Day Six- Views on Mainstream Music

Today I am supposed to give my views on mainstream music.  Well, one look at my play list and you would know I have no problem with it.  Although I must say that I'm not exactly sure what is considered mainstream any more.
I do like Michael Buble, Jason Mraz, Carrie Underwood and Eminem.  Is that mainstream?  I think maybe it is.
I have a nephew who mashes songs together to make a new song.  I like a lot of his work too but I don't know if that is mainstream or not.  I'm  thinking not.
Anyway, I don't think you should look down your nose at anyone's taste in music.  It is a highly personal choice.  One man's symphony is another man's cacophony.
Believe me, I know this from personal experience.  My DH loves my Sirius radio and so do I.  I listen to oldies from the 60's and the 40's channel once in a while.  I love instrumentals and the 40's had a lot of those.
DH listens to something called Deep Tracks.  I call it Deep Sh*t.  It is like the songs from the Bside of the album, the third cut.  You know, the dogs.  He loves them and I hate them.
When we go on a car trip, the gloves really come off.  He is a little hard of hearing so he turns up the volume.  I try to use my ipod and the radio is so loud I can't really concentrate on my music.  So I turn it down.  He turns it up "just a little" to the exact same place it was.  So I turn it down.  He turns it up.  See where I'm going with this?
I love show tunes, DH loves Tommy.  I love the Beatles, DH loves Pink Floyd.
When we first met, I extolled the virtues of Barbra Streisand to him and he nodded and agreed with everything I said. I was so excited.  Finally, a man who could appreciate Babs who was straight!!  Well, truth is he was a little hard of hearing then too...and he was trying to impress me.
So like I said, music is really personal. Listen to what you like, mainstream or not.

Day Five- What I'd Say to My Ex(es)

Oh, boy!  I have had a real kinda crazy love life--especially when I was young so I do have more than one ex.
Here we go then:
To the not serious college boyfriend, You were such a sweetie.
To my serious college boyfriend, I am sorry I was such a fool.
To my first fiance, I'm sorry I hurt you but you might have deserved it just a little.
To my first husband, you tried to destroy me but it didn't work.
To my after the divorce boyfriend, I'm glad we were friends.
To my other after the divorce boyfriend, you were just what I needed.

Now we don't just have exes in the romance department.
To my ex boss, I didn't really appreciate you.
To my ex best friend, it's a good thing we parted ways.
To my ex car, I miss you!
To my ex colleague, I don't miss you!!

The End

Bullet My Day- Day 4 of the 30 Day Challenge

I don't know what that title even means.  Does it mean my day is shot to hell? That would be my luck.
Speaking of bullets, when I taught school our rule was no guns in school.  We had Legos and what does every little boy do with them?  Well, they make guns.  So that was a giant no,no.  We wanted school to be a place of peace and safety.
Well, one day, our classroom was so hot that we were all sweating.  There were open windows but not enough so I said to the kids, I'm opening more windows, I'm sweating bullets.
Eric(loved that kid) says to me, OH, Mrs. Gesing you said bullets.  No guns in school.
So I asked him what I should say instead.  He thought for a moment and said... sweating biscuits.  Oh, how I wanted to laugh but I didn't and "sweating biscuits" became the new phrase in kindergarten that spring.

A Book I Love- Day 3 or the Thirty Day Challenge

Ok, you might not know this so I will tell you up front.  I was a Kindergarten teacher for most of my career and lower elementary when I first began teaching.  It's a heads up so you will understand my favorite book.
My favorite book of all time is Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic by Betty McDonald.  It is about a bunch of misbehaving kid's and how their parents, with Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's help and a little magic, correct their behavior.
It is so funny and kids love it.  I read it to my kids on a car trip and DH had never read it and he loved it too.
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle accepts everyone's faults but helps them better themselves while doling out cookies and imaginative play.
I always wanted to go to her upside down house and explore.  I knew she could cure me of all my bad habits.
It is an old fashioned book where moms stay home and play bridge and make all kinds of kooky food.  The kind of  Mom who takes it on the chin when her kid brings home a pig with good manners.  Oh, yes, a pig with good manners....
Anyway the first two of the series are a must because they are so much fun.  So gather the kids around and read it together.  You will love it.

Something I Feel Strongly About- Day 2 of the 30 Day Challenge

I feel strongly about kids and their learning environment.  If you ever read this blog before you already know this.  Kids are unique in their learning style and need to be nurtured and guided to knowledge.  They need to accept ownership of their learning and they need to have fun in a safe environment.
Age appropriate activities that support the curriculum are crucial in educating young children.  There can be areas for general learning like a book area or math area or science area.  There can be specific tasks for a particular skill  like sorting objects by size or color or matching rhyming words.
Kids need to express themselves so daily journaling should be part of their day.  Young children can write single words or one sentence.  Older children can write more of course.  A prompt is always a good idea so kids don't have to worry about picking a topic.
I hate what is happening in education today.  It is insulting to children and their development.  Kids need to be kids.  We have learned scholars who studied the development of children and we know how they change.  We also know they change at their own pace yet education does not take that into account.
Instead of immersing students in an age appropriate environment teachers are forced to teach skills that their students aren't ready for just to meet the standards of politicians who are not trained in child development, child psychology, or education.  This has to stop.
We need to respect childhood and adopt the belief that children grow in their own way and that every child deserves the chance to learn at his own pace.

Thirty Day Challenge

I am a big Pinterest fan.  I found a blog pin board and it had a thirty day challenge of things to write.  I have been pretty boring lately so I thought I'd give it a try.  Fair warning, I'm not looking at them ahead of time.  I'll just go down the list in order and we'll see what we get.
Today's topic is Five ways to win my heart.
The first one is you would have to laugh at the cartoon at the top of the blog.  If you get it, you get me and DH.
Second, buy me flowers for no reason.  Not roses or fancy arrangements, just some flowers.
Third, tell me I'm funny.  I am past wanting to be beautiful or even pretty, but I still want to be funny and make people laugh.
Fourth, compliment my children.  Anyone who tells me my kids are smart, beautiful, kind, friendly, warm, funny or any good quality has my heart.
Fifth, don't make me cook.  I usually enjoy cooking but I love a day or two or ten off.  It doesn't have to be a fancy out to dinner thing, pizza will do.  DH, you know what I'm saying.
There are probably more ways to win my heart.  Like champagne or take me to a winery or let me go on a shopping spree or take me to Disney and I would be yours.
However, fair warning, I'm taken.

Signs Of Spring

Spring is just around the corner.  I can't wait.  We have all been complaining about the cold weather and thinking that winter would never end.  So my workout buddy was all excited when she saw a robin--you know, the first sign of Spring, yesterday.
Well, I had her beat.  I had the real first sign of spring on my car yesterday morning, a robin poop!  That is my luck.  I hope it's not a harbinger of the season I am going to have!