School's Out for Summer

(Not gonna lie, folks, I despise that song.)

Anyway, my Last Day (er, half-day, rather) of school was yesterday (thank God), but the girls were forced to stick it out a whole full day after I got out.  Suckers.  Since the Queen of Classroom Volunteers was away at work (sucker), Yours Truly was drafted into the obligatory parental role for the day.  Two classroom parties to 'volunteer' in, and the two parties couldn't have been any more different from one another.

Gymnastics.  Again.

The second grade outdoor 'picnic' had a parent volunteer-to-student ratio of about 1:2 - there was seriously nothing for me to do, so I just aimlessly followed Abby and her friends around the playground, trying not to look bored.  It sure as hell beat standing in the shade with the 40+ soccer moms and stay-at-home dads and small talk.

(I hate small talk.)

The fourth grade party, in stark contrast, was incredibly under-staffed, and as such Col. Hough had to roll up his sleeves and put back on his battle-worn teacher pants.  Already.

All in all, though, it wasn't too bad - just a little too soon for one who's been awaiting the coming of Summer like the Second Coming of Christ.

Smurf it out, folks. . .

Abby and a couple of her friends play in the 'Fairy's House,'  a small knoll in a tree on the edge of their playground.  Their imaginations seem to constantly roar in overdrive, which means that we haven't completely destroyed this generation with screens and handheld electronics. . .

BFF and resident fairy-ologist, Larkin, arrives on the scene. . .

Losing gas. 

There were so many parents on hand at the second grade 'picnic' that I didn't feel bad peacing out a little bit early.  I dropped off a van-load of crap to the Salvation Army (and may have poked around through their vinyl section while I was at it), then stopped off at home for lunch before turning around and heading back up to the school to lend my hand in Alayna's 4th grade 'party.' 

Alayna's default camera face.  Wearing a bit thin these days, not gonna lie.

Alayna happens to sit next to one of her close friends, Noah, in class.  Not sure if that was a good idea.

Rubix cubes = all the rage in the pre-teen demographic.

Starting things off right with heaping bowls of ice cream.  F*** it - school's out.

Following their sugar ingestion, the kids were ushered outside for an hour and a half of 'field games.'

Summer plans scavenger hunt ("Find a classmate who is traveling out of state this summer," "Find a classmate who likes eating Popsicles," etc.)

Rummaging through the 'woods' for colored items (part of yet another scavenger hunt - anything to keep them busy, really.)

For this activity, students paired up and took turns dropping M & Ms into ice cream waffle cones (one student dropping the M & Ms, one kid holding the waffle cone in their mouth while lying down below.)  I had to fill in as a partner here or there, and took quite a few pieces of candy to the face.  'Cause parenting.

Alayna teamed up with her friend, Christina (who will be coming to her birthday party later this week.)

Balloon toss.  I got the feeling that this afternoon of activities was planned this morning, and they were really grasping for straws towards the end of it.  Around 3pm, teachers just kicked all the kids out to the playground for the remainder of the day, so I went home.  Kris' friend Andrea picked up the girls from school, along with all the other kids belonging to Kris' Circle of Moms, for an End of the School Year Pool Party.

I neglected to go to this (a bunch of moms sitting around and clucking about PTO stuff while drinking margaritas?  No thanks), but Kris sent me this picture of Andrea's dog and Alayna becoming better acquainted.

And that's how the Houghs wrapped up the 2017-2018 School Year, America.

- Brian

The Ides of March

Hey guys.

No, this one doesn't have much of anything to do with the assassination of Julius Caesar, it just so happened that the girls had their Spring Concerts at Chestnut Hill this afternoon, and Yours Truly had to take the day off so that at least one parent could be in attendance (Kris had to work, and it's a hell of a lot easier for me to take the time off than it is for her to do so.)

I mean, c'mon.  I'm not sure what genius is responsible for scheduling these stupid kids productions at Chestnut Hill, but why the hell can't they have them in the evening, so people can attend without having to take a frickin' day off of work?  Is that too difficult for elementary school staff to coordinate?  . . .Idiots.

Anyway.

2nd Grade takes the stage. . .

Abby's grade put on their concert around 1pm, so I made sure to get to the school and into the gym by 12:30 in order to grab a front row seat.  Unfortunately, each grade level's production was only about twenty minutes long, so, once 2nd grade wrapped up, I was forced to remain where I was for about 40 minutes before Alayna and the 4th graders took the stage.  Honestly, this was kind of a small price to pay for keeping such a good seat - the pics and video turned out pretty good (no fat ladies in front of me this year, so I had that going for me.)

Nevertheless, had these showtimes been pushed back even a half an hour, I could have gotten by taking a half-day off of work instead of a full-day, but NOOOO - while I sat in a crowded gymnasium surrounded by other parents, some random substitute was wrangling my 8th graders, all damn day.

So, all in all, I guess I should have left a note for the substitute that said 'Beware the Ides of March' somewhere in my lesson plans.

Oh well.

Here we go. . .

Waiting to start.  Abby seemed pretty excited with her position in the stands - her pseudo-beau, Jackson (in the glasses and green shirt) and BFF Larkin (the blonde standing directly in front of her) were right by her.

Belting out some jams about. . . bees.  Or Spring, or something - you couldn't really follow the lyrics well.

I took a hell of a lot more video than pictures for both of the girls' concerts, but Blogger only allows uploads of up to 100mb, so you're stuck with a few short clips today.  Deal with it.

After 40 minutes of screwing around on my phone and weathering the grumpy sideways glances of soccer moms and grandmas that desperately wanted my seat, the Cannonball and the rest of the 4th grade finally took the stage. . . 

Front row this year (at least for the first few songs) - it was good seeing more than her forehead this year.

The fourth graders moved around a lot, so their positions were constantly changing.  For the most part, Alayna was able to stay in the limelight (it doesn't help things that she's hobbit-sized.)

Not at all paying attention - which is pretty much the norm for her.

. . . aaaand now she's in the far back row.  Make up your damn mind, 4th Grade.

Exit, Stage Left.

Since Kris had to work during the concerts, she pestered me throughout the afternoon for pictures of the girls at their shows.  She also voiced concern that I had forgotten, in my typical male absent-mindedness, to take a picture of both kids before school (they had dressed up for their shows, and Kris spent extra time on their hair in the morning.)  So, once we got back from school that afternoon, we posed a quick set of pictures to satisfy the Warden. . .

They each bought these stupid plastic cases that were designed to look like smartphones from their School Store today, and, once we got our mandatory 'nice' pictures for Kris out of the way, they demanded I snap a few more pics of them 'using' their new phones.

So there you go, folks.  The Ides of March.

- Brian

Fall is Just Something That Grown Ups Invented

What's up, readers.

So today was a stressful, anxiety-ridden day of emotion:  the First Day of School.  As a teacher, I hate the first day of a new school year with a passion:  you have to nail everything down perfectly on the first day in order to avoid pit traps later in the school year (first impressions, procedures and routines, etc.)  It's a lot of pressure, and before the day even starts I'm already looking forward to Day Two (from that point on it's fine.)

Anyway, the day went fine, just as it always does, but I tend to suffer a disproportionate amount of stress and anxiety over the first day of school.  The girls, on the other hand, were both super excited to be back in a classroom with their friends.  Sadly, neither of them ended up being in the same class as their BFFs, but both had other friends in there so it was fine.  Abby was a little apprehensive about starting second grade, but she got over it quickly.  Alayna was shot out of cannon and pumped the second she woke up, which was expected since she's been a social butterfly since moving up here.

I've included some shots here of my classroom, set up for the influx of a new batch of 8th graders, and some shots Kris took from the girls' first day back to the Grind, for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy.

My classroom, from the view of my desk.

Other front corner, from the view of the Flag.

Underneath the Flag, an oil painting of Native Americans I pinched from Granny Hough's house.  I'm sure she'd approve.

My in-class library, for student use.

Student supplies, and a very dapper wolf print I purchased online (my house sigil is a wolf, and it serves as our mascot.)

Sadly, neither Bernie Sanders or Kodos ended up winning the 2016 election. . .

My command center.

Mr. Hough's desk.

This computer's hooked up to my Promethean Smartboard.

All ready to roll for the First Day of School

. . . and the other one.

Obligatory picture-in-front-of-the-School shot.

Putting away her backpack in her new classroom.

Sort of nervous to be in a new class, but she eventually grew to enjoy it.

A much-needed nightcap.

- Brian