Back to work after sick days for all

Sometimes you get lucky and the day you decide you're calling in sick tomorrow, school is canceled for three days. With a weekend sandwiched in between, I've been able to recover from my cold (not H1N1, as all the students believed they had). I hope everyone else was also able to recharge, and that my 10th graders will be ready for their massive test on the first theme in their lit book. Okay, that might be too much to ask.

Admittedly, nobody can spend five straight days just studying or grading papers while recovering from a cold. One is bound to fit in a trip to the mall or the movies. The idea is just not to reinfect oneself in the process. My husband and his parents kindly took the kids to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D while I enjoyed a little retail therapy. I didn't find the penny loafers I was looking for, but did splurge on a more comfortable pair of comfort dress heels. My feet are thanking me as I write.

The best thing about having five days off? This is going to be a short school week. Ample time to regroup and wrap up a few unfinished items--and locate the new hand sanitizer dispensers to curtail the inevitable reinfection cycle of this nasty little bug called the common cold.

First week of school leaves me. . .grading papers

Having passed my ABCTE with a "distinguished" score, I began my school year at North Valley Academy on Tuesday. Our history teacher also just passed his World History ABCTE, and he, too, received a "distinguished" mark.

I teach about 100 students in grades 7-12. I have English and Journalism. The latter class has been an enormous thrill, partly because you might say I've been preparing for that one for a while (just search my name at magicvalley.com, the Times-News' Web site). I have an awesome group of little journalists who know about current events and who can't wait to write their first articles. I've been putting them through their paces a bit first, though. Inverted pyramid and all that.

Okay, they're probably reading this, so I'd better cut this short.

I love my school! Check out NVA's blog here.

Moss Mountain mice featured on blog

My sister Meg makes these adorable felt creatures which were just featured on a craft blog, Creative with Clay. The featured mice are the exquisite Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. I've ordered a custom wolf and chicken for my daughter's birthday. These critters make great gifts! Visit Moss Mountain here.

ABCTE test date looms on horizon

The big day is August 11, though you wouldn't know it to look at me. I'm doing everything but studying: sorting used books for my bookseller husband, experimenting with my new laptop, hopping in the wading pool with the kiddies. . .It's 90 degrees out there!

I'm procrastinating other project deadlines as well. One is a presentation on Great Expectations, a character education curriculum based in Oklahoma. The training was wonderful and I'm excited to put what I learned into practice. What's special about Great Expectations is that it's common sense and it's a myriad of ideas all in one place. If you're considering it for your school, send everyone to the training. It will be worth the money just to get every teacher on the same page.

I have other deadlines looming, too, but it's hard to feel too guilty about procrastinating when your two-year-old son just mastered his tricycle. There's still a lot of summer to enjoy.

ABCTE reading list

Before school starts I plan to take the ABCTE's secondary English test so I'll have my certification in that area. As of now I have my elementary certificate (through the American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence) and a 9th-grade English endorsement from the State of Idaho. If you're not familiar with ABCTE, it allows college graduates who didn't major in Education to become certified to teach. You take some heavy-duty tests then teach under a mentor for two years. Check it out at abcte.org to see if it's accepted in your state.

For my test I have a lengthy list of classic literature to read. Most of it I'm familiar with, having read it in high school or college (or in my leisure time as a homeschooled teen). I do have some catching up and reviewing to do, though. Summer reading, here I come!

Right now I'm reading Black Boy, by Richard Wright; Ben Franklin's autobiography; Heart of Darkness, by Joesph Conrad; and various poems and short stories in between. One of the fun parts has been rediscovering my favorite poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Looking forward to many other discoveries as I prepare for test taking this summer.