posters today about ancient Greece. As I was leaving the house this morning, I remembered the 3-D idea, so I quickly grabbed my old "Craft Fun Box." The box contained the most random craft supplies, most of which I haven't touched in years- old beads, a variety of ribbons, glitter, foam shapes, fuzzy balls, etc.

After I introduced the poster assignment to my class today, I told them they would have a few extra supplies to use, and showed them the different things from my craft fun box. They were so excited. Every single child in the room. And, although it was a little overwhelming to monitor a bunch of 6th graders with glitter and glue, I had a blast! And the posters are starting to come along nicely too.

As an added bonus, letting the kids use up my craft supplies means I have an excuse to replenish my stock :)

2 months

Another reason to love E's new secretary? His outlook calandar for today includes this note, "2 months to anniversary. Start thinking!"

Help with the Amazing Race?

E has been put in charge of coming up with an Amazing Race style activity for a family friendly work event a couple weeks from now, which really means that I have been put in charge of creating the activity. We will be at a hotel out of town, based in a ballroom. Neither one of us has ever seen the show, so I really need some help!

E has suggested maybe putting together a sudoku game (or possibly crossword puzzle) where groups have to go to different locations in the hotel (and possibly complete some kind of activity) to find the clue or answer.

Has anyone ever done this kind of activity before or have any ideas about what to do?

A good looking man?

I am a teacher. A middle school teacher. The most common responses when I tell people what I do are, "I'm sorry," or "You must be a saint." But really, I like my job.*

Part of keeping my sanity as I teach these energetic middle is being able to laugh at them sometimes instead of letting them make me upset when they get a little bit off task.**

This weekend E and I were watching the John Adams series by HBO and it reminded me of one of my favorite funny school stories from a couple years ago.

At the time, I was teaching an 8th grade government class, and we were talking about the presidency.

One of my students commented on how ugly she thought President Bush was. My response to her was something like, "Look in the back of your textbook at the pictures of all the presidents. There haven't been a lot of good looking presidents."

Another of my students raised her hand, so I called on her. "There have been some good looking presidents," she said, "I mean that one guy, George Washington, he was HOT!"

Comments like this*** are the perks of my job :)

*If you talked to E about this, he might tend to disagree, because he is the one who listens to all my complaining about my job. But I do like it, I promise!

**My mom says I'm a teacher because I'm a little bit of a control freak. She may or may not be correct.

***And not working in the summer, on any major holidays, or many of the minor holidays.