tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430659390870334672012-01-28T09:58:53.589-05:00My name is Bea, formerly Wanderer in aoljournals. I'm teaching art in a North Carolina elementary school. I don't post daily, but I post when I can. I like to write about my experiences as a classroom teacher, an artist, a wife, mother, and friend. Not always in that order. The new bridge down the road is completed, offering us all a hopeful metaphor for what lies ahead in each of our lives. It is good to tear down old bridges, and to build new ones. May you cross your new bridge soon!Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-84327271979327404622012-01-18T21:23:00.000-05:002012-01-18T21:50:16.299-05:00

Another project our fifth graders just completed last semester was the self-portraits they painted. I found this idea on a teaching video by Peggy Flores, as shown in this YouTube video. It is the very same one I have on DVD (except I bought the DVD 2 years ago) which goes on to explain several different ways to approach the self-portrait. For the 5th grade students, I gave them a choice to

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-43884605428014945622012-01-16T10:34:00.000-05:002012-01-16T13:54:28.179-05:00

It's been too long since I last posted... not a day has gone by that I didn't think about coming back to post here on my blog. Things happen, you know? Life, and living it, sometimes... often.... most often, takes me away from doing what I love to do more than anything, and that is to write about my observations and experiences. Facebook was another thing that happened to me, and if you are on

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-55416436052951232242010-02-21T22:08:00.000-05:002012-01-16T13:56:30.489-05:00

Thank you to Astaryth for sending me a copy of my entry that I lost. I was able to piece it back together. It only took me an hour to reclaim it all...THANKS, Astaryth! You rock! Recently, in Kindergarten, I read to the students a book, A Stranger in the Woods. The beautiful photography, from wildlife photographers Carl Sams, II and Jean Stoick, tells the story of animals living in the winter

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-39982558365940235632010-02-21T18:03:00.000-05:002010-02-21T18:07:49.553-05:00

I don't know what happened, but I'm puzzled and dismayed. I made an entry yesterday, after being away for several months. I visited the blog today, and decided to change the template. I selected a new template. Saved it. Then went to view it and that entry was gone! "What I Am Doing in My Classroom" has disappeared. I had spent several hours working on it, getting the photos, editing and

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-29743644919167457812009-08-01T18:43:00.001-04:002012-01-16T14:01:11.227-05:00

As the summer winds down for me (school begins for teachers in less than three weeks), I am feeling rested, revived, and ready to begin my tenth year as an elementary school teacher. After the coming week I’m sure I’ll even feel rejuvenated (Vacation Bible School begins tomorrow)! In mid-July my significant other and I headed for the northern states. For me the trip was more than going to my

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-498809290749285082009-07-16T08:51:00.000-04:002009-07-16T11:24:19.651-04:00

It's time to put a closure to the story of our new bridge (not closure of this blog!). For nine months it has been a regular feature of neighborhood conversations. A typical chat would go like this: "Hi, Neighbor! How are y'all doing this week?" (answers varied: Mary is sick, Stan lost his job, I'm looking for a new job, we're doing great, etc) followed by more in depth conversation...."So how's

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-80352013772281618332009-07-11T11:22:00.000-04:002012-01-16T14:06:51.483-05:00

Uh, Hi All! I am a little bit disoriented coming back like this. I feel like I owe an explanation for my absence this past year. Demands of the school year and the unpredictable, time-consuming ways of an old computer combined to interfere with my blogging routine. Despite being disgruntled about not having time to blog, nor the desire once my computer started misbehaving, I was able to turn my

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-327773579493144252009-05-11T21:29:00.000-04:002009-05-11T21:47:22.942-04:00

I'm almost embarassed to write this post... but felt I needed to stop in and say I have been away from the computer, but I am well. The bridge was completed Friday, four days ago. YEAY! I'll come back with photo updates. I have lots to write about. When bridges are rebuilt, life changes are sure to follow. Good ones. My computer slowed down to the point of making any kind of internet travel

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-15681263689517602822009-01-20T08:11:00.000-05:002009-01-20T09:36:42.951-05:00

Wooooo-Hooo! It's been a long wait but overnight it began to snow. At five thirty a.m. I looked out the window, and there appeared to be over an inch of snow. By 7:00 a.m., there was at least two inches. It's continues to snow... our area could get as much as three or four inches... another big wooo-hooo~!It's below freezing temperatures, so I'm expecting that even by tomorrow, the snow will

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-81637863537414154292009-01-01T20:15:00.000-05:002012-01-16T14:02:05.311-05:00

Happy New Year to anyone who has stayed around and kept me on their lists despite the fact that I haven't written an entry in over a month!!! And thank you to all those who have sent emails ... I've been absent, but only regarding blogging, and I suppose if I were a true blogger, I'd be posting every day. I had time off from school, and a long list of things to do. I stayed focused and got most

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-54812001246270562482008-12-12T21:37:00.000-05:002009-01-03T01:26:05.658-05:00

My fifth grade students had been happily creating Kaleidoscope designs. Drawing the design posed a problem for some. Those who drew in only two or three lines in each section had the least difficulty transferring the design to each of the eight sections.The Kaleidoscope design is a crayon and watercolor resist. Black lines are drawn with black crayon, then watercolors are added. Since wax crayon

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-50030222743858695662008-11-22T06:59:00.000-05:002012-01-16T14:05:47.083-05:00

It's 20 degrees at 7:00 this morning... but how good it feels to wake up on a Saturday morning with sunshine beaming through the windows... and how sweet it feels to drink a hot cup of tea while I download some photos of art projects we've been working on these past couple of weeks. Thirty years ago, my life ... no, our lives... changed completely... a new person was born in me, from me. Our son

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-63418918087854036672008-11-08T09:59:00.000-05:002008-11-08T11:28:23.495-05:00

It's been a beautiful week... in many ways! On Monday I was able to attend my weekly Bible study group... something that I'd missed for several weeks. I had even been thinking that I should just drop out altogether. After all, I had missed at least three chapters of reading, all three discussions. How could I catch up with all the things I had still to finish for school? But one of the group

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-17307462647998523922008-10-23T21:04:00.000-04:002008-10-23T21:53:03.786-04:00

Sometimes I'm at school until 6:00 or later, but I still can't help feeling like I'm the luckiest teacher alive!... fortunate... blessed. Whatever you want to call this feeling, I am happy in my classroom, with or without the students. I stay late some days because I'm hanging up the students' work. It's my gift back to the school. The above photo shows the second Fall Trees display I've hung

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-2909334502374849632008-10-21T21:24:00.000-04:002008-10-21T22:15:47.012-04:00

Carly at Ellipsis posts the Monday Photo Shoots at her blog. I decided to join in this week because I don't usually take part in these blog assignments. Usually it's because I don't have a photo ready to post that fits the topic of the week, and I don't have time to go in search of that special photo. But this time, I did have a shot. In fact, I could probably fill an album with them. Pictures

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-79431430445805051812008-10-19T17:17:00.000-04:002012-01-16T14:00:20.919-05:00

What is this? Are you asking yourself that question? I didn't know either, until I looked it up on the internet. I love the internet! Beats any encyclopedia set, hands down! I found this little guy crawling on my dining room table this afternoon. He came in with a basketful of leaves I had collected earlier... an art project to be... the leaves, not this furry critter. I

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-35976069165649725562008-10-18T21:59:00.000-04:002008-10-18T22:44:38.132-04:00

I was researching an author on the internet today when my friend Alyson called."Put on your shoes and let's go for a walk!" she said. The sun was shining... my other choice was to clean my refrigerator.I hung up the phone, put on my shoes and walking clothes for the cool air (60 degrees), and headed up the driveway. She met me at the stop sign up the road, and then we headed for the bridge.As we

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-1589401883068101952008-10-14T22:35:00.000-04:002008-10-15T20:46:47.326-04:00

It took me a couple of afternoons to get the pieces up, but it was worth it. The single tree drawings are from a kindergarten class (a combination of oil pastel and crayon drawing). The apple drawings are from a first grade class (oil pastel). The three tree reflection (watercolor) is from a 2nd grade class.At first I was just going to hang the kindergarten tree drawings in one of the main halls

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-35821074378291206222008-10-13T21:32:00.000-04:002008-10-13T23:03:23.993-04:00

Fall is in the air. It's not quite as fall-ish looking as the watercolors the second graders worked on this week, but it's getting there. Temps are cooler... the skies are blue and clear. Steve and I took advantage of the pleasant weather and a Saturday with both of us home. What to do? We haven't visited family living in the foot hills of North Carolina since Christmas. It was time to pay one of

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-64189532282426034422008-10-11T11:16:00.000-04:002008-10-11T12:18:36.667-04:00

Apples! Everywhere there are apples in the first grade hallway. The first graders have been eating apples, applesauce, and apple pie, writing about apples, what they look like, feel like, and taste like, and reading about apples. Their favorite story is about Johnny Appleseed. Do you remember when you were their age and first heard the story of Johnny Appleseed? In my classroom, they drew an

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-16963551603503810122008-10-10T21:19:00.000-04:002008-10-11T11:09:46.658-04:00

YES! The pages of Wanderer from AOL journals made it through the transfer to blogger. I just found out tonight. I am grateful to AOL journals and Blogger for making this move possible... and for rescuing me from having to save all those entries manually (three years' worth!) to my external hard drive. Ugh, that would have taken ever so long to do!I was worried that the Wanderer hadn't made it. I

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-943065939087033467.post-41928008922240426212008-10-05T21:56:00.000-04:002008-10-05T22:56:00.349-04:00

Okay, it's taken me nearly two hours to figure this out. I'm new at blogger. Just in from AOL Journals. I'm hoping to find most of my friends here that have had to move this week. Most are doing it easily, while others are stressed from the time it taking or going to take to make this move. I'm not a complainer, generally. But I'm allowing myself this one entry to be one. And that's all I'm

Beahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879356290409283739noreply@blogger.com31