There's a Mouse in the House (Finis)

 So the cats remained non-committal about the whole mouse-removal part of their job description and meanwhile I kept seeing the little critter scurry over and behind the TV. "What are we going to do?" demanded Heidi, and in response I shook my head.

"It'll come to me," I said.

Heidi knelt on the floor with a flashlight. "I see it!" she reported. It was sitting on the cables and wires in the 2 inch hole in the back of the TV stand. "Oop! There it goes!" 

The mouse had retreated through another cable pass-through into one side of the stand with a closed cabinet. I grabbed some packing tape and sealed the hole, trapping it behind the door. As the mouse explored its new situation, its increasingly panicky jumps and scampers finally attracted the attention of the cats, who were riveted to the TV stand for the rest of the night.

"At least we know where it is," I said, "and it can't get out of there. We have some time to figure it out."

An hour or so later, the solution finally came to me. "I know what to do!" I told Heidi. "We can take all the stuff off and out of the cabinet, drag it outside, and open the door. Then it's up the mouse,"

Satisfied that we had a plan, I slept soundly last night and woke this morning with determination. It would be good to organize all the devices and wires and what-not, and it would be great to be rid of the mouse. I set to work unplugging cables and dusting shelves and moving the turntable, the DVD/VHS player, the DVR, the game system, and the pair of streaming cubes. At last the cabinet was empty except for the side that held the mouse. 

Heidi and I lifted and dragged the awkward triangular-shaped piece of furniture up over the step to the dining room and then through the entryway to the front door. Snow was falling and a frigid wind blew. I convinced myself that instinct would lead the mouse to find shelter far away from this house where it was threatened and trapped.

At last we were on the front stoop and Heidi untaped the door and opened it. Her eyes widened. "It's right there!" she said and started banging on the cabinet to get it to leave. Something small and gray landed at my feet. It was a dead mouse.

"Seriously? After all that?" Heidi said. "I guess we must have scared it to death.

There's a Mouse in the House (Part 1)

 Our cat, Tibby, leapt to the top of the TV stand and pounced over to the mantle. "Don't you do it!" I warned her, for she has a history of jumping to places she shouldn't be and knocking stuff around. But there was something in her alert posture and intent gaze that suggested she had more in her sights than mayhem. Did I bring a bug in with the firewood? I guessed, and leaned over to peer at the underside of the mantle. Seeing nothing at first, my attention was drawn to a flick of a movement to my right. Something long and thin hung from the wrought iron bracket supporting the mantle. Is it a lizard? I thought, but then I saw the creature clearly-- it was a fat little field mouse! When it was clear that I saw it, the mouse dove back behind the TV, and that is where it still is. We have been telling both Tibby and Milo that this is the moment they were born for! But so far? They seem unconvinced.

Somewhere Out There

It was my friend Mary's idea to have our students create micro video presentations to celebrate the end of the essay unit. Using a popular education platform, the kids were tasked with making videos between 60 and 90 seconds showcasing their writing and ideas. Sharing their video with the group was optional, but showing their faces on it was not.

Until I hit play on the first video, I don't think I realized how much I longed to see these kids with whom I have worked so closely and yet never met in person. But after five months of faceless interaction, watching their recordings and hearing those familiar voices come from real people in real places? 

Well, it kind of choked me up a bit. 

Not Quite Camera Ready

When I checked my camera image this morning before my first class of the day, I thought I looked a bit rough. My a.m. routine has been rearranged to make time for a live yoga and meditation class, and so I have been showering at night. All well and good, but sometimes? Well, let's just say my hair doesn't always look as peaceful as I may feel after chanting. 

The kids won't care, I shrugged as I brushed my bangs back and hit admit all on the call. Imagine my surprise when the assistant principal appeared on the screen. As my evaluator, she was there to observe the class. 

Fortunately? Her focus was on my teaching and not my hair, and we spent an enjoyable 10 minutes going through the chat snap together with the kids.

Comment Cards

As part of the second quarter reflection I asked the kids in my English class the following: Tell me something about your learning style. How does our class fit you? How could our class be better for you?

As always, the insights of the students are telling. Notably, they seem generally satisfied, despite the challenges of distance learning. My colleagues and I are working hard to provide a productive learning environment, and for the most part, it seems to be working for most of the kids. 

Here's what they have to say so far:

I honestly love this class. It has a supportive writing community. I love how we get to know each other. I feel like I fit in here and nothing could make the class better.

This class fits well. The chat snaps are my favorite. But it would be better if we learned to write stories.

I learn by listening. This class fits me.

Well, I am an in person learner. I lose focus sometimes in my home because my environment distracts me.

One thing that helps me learn is music, and I work efficiently by myself. Our class fits me perfectly, I feel comfortable and happy.

My learning style is just adapting to how the teacher teaches me. I think this class fits me because I love writing.

My learning style is visual. Class would be better for me if there were more visuals, like videos.

I like this class, because my teacher gives me a lot of time and we get to pick what we want to write.

This class kind of fits my learning style, although I would like to not use breakout rooms.

Give us more time to work.

Our class is good for me because we go at the right class. It would be better if it were not virtual.

My learning style is kind of weird. I lose focus easily, but this class fits me well. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I like to work in different ways. Sometimes I like groups and sometimes not. In this class I feel like I can work alone, because I can ask a lot of questions when I need to.

I learn better when there is an example. It helps me a lot. This class would be better if we had a fun activity at the end.

I'm a good listener. This class is good.

I like our class. It's calm and fun to work in.

This class is very fun and easy, considering how much I like to write.

My learning style is to just look and listen and write stuff down. This class fits me because I'm having fun learning. The people here are nice, and there's a good balance between fun and learning.

My learning style is I just listen and if I have a question I ask it. I think how you're teaching the class is fine.

This class is calm, but at the same time noisy. I love the chat snap, it gets us to communicate together, and reply at times.

I like talking a lot. Maybe we could have more group activities.

This class stresses me out.

I think our class is fun to come to because I like writing.

I like to work on paper, and this class fits me well like that. We also practice certain stuff I need to learn.

I'm more of a visual learner. I sometimes can't understand things if I don't see an example.

I usually like to do stuff on my own. I don't like to be slowed down. This class works like that.

I am a visual learner and you provide a lot of images to help with work.

First of all I would like this class to be a little easier, please!

I work best alone.

This class helps me by giving me things to look at instead of just instructions, since it makes it a bit easier to come up with ideas.

My learning style is solo. I like working alone or 1:1 with a teacher. This class fits me because I always have that option.

I enjoy working alone, but I don't mind groups. Screenshots help me take notes.

I learn with pictures. This class fits me good.

I prefer talking to writing.

I usually record the lesson so I can take good notes later.

This is my favorite class because I love writing and I want to become an author someday. 

Would Eat Again

You gotta cook what you have, so on the menu this evening?

Bratwurst, sauerkraut, cabbage, onions, and cheese on sourdough pastry.

It was a little iffy, but the fresh oregano really pulled it all together.

And the beer didn't hurt either!

Not Optional

"May I have your ID?" the masked young woman at the health department asked. I was at one of the many many checkpoints on my way to receiving a COVID vaccine, and I was prepared, I handed her my drivers license without hesitation. "Oh!" she said. "Hello!"

I cocked my head. She looked familiar, but the mask--

"I'm Molly," she told me. "I took your class a long time ago."

I knew who she was then, and I giggled at her choice of verbs. "Sixth graders don't usually "take" English, though, do they?" I teased her. "It's more like they're forced!"

"Right," she shrugged, "but I liked it!"

Germination

At this time of year our mailbox fills up with seed catalogs and visions of warmer weather and garden bounty float through our fireside dreams. I spent some time yesterday afternoon circling seed descriptions and dog-earring their pages to organize my orders, but when I went online, company after company had a disclaimer about how delayed shipping would be on account of how high the demand for their products are this year. It seems that early seed starting is yet another pandemic-driven craze. I can hardly get upset about the appreciation our culture is recently showing for slowing down and doing things the old-fashioned way; I just hope my seeds get here in time!

Winter Weekends

The sun was shining but the day was frigid, and so I built a fire a little past noon and it's been crackling cheerfully ever since. I couldn't allow myself to sit around all day, though, and so a little yoga here, a little dance workout there, some fireplace popcorn, and even a toasted marshmallow on chocolate drizzled pretzel thins punctuated those stretches of lounging by the fire. And now that darkness has fallen and Saturday is well on its way to Sunday, I'm feeling pretty content about the way I spent my day.

Dr. B.

I received an email invitation to join Jill Biden in a virtual celebration of teachers yesterday. Curiosity and residual Inauguration warm fuzziness spurred me to join, and so at 6PM I followed the link, prepared to hear our newly minted first lady and the presidents of the NEA and AFT deliver some rah rah remarks. But my cynicism, forged through years of listening to non-educators in such positions of influence and authority oscillate between patronizing and dismissive and hostile, faded slightly with the strong and authentic voices of these three women. And when Jill Biden issued her closing call to arms declaring, "Educators this is our moment! Because we know how to turn chaos into something beautiful. We do it every day in our classrooms." I knew I was listening to a real teacher.

Boom Boom Boom

As the Inauguration celebration on TV was nearing its end, I went upstairs to see if I could make out the two columns of light being projected from the National Mall. 

When I stepped out onto my balcony, what I saw instead was a blaze of sparks and the vibrant glare of rockets and bright streamers bursting in the sky! The broadcast must have been a few minutes delayed, because there were no such pyrotechnics behind Katy Perry when I left the couch. 

I opened the door to call down to Heidi just as she shouted up to me: "They have fireworks!" And so enthralled we watched them together as they lit up the sky, even brighter than the moon, moon, moon.

Buh Bye

I confess that I stepped out on my balcony, stood on tiptoe, and craned to catch a glimpse of Marine One as it departed the White House this morning around 8:20. It would not have been impossible-- the tip of the Washington Monument is sometimes just within sight to the northeast, through the tall Virginia Pines and over the ridge-- but today as I stood under a pale blue sky in the thin January sunshine, I saw nothing but a few puffy clouds. 

He was gone, and I could barely contain my glee.

HOPE

Call me a wimp, but I have found the coarse and confrontational tone of our national politics unpleasant for the last, oh, four years or so. Think less of me if you must, but I much prefer dignity and inclusive rhetoric and symbolism to crass displays and hateful words. Perhaps I am naive to believe that such things matter, much less signal substance and change, but please! 

Let me enjoy it for a day.

Smaklig Måltid!

In an expansion of my sourdough repertoire, yesterday I baked a dense rye bread, similar to the Scandinavian staple that is often the base of those open-faced sandwiches so common to that region. It was a heavy dough, fortified with stout and laced with almonds, pumpkin seeds, and flax meal, that I turned into my pullman pan to rise. The recipe called for baking it for over 2 hours, but the direction that the internal temperature should reach 208 was helpful guidance. Once out of the pan, the block of bread was to be wrapped in a clean towel for at least 24 hours. This morning, it was at last ready to slice, and I was ready to top it. We've had butter, avocado, and smoked salmon, tuna and egg, poached shrimp with lobster mayo and dill-- all hearty and filling in an unmistakably Nordic way.

Not for Granted

This is the time of year when we are usually in our Oscar mode. With the holidays behind us and a long dreary winter ahead we turn our attention to the movies and eating out. We are typically joined in this diversion by my brother and sister-in-law and my two nephews, now adults in the mid 20s. We try to see as many of the movies that may nominated until the nominations, and then we double down to see all of the nominees. While we're at it, we plan meals for after the show at restaurants we've been wanting to try. It all crescendos with a weekend at the beach spent together to watch the Academy Award Ceremony.

That is so not happening this year. The six of us lamented the situation as we sat outside visiting around the fire pit this afternoon. "Maybe we could have raclette and do an outdoor show?" I suggested.

"I don't even know what's in contention," my brother said.

"Me neither!" I answered, "When do the nominations even come out?"

It turns out that the actual ceremony has been pushed all the way to late April, so the nominations aren't until March 15.

"By that time," I said, "maybe we can actually see some of the films at the movies! And possibly go out to eat."

"It might be too soon," my brother said, "but I hope not. You should have seen the rapture on your face when you were imagining it."

Grumpy Cat

Lucy hasn't been entirely herself lately, and we haven't been able to figure out why. 

Closer observation has revealed that our cat, Milo, formerly of placid and somewhat slow disposition, has come into his own as the only male and the house. Now, when he is displeased not only does he swat and charge our other cat, Tibby, but he also blocks Lucy from stairwells and doorways, swatting and charging at her as well. Although he is only a quarter of her weight, he does have claws, and Lucy seems to be taking his aggression pretty seriously. In fact, he recently growled at me because I was cleaning something from Tibby's fur and she was fussing. So, maybe I should start again...

Milo hasn't been entirely himself lately, and we haven't been able to figure out why. 

Holding Out for What?

"I want to believe," said the woman down the way from me in the hair salon, "that their hearts are in the right place, but..." She sighed and shook her tinfoil covered head.

She was talking about teachers. 

She was talking about me. 

In her estimation, "a few vocal ones are holding out." That was a problem because her house was too small. Even though she was a stay at home mom, she and her husband and child "were on top of each other all the time." And that was uncomfortable.

The stylist nodded, sympathetically and noted that she had been working in person for months.

"Right!" her client agreed. "It's their job!"

Balancing Act

There's not a lot about virtual teaching that beats in-person, but there are a few things. Today, as we near the end of our unit, students are predictably in one of three places on their summative assignment: behind, slightly behind or on track, and ahead. That hasn't changed at all.

In the classroom, I might group students according to their progress and move from table to table to assist and keep them on track. Any help or intervention I would be able to provide would be interspersed with classroom management, making sure that kids were doing as they should and neither distracting themselves nor the other students near them. 

Today? I popped the kids who were behind and ahead into breakout rooms, and kept the other students on the main call, which I monitored from my iPad. With the students who had a finished draft, I shared my screen and went through a slide show on revision that matched up with the checklist they would use independently. Meanwhile, the students who were behind shared their outlines with me, and I was able to interact with them both verbally and on the outline itself, making corrections or suggestions as they worked. In between, I checked in with the kids in the middle, answering questions and encouraging progress. 

Was every student focused and on task every minute? No. But their inattention didn't negatively impact the group dynamic, and by checking in with them frequently, I was able to help with their focus. At the end of the day, I felt like my three ring circus was ready for the road.

Just Ask

We recently updated our FireTV to a newer model with a few more features. Despite being aware of the privacy issues, I have found it fun and entertaining to command the device to turn on, turn off, turn up, and turn down the TV as well as to request specific programs.

This morning I was working with my students as they make the final push toward writing and revising their argument essays. "Alexa?" I asked a student in my assertive teacher voice, "Please share your outline with me."

Even as the human Alexa was complying with my request, a voice from the living room replied, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to do that." 

I laughed to myself as I was looking over Alexa's writing.

"Alexa!" I said. "This looks great! Nice work!"

"Thank you," my student and my FireTV replied in unison.

High Hopes

When I asked my students who their favorite super hero is for the chat snap this morning, I may have raised their hopes a little high. "Oh man!" one kid said as we were talking about their answers, "I can't wait to see what the lesson is!"

"Uhhhh," I hesitated, " I think you might be a little disappointed. Let me share my screen." 

The bright blue first slide of a presentation blinked across their iPads. From outline to essay: it read, How to write a flash draft. To my credit, I did use a fun font and add a cool lightning bolt graphic.

"Flash!" I said. "Get it you guys? He's a superhero!"

I'm sure I could hear the groaning even through their muted mics.

As If!

We were leaving the house to take a walk with friends this evening when I grabbed a tube of lip balm from a gift set we had recently received and liberally applied it to protect against the cold, dry air. On the way out of our complex we stopped at the home of some friends who recently got a puppy to drop off a few goodies and toys. 

Hearing the commotion caused by five women, three dogs, and a puppy, eight-year-old Elijah peeked out the door. "Hello!" he greeted us, and then raised his eyebrows at me. "Why are your lips white?"

I frowned and put my hand over my mouth. "I just put on some chapstick," I started. "Wait! Can you see it?"

"Yeah, it has zinc or something in it," Heidi said.

I rubbed my lips to get it off. "Thanks for telling me, Elijah," I huffed. "Since my friends didn't say anything!"

"We thought you knew!" someone said. "It has a cool, summer vibe-- very California!" she laughed.

Gesundheit

"You should put that on the clicker," Heidi said to our friend Sarah when her dog Beckett sneezed.

"I know!" Sarah answered, "It's one of the hardest things to teach a dog to do on command, because you have to catch them sneezing."

Just then Beckett sneezed again. Heidi whipped out her clicker and gave him a treat. When he sneezed the next time, Heidi clicked and treated him. 

"We could never teach Lucy that," I noted. "I've never even heard her sneeze."

Beckett sneezed again. Heidi clicked and treated him. Lucy was watching intently. She looked at him and looked at Heidi and sneezed!

"What?" I laughed.

Heidi clicked and treated her. 

Lucy sneezed again.

"Yay!" I cheered, but I honestly couldn't believe it. 

"She knows what the clicker is," Heidi explained, "and she wants the treats."

Since then? They have been working on the trick, and although it is still inconsistent, Lucy does, occasionally, sneeze on command.

Cottage Industry

"What are you doing?" Heidi asked as she walked into the kitchen this morning. 

I looked up from the crowded counters and stove top and took a breath. "Well, I spiraled the sweet potatoes and roasted them, then blanched the greens and chopped them. I also sliced the extra bread to freeze before it goes stale, but I toasted the heels and other small pieces to grind for breadcrumbs. And I melted some beeswax to season the canele´ molds so I can bake off the leftover batter. I think I'll put away the Christmas decorations next." I paused. "Oh, and here's your coffee and some avocado toast."

"Thanks, Babe," she said. "I'll do the dishes."

Tails or Heads?

I reported yesterday about asking a group sixth graders if they would choose heads or tails in a coin toss. The results from my first set of classes were 55% heads to 45% tails, which I found surprising because I expected closer to a 50-50 break, like the odds of a coin flip. What I also found interesting, if unexplainable, was the break down by gender: 75% of the boys chose heads and 67% of the girls chose tails.

Well, the results are in from my second group of kids. Today 57% of the students chose tails, leaving heads in the dust with just 43%. But the amazing statistic is that when both sets of data were added together? It ended up being the very 50-50 split I predicted! 

Today, only 39% of the boys chose heads, and the girls were split 50-50 heads and tails. BUT... the overall data showed that 61% of the boys chose heads and 61% of the girls chose tails! The symmetry of the numbers is a little astonishing, still mystifying, but also wonderful in its perfect balance.

Heads or Tails?

The chat snap today was In a coin toss, do you usually choose heads or tails? 

I was introducing counterclaims, and my segue way was Just as there are two sides to every coin, there are also two sides to every argument (see what I did there?), but the hook was to record each student's answer and then flip a coin at the end to see who "won". 

An inveterate tails-picker myself, I wondered if I was imagining it, but as I was marking the Hs and Ts next to the names on my roster, I noticed something odd. It seemed like most of the boys were choosing heads and most of the girls were choosing tails. As soon as I was done teaching for the day, I had to crunch some numbers. 

Turns out that 55% of the kids chose heads over tails, which surprised me, because I thought it would be closer to the 50-50 split that occurs when you actually toss a coin. Digging deeper into the data, I found that a full 75% of the boys chose heads, and 67% of the girls chose tails. I have no explanation for these anecdotal results, but I do have a chance to conduct the experiment again tomorrow with my B-day classes. 

Are you on the edge of your seat?

Nowtimes

As I cooked this evening, I listened the latest reports of the demonstration that had devolved into a mob and stormed the Capitol. The measured voices of the reporters and the emotional voices of those they interviewed on the scene were interrupted several times by the shrill alert of the emergency broadcast system. It was not a test; the governor had ordered a curfew for our county beginning at 6 PM. It would be a misdemeanor to leave my house until 6 tomorrow morning. 

Fortunately, I had no plans of doing so. It's my dad's birthday today, and even though he's been gone since 1987, we still honor him each year by preparing his favorite meal of chicken with white gravy and biscuits. This year I threw in an apple crisp galette, too, because I knew he would have liked it. It's a comforting menu, and I have confidence that even on this, his 86th birthday, he would have relished it. 

But what he would have thought of the rest of the world? 

I have no idea.

A Tragic Twelvetide Tale

It's always a little sad this time of year to see holiday trees stripped of their lights and ornaments and tossed out onto the curb. I get it that everyone has their own timeline for winding down the decorations, but even so? 

On this twelfth day of Christmas I do admit I gasped when I saw a lady, walking her schnauzer all decked out in his fancy sweater, let her dog take a leak on one of those discarded, curbside trees. 

Where were those drumming drummers when you need them?

Trim the Sails

Every year for the last 14 One Little Word has been the first assignment of the new year in my sixth grade English class. The premise is deceptively simple: find a single word that means something you want for the year ahead, post it to the discussion along with a brief explanation. 

I love this assignment because it offers a soft reopening to school after the holiday break, it is easy and engaging, and it also often results in some of the wisest and most honest writing my students have done so far in the school year. 

This time was no exception; one of the most popular words of the year was friendship along with several poignant explanations about how much the kids miss their friends and classmates. Other popular words were kindness, happiness, and joy. There were also several riffs on success and winning, and a few honest confessions that more responsibility was necessary along with some patience and change. 

In general, though, there was less variety than in past years, and much less creativity, too (although one student did choose creativity as her word.) I was a little disappointed by this latter development, I love it when kids choose crazy words that capture something special about them and what they hope for. 

When I mentioned the assignment to her, my sister shared with me an Instagram site belonging to artist, poet, and podcaster Morgan Harper Nichols with a hundred words on loop. The idea is to take a screenshot as they play, and that will give you a word to contemplate in the year ahead. The graphics and music are wonderful, and the words are inspired, too. 

My word was wind, defined as "the perceptible movement of air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction".

I think I'll keep it.

Meeting Adjourned

Nothing beats a pandemic like an hour and a half on FaceTime with your siblings!

As such, be it so resolved:

• Veterinarians may want to rethink their business model.
• Raccoons and storm drains are definitely a thing. 
• Any words of the year should be illustrated.
• We will find a vacation place for TWO weeks this summer.

A Shot in the Arm

The end of the winter holidays is always a little sad. Anticipation of celebration and time away from work fuels the days from early November until the last of December. And then? And then. 

Even so, we find our way forward: longer days and the promise of a new year glimmer on the path ahead illuminating the way through winter and into spring. At school, our classes become communities, and at home, movies and dinners and trips to the beach offer fun and distraction.

But this year leaving the holidays behind and heading back to the long days of online teaching weighs heavily and just putting one foot in front of the other feels so hard. And what is there to look forward to?  

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

The only thing that motivated me to get up and out on this cold, wet day was the promise of trying out the new rain gear I got for Christmas. I figured if I wanted to spend time outside every day, in this neck of the woods I would need to be prepare for rain. So I suited up to take the dog for a walk this evening-- slicker, boots, AND the new pants, all cinched and velcroed for maximum dryness. Heck, I even put a raincoat on Lucy. And when we stepped out into the drenching 38 degree rain, and the wind caught the waterproof nylon of my jacket, I was nothing but comfy cozy and ready to venture forth.

Lucy? Had other ideas. Once she had completed her short to do list, just a number one and a number two, rather than putting her tail up ready to prance through the foul weather, as I was, she strained on her leash and pulled in the direction of home. We didn't get too far before I gave in. Even dressed for the weather as I was, I could see the reason in her request.