Power, Freedom, and Fortune

The train depot in Thomson can be seen as what was once a symbol of power, freedom, and fortune.  Some people used that depot and the train as their way out (freedom) while others were making their honest living (fortune) on the rails.   We can't forget train song lyrics about "leaving on a midnight train" or the Freight Train Boogie and the power of Casey Jones.  There is something truly powerful and freeing about trains, tracks, and the depots that connect them.

 I was so happy to make it to the train depot in Thomson on one of my long for me bike rides.  It gave me a chance to reflect on how Thomson, Illinois, gave me freedom and fortune in so many ways.  While I couldn't wait to leave Thomson as soon as I graduated from high school, I learned so much in that small town that is linked to other small towns along the Mississippi River by the railroad tracks that connect them. 


Riding my bike from Savanna to Thomson was a great chance to think about all the times I'd driven on Riverview Road as I was learning to drive or even just crusing on a Friday or Saturday night. 

This summer (well really even all the months since March) have allowed me to do more reflecting than usual.  

 During my ride I also was struck by the many cactus along the route.  I was struck by them.  I am a horrible gardener.  In fact, my hanging baskets on my porch right now have been sadly neglected and really just need to be thrown out.  The cactus also had an immediate connection for me to the picture book Nobody Hugs a Cactus (You should look for it.  It's a quick read.)  I thought about the defense of the prickly needles.  There aren't any beautiful blooms or gorgeous flowers on these prickly little plants but I sure do believe that when they are in the right environment - they bloom in their own way.  That's true about me.  In the right environment I am a ROCKSTAR.  I've spent a lot of time looking for the right places for myself and I am so thankful for finding them.

Now the hard part is avoiding the places where I'm not meant for.  What is a desert environment for you?  Where do you get all the things you need (the fertilizer, sunlight, water, proper weeding)? 

Lucky for me I have an amazing family who help me bloom.

 44 years of blooming!  I can't believe that I celebrated my 44th birthday in July.        

 Virtual races are a great chance to get together with running/fitness friends.  Fellow Flowers has a great virtual series and they just let us know that they have a race series coming to Madison, WI, in 2021!   It's sure to be a great one.

 So much of my sanity during these last 5 months has come from running.  While races don't seem to be an option this fall, I am training to run my half marathon on September 19 or 20.  7 more weeks of good, smart training with the plan from @the_radiant_runner. 


I'm not letting this unusual summer ruin our fun.  We are running, riding bikes, and trying new things, too.  Saturday we went kayaking for the first time ever...it was HARD for me.  I'm glad we did it.  I can check it off the bucket list.

So pack to the title.  What mades you think of power, freedom, and fortune?  At first I thought of the railroad tracks, trains, the depots in small towns along the river.  

If you are in the right environment and have the right encouragement, you will have all the power, freedom, and fortune that you need.  

 Here's to a new month ( I know it's August 2 but I started thinking about this post yesterday so it's still a pretty new month.) and getting closer to your goals---power, freedom, and fortune.  They're yours if you go for them.

Side note - After a slight COVID delay, I am so excited to report that Kate has her license.....Now I just need to quit worrying every time she leaves the house.

If you stuck with my rambling this long - thanks!

Magic....

This week was Week 2 of summer school.  It was a truly MAGICAL week!  I have 3 "classes" that I teach each week.  I teach a reading class twice and then I have magic followed by minecraft.  All of my classes are really fun to teach and I hope they are just as fun to be in.

I want to take time right now to talk about my magic class.  I started the week with a similar activity to how I start many units:  4 corners.  I put a poster board in each corner of the room.   Students rotated around the 4 corners and answered the questions that were on each poster:

What is MAGIC?

What tools (props) do magicians use?

What would your magic name be?  Ex:   Harry Houdini, Margaret the Magnificent...

What magic tricks do you hope to learn this week?

You should have seen the answers!  These kids were ready for class!  Not only did they fill the whole poster board with answers for the what is magic and what tools do magicians use, but they brought me magic tricks that they already knew and they came each day with tricks to show the class.

After we had made it around to all the posters, I told the class that I had an amazing trick that they would be leaving with.  I introduced the Magic Wheel.  (Thank you, Mr. Scarano, for teaching me this trick 18 years ago.....It is still my favorite!)  As we worked to cut out and assemble the magic wheels, time slipped away.   There was a line at the door waiting to get in for minecraft....I still had a card trick that I had planned to teach on Monday but it was going to have to wait until Tuesday.  The magicians headed out to their next class but that didn't mean that they weren't practicing their skills and illusions as the day continued!

I was so excited for day 2!  Kids brought magic wands and tricks to show the class before I began my instruction.  Today it was time for a card trick!  

The kids were able to practice this card trick for a few minutes and then we had some volunteers perform it for us.  These kids really are magicians in the making.  I completely expect to see a few of these kids on America's Got Talent in a few years.  Speaking of AGT, I did share 3 of my favorite magicians (illusionists) from this season with the class.  

Now please know that when we talked about magic on Monday, one of the things that the kids said was that some magic is really just a kind of prank.  It's true.  Sometimes we are entertained by what is a "trick."  I appreciated the willingness of students to serve as kind assistants to practicing magicians even when the result was a wet face or some other small moment of embarrassment.

Remember those props I was telling you about?  Would you believe that one amazing magician even shared his famous magical rabbit with the class on the last day?  

This magician that you see in the picture above even stayed with me during a time when she could have gone to another class.  She helped to teach the amazing quarter trick to everyone!

What really became the magic was when one of the little learners does an EXTRA trick for the class that she learned on her own.  I loved seeing her so motivated.

It will not surprise me at all if I see one of these kids on America's Got Talent in the next decade.

I have a summary of all the tricks that we learned during the week that I will try and share soon.  Until then remember this:

K-2 IPAD/Computer Class Resources

These links are all clickable.     Here's to hoping this makes our final 6 days of summer school productive and enjoyable!

Bingo

A Symbaloo with all different Kindergarten things!!!

Another great K symbaloo

1st grade symbaloo

A 2nd grade symbaloo

Symbaloo for 3rd graders

4th grade symbaloo