Sunday, October 23, 2005

Wax Paper Over Watercolor on Cardstock

Today has been incredibly productive between lesson planning, packing for the big move, and playing a very fun game of Ultimate Frisbee in which I learned a new throw. (If you ask, I will gladly demonstrate.)

More than anything else, though, today was a good day for ideas. I had a great brainstorming session with my roommate that lead to some feasible options for reaching my students, who have gone slightly mad under the leadership of one renegade ten-year-old boy. I also came up with a fun literacy lesson that integrates art by building very large spiders, which my students will get a kick out of because they believe that I am terrified of spiders. In actuality, I am only manageably afraid.

One of the fun parts about packing is finding things you love, sharing random stories with your roommate, and re-discovering clothing. My roommate found a beautiful envelope she had made and painted. She said, "It's wax paper over watercolor on cardstock." I love the random crafts she comes up with, because it reminds me that there are so many things in the world I have not been exposed to. That's necessary for me, especially because I am occasionally terrified that I will never again hear a new song that moves me, read a book that leaves me in awe, or have a good belly-laugh at a surprising joke. Or, as in recent weeks, I fear that I will never have an idea that will give me hope for the desperate situation my students live in. So, here's to the spirit of new ideas and progress.

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