I just watched this video and thought it was really cool.

Stow That Religious Talk

I was having a convo with the hub about Scientology and looked up some info on wikipedia. A certain quote (the following) brought about a most hilarious response from the Kevin.

See here: "...Scientology is legally recognized as a tax-exempt religion in the United States and some other countries, and the Church of Scientology emphasizes this as proof that it is a bona fide religion. In other countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Scientology does not have comparable religious status."

Kevin's response: "It's because we have freedom of religion in this country... mistake number one."

Sweet Links to Share

This will be a random collection of links that are awesome. Please enjoy.

When Kevin and I travel to Europe (after saving up some pennies), we will be touring with one of Rick Steves' pals because they'll provide one heckuva trip. Perhaps you'd also like to tour with them? Explore here.

I found this site after seeing an awesome picture at nationalgeographic.com. Super interesting and extremely aesthetically pleasing.

On a slightly different note: this site rocks anyone's socks off for primary sources from American history. They even sell DVDs and CDs! I've not been able to buy any yet... but I have big plans.

This site was designed by a teacher at Central Academy (where I'm currently working) who is, in a word, amazing. This woman wears so many hats in the building and does a wonderful job with all of her responsibilities. She developed this website as a resource for teachers using the SIOP model for teaching English Language Learners and it has a butt-ton of great links.

I happened upon this site while lesson planning for a science session with my 7th/8th graders. It was something they really liked exploring.

This site provides a bunch of different techniques for book-making with kids. I've made a few with some lovable lil' hoolies and they had a great time. Two thumbs up.

This site is just plain fun.

I was introduced to this site by one of my 6th graders during a computer lab session. Challenging and fun.

I feel like there's something I'm forgetting to include but I just can't think of what it could be! If/when I remember I will insert it.

Missing Spring

I have grown tired of winter. Snowfall has become an almost daily nuisance of late and snow days (which mean no work and no pay) and high heating bills every month have been wearing on my nerves. There are many obviously annoying things about winter: driving on ice, having to wear boots, scraping my car, etc. It's been many years since I've wanted to go sledding or have a snowball fight or build a snowman (without going along for the ride with others). As far as I'm concerned, snow is nice to look at and that's about all. I like seeing the first snow and I like a lot of the wintery things I associate with snow (Christmas, family time, ho-cho, etc.) but beyond that I'm just not into it anymore.

That said, I'm oh-so-ready for spring to arrive! I'm cheered daily by the fact that I can still see the sun when I leave work and that weather reports are predicting increasing temperatures. It means spring is (finally) on the way! I'm so looking forward to springtime smells and just can't wait for the first thunderstorm of the year. More than anything else, though, I long to open the balcony doors in our apartment and let the fresh air in. Right now opening the doors is not only nonsensical (it's stinkin' cold out) but also not possible (as we had to seal them up with that shrink wrap stuff to keep the heat in and attempt to save money). I like being able to go out onto our balcony, leave the doors open to welcome breezes and I have birdseed and peanuts just waiting for the critters that come to visit us.

Seasons are one of the things that I love about living in Michigan... I think I would really miss the cold snowy conditions were I to move away. But I can definitely say that (every year) winter and I are not friends as it is on its way out.