The darnedest things

Today I went to the International School of Arizona (my old work) because it was the last day of the kids' summer camp. They're just as adorable as I remember and the highlight was one of my favorites shouting from across the room,

"I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE HER!!!"

I love kids.

via weheartit

What is a youth?

For obvious reasons, watching Romeo and Juliet in a classroom full of teenagers is not the same as watching the films in the comfort of your own home.

I thought that I preferred the 1996 Luhrmann version over the 1968 Zeffirelli, but the Zeffirelli version has really grown on me. How perfect is Olivia Hussey's face? She looks like a porcelain doll.

But then again, nothing beats Leonardo di Caprio. :)

Mes nouvelles aventures en France

Last October, I applied to a program to become an English teaching assistant in France and I just found out that I've been accepted! From what I know so far, I will be somewhere in the Grenoble region. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait a bit longer to find out exactly where I'll be and exactly what level I'll be teaching.

While I wait, I'll content myself with researching the French Alps region, planning the places I want to visit, and studying my French. I feel like I will appreciate being immersed in French so much more than three years ago.

What a great birthday present. :)

Working for the weekend...

I was at work this afternoon looking on TED for a video to show to my juniors. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything for them, but I did find something for me. Maybe for you too.

From now on, I am going to make a more conscious effort to think and do more than just work. Of course, the act of deciding not to think about work may inadvertently cause me to think about work, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

This video is worth 10 minutes of your time.

Avez-vous deja vu... l'anniversaire de mon grand-pere.

It has not been the best week, so to relax and procrastinate on all of the things that I need to get done before Tuesday, I've been resorting to my "avez-vous deja vu" youtube obsession. Let the French nonsense commence.

Edit: Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

A Cry for Help

Does still having my Christmas tree up make me a terrible person?

I had every intention of taking my tree down several weeks ago, but Target was already out of ornament boxes and now everywhere else is probably out too.

Is there any hope of finding a box to store ornaments or will they be in some warehouse-of no-return until next November?

In my defense, life has been a little too crazy for messing with Christmas decor. I started teaching English full time this semester at a high school. I feel so ridiculously lucky to have gotten a job right out of college, but I feel bad about the circumstances surrounding this blessing. To make a long story short, another teacher needed to resign for personal reasons and I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Taking over classes mid-year has been a challenge, but things are really starting to come along. I'm wrapping up The Odyssey with my freshmen and gearing up to start The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (one of my favorites) with my juniors. It should be a great year.

In other news, here is another silly putty creation for your amusement. Frosty the SillyPutty Man.

Playing with Pixton

Today I went to a conference about after school programs and the first workshop session that I went to was really informative. I learned about all sorts of new, cool, free web-based tools that I'll be able to use with my students (maybe even my freshman this semester). I started playing around with pixton.com, a website for making comics. It's so easy to use that I might have my students make comics for our Greek mythology unit...

Etymology & Entomology

Me: Okay, so I'm starting class with etymologies--

Tyler: Entomologies!

Me: No. Etymologies.

Tyler: But you probably accidentally say entomologies sometimes.

Me: No. I don't, because it's et-y-mol-o-gies.

Tyler: Entomology. The study of Entenmann's.

Princesses

Today I acquiesced to three little girls' requests
to draw each of them SIX Disney princesses to color,
not including drawing Ariel twice
(once as a mermaid and once in her wedding gown).

Little girls are serious about their princesses.

Things at work that amuse me.

1. When little French ladies think that I must be Russian since the name Katrina is of Russian origin.

2. When parents come in and can't figure out if I'm French or American at first glance.

3. When I think a kid must be from an American family and am dumbfounded when their foreign parents pick them up.

4. When the kids walk through the hallway as silent as mice and then turn into a pack of howling, screaming monkeys upon stepping one inch outside of the door.

5. When little girls write "No Boys Allowed" in chalk on their section of the sidewalk - in FOUR different languages.