Yeah, I'm That Good!

This past year I successfully learned how to solve a Rubik's Cube.  It ended up being a unit that I taught to my 8th graders.  Today I decided to put my skills to the test and do it on video.

Enjoy ~SJ

In this critical time

Indexed has been a favorite blog of mine to read for awhile now.  I think it is because they play to my inner scientist/mathematician.  Here is a timely one that I just had to share. 

Enjoy ~SJ

End Of The Year Wrap-Up

When you say "another year gone by" most people are saying this in January, but teachers (like their students) count years from September to June.  Those months between June and September are special months filled with the excitement of not being bound to an alarm clock, filled with late lunches, and leisurely mornings.  It's getting to be the end of another year, some schools are already out, and some of us are down to the wire counting the days left.

This past school year was a successful one!  My students were funny and entertaining, they worked hard when they needed to, and knew when to have fun.  We learned how to solve Rubik's cubes, some with more success then others.  We can all solve basic algebra equations.  And we all got to enjoy a few days in Quebec.

There are all sorts of ways to know when the end of the school years is coming.  Sometimes your students even go out of their way and get you a gift, and this year I have to say I think I got the best gift ever.  Check it out!

Enjoy ~SJ

Sea-Monkeys

I can't believe it.... I have had a colony of sea-monkeys for over two years now and have yet to blog about them. I have blogged about all of my other pets - cats, ants, but never the sea monkeys. Typically they live at school and during the summer with enjoy the window sill near my kitchen sink. They have yet to make the big trip back to school and I have to admit that I have been enjoying them at home. Indexed recently posted an index about sea monkeys that just made me laugh out loud, and I decided to share.

It's 11 p.m.

.... and my lunch is packed, the crate is filled with all of my school books that came home for summer vacation, my "Big Paper" that was supposed to be done - isn't, things have been checked off my summer to-do list, and as of tonight there is a new shed in my driveway. Although tonight marks the end of summer as so many of the other River Valley Bloggers have commented via Facebook and their blogs, tonight also marks the beginning of a new year. Years have always begun for me in September and end in June, July and August are there own separate months. So let's raise our glass of pink lemonade and toast to another wonderful summer, I can't wait to play again next summer, but until then there are many more adventures to be had.

Enjoy ~SJ

And Cue The Fat Lady!

We have been able to hear the Fat Lady warming up for weeks now through the halls of school. I think she entered the building about a month ago when the 8th graders (Kermit and I) went on the three day trip to New York City. Her warm ups intensified when I could say to myself "That is the last new topic I have to teach", or "This is the last homework, quiz, or test assignment I have to grade", she was almost ready for her final note last week when I could say "My grades are done!" Yesterday was the last day for the students and although the students got to hear the Fat Lady, the staff only caught a glimpse of her since we have a workshop day today. Our district tradition is to have a school wide staff lunch and the Superintendent acknowledges those who have been teaching for specific milestones, or are retiring. I anticipate hearing the Fat Lady hit her final note after this lunch.

So, please cue the Fat Lady soon so that we can start our much anticipated and deserved summer vacation.

Enjoy ~SJ

As a side note, the phrase "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" was coined by Ralph Carpenter during a Red Raiders, Texas Tech basketball game in 1976.

Origami Hippo

My students and I have had a running joke about hippos that steams from the Pythagorean Theorem. We also have been working on origami on and off all year long, so last night I got the idea of teaching them how to make an origami hippo. One small problem though, I don't know how to make an origami hippo, nor do I have a pattern - Google to the rescue! I did a little searching, found a few patterns but nothing that I really liked. While in search of the perfect paper hippo I updated my Facebook status to "is wondering how to make an origami hippo, anyone know?" Within moments I had a response complete with links, another few moments and I Mi Prima offer to look at the library for me today. Talk about service! Today I had a few moments so I gave one of the hippos a try, very simple and it might be the one I teach them how to make. With a few changes in the "nose" folding it could become an elephant too!

Enjoy ~SJ

April Fools Day

Ok, I know that I am a day late posting about April Fools Day, but it took me 24 hours to recover. You have to understand that for middle school students April Fools Day is a national holiday, bigger than Christmas and Halloween combined. Since this year the first of April fell on a school day it was pure crazy in my school yesterday! We had students leave rocks that looked like feces in classrooms, hide on teachers, and bark like dogs whenever teachers said a predetermined word. I think that I will have to do some researching and planning before next years day of pranks comes around.

Enjoy ~SJ

The Best School Day Of The Year!

Today is one of those days that I have to remind myself that I get to have all this fun AND get paid - it was Black Mountain Day. In case you are not familiar with this local tradition, Black Mountain is the local ski mountain, and for one whole day we take the kids there (mostly for free to them) and we get to play. Most of the schools in the area take a day and hit the slopes. My job today: ski the trails and make sure the students were all being safe. The first day of spring brought us a beautiful day of spring skiing. A raced a few of my students down the bunny slope (and won!), I sprayed a few kids with some snow (and got sprayed back by a few), I went off "the kicker" jump, a table jump that kicks you in the air - and landed! Basically I played like a kid and got paid to do it.

Now, today is not the first day that I have played like a kid on the slopes and gotten paid. I somehow landed the most amazing job this winter of taking students to the same mountain two afternoons a week to basically teach them how to ski and snowboard. A group of 30 students got free transportation to the mountain, lift tickets, and rentals for 10 weeks. These were afternoons where I again had to remind myself that I was getting paid to have all of the fun and laughs that I was having. I had one student who had to be brought down the trail the first day on a snowmobile because they could not ski, to being able to ski all by themselves. I had another student stand at the bottom of the lift for two days with her skis on because she didn't think she could ride the chairlift, today she was on the big trails making it down with her friends. This afterschool activity was paid for by the Pep and Access grants, and I certainly hope that they are able to do it again. The students learned how much fun skiing and snowboarding is, and have learned a new lifelong sport. I ended up looking forward to my afternoons on the slopes with them and it made the winter more enjoyable.

Enjoy ~SJ

Pull-Tabs Make The News

The pull-tab project at school has been flying along! We easily reached the 15,000 original goal in less than two weeks. The kids were having so much fun with the project that we increased the goal to 1.5 million pull-tabs, this represents the number of children killed in the Holocaust. Today the Lewiston Sun Journal and the Rumford Falls Times both published an article on the class project. I can only link to the Sun Journal article, here, since it is not on the Falls Times website.

Enjoy ~SJ

Garfield Monday

It is well know that Garfield the Cat does not enjoy Mondays, this has been one of the many themes of the comic strip. With the snow days that we have been getting on Mondays lately the teachers of the Western Foothills of Maine have not had to suffer through too many. Today is another snow day, filled with relaxing and then shoveling.

Enjoy ~SJ

The Two Hour Delay...

A school delay is like free time off that you never have to make up. Sure, it makes for a weird day at school; classes get cut or shortened, you eat lunch almost as soon as you get there. But, you get extra time in the morning to sit around and drink coffee (and blog)!

The one hour delay isn't so hard, but the two hour delay always gets me standing in the middle of my house saying things like "Well normally we start at 8 (I leave at 7:20), so if there is a two hour delay we start at 10 (I leave at 9:20)." A two hour delay is like one of those nightmare train problems "If train A leaves the station at 10:30 traveling 55 mph, and train B leaves the station at 11:00 traveling at 45 mph, what time will they meet?"

I think I have it all figured out when I need to leave the house and didn't need to make a chart to help me find the solution.

Enjoy ~SJ

One More Thing Off The List!

My last few days at work have been filled with lists of chores to get done before my departure to Texas next week. Getting a classroom ready for your week long absence is no easy task. There are long letters to write to the sub, activities to be created and then photocopied, lists to make, and then check twice. At the bottom of my to-do list this week has been "clean desk", which not only meant to pick up the clutter, but to also literally wipe the dust that has been collecting in its corners. A friend of mine at work has been joking with me that I will never get to that item on the list. Well, today after all of my homeroom left to enjoy their afternoon, I removed everything from my desk, wiped it down, and then only put the necessary items back on it. Thought I better take a picture of it so that I can always remember what a clean desk looks like.

Enjoy ~SJ

I'm Dreaming Of A White Thanksgiving

So this is the view that I woke up to today......

How beautiful I know. I always find it so eerie when there is snow on the ground but the pond is not frozen over yet. It made me hum to myself all morning "I'm dreaming of a white Thanksgiving". I might not be the version that you are accustomed to, but here in the woods of Maine you never know when you are going to have a white Thanksgiving. Just one more thing to be thankful for.

Then for added excitement I had recess duty (yes, we went to school and no we did not have an extra hour to get ourselves there). To keep the snow on the ground and not flying through the air the other woman on duty and I decided to get the kids to build snowmen. It is amazing how entertained by snow 8th graders can still be. Here is my beautiful work of art (yes, those are pencil arms).

And then I just read today's Garfield comic, I think that it might just be mocking us all.

It's Refreshing....

On some of my more exhausting days at school, sometimes I take a few moments to myself to just look out my window. I have to admit that teaching in rural Maine can be very difficult at times, but the view is usually beautiful. My middle school is nestled next to a small mountain and is surrounded by woods, complete with nature trails. I have looked out my window and seen everything from the local dog, wild turkeys, deer, moose, and once even a pony. This is the view out my back door today. Even through the mist, it was refreshing.

Enjoy ~SJ

Hey Yankees, Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Since we are studying the Civil War in 8th grade social studies, my team of teachers decided to play a few games of "Town Ball" with the students for a new educational experience. Yesterday afternoon was the day, and the weather was perfect for a game of baseball. We all had a fun afternoon, and the experience got me to thinking more about the history of baseball, so I turned to Google.

Here is what Michael Aubrecht had to say on the topic:

"It is considered America's National Pastime. Far more than just a mere sporting event, baseball has become a major part of the American culture and has often been responsible for bringing people together in times of crisis. During war, following natural disaster and in the midst of economic hardship, the game has always provided an emotional escape for people from every race, religion and background who can collectively find solace at the ballpark. Therefore, it somehow seems fitting that the origins of modern baseball can be traced back to a divided America when the country was in the midst of a great Civil War. Despite the political and social grievances that resulted in the separation of the North and South, both sides shared some common interests such as playing baseball.

   Although baseball was somewhat popular in larger communities on both sides of the Mason Dixon line, it did not achieve widespread popularity until after the war had started. The mass concentration of young men in army camps and prisons eventually converted the sport formerly reserved for "gentlemen" into a recreational pastime that could be enjoyed by people from all backgrounds. For instance, both officers and enlisted men played side by side and soldiers earned their places on the team because of their athletic talents, not their military rank or social standing. Both Union and Confederate officers endorsed baseball as a much-needed morale builder that also provided physical conditioning. After long details at camp, it eased the boredom and created team spirit among the men. Often, the teamwork displayed on the baseball diamond often translated into teamwork on the battlefield. Many times, soldiers would write of these games in letters home as they were much more pleasant to recall than the hardship of battle.

Private Alpheris B. Parker of the 10th Massachusetts wrote:
The parade ground has been a busy place for a week or so past, ball-playing having become a mania in camp. Officer and men forget, for a time, the differences in rank and indulge in the invigorating sport with a schoolboy's ardor.
Another Private, writing home from Virginia recalled:
It is astonishing how indifferent a person can become to danger. The report of musketry is heard but a very little distance from us...yet over there on the other side of the road most of our company, playing bat ball and perhaps in less than half an hour, they may be called to play a Ball game of a more serious nature.
Sometimes, games would be interrupted by the call of battle. George Putnam, a Union soldier humorously wrote of a game that was "called-early" due to the surprise attack on their camp by Confederate infantry:
Suddenly there was a scattering of fire, which three outfielders caught the brunt; the centerfield was hit and was captured, left and right field managed to get back to our lines. The attack...was repelled without serious difficulty, but we had lost not only our centerfield, but...the only baseball in Alexandria, Texas.

   It has been disputed for decades whether Union General Abner Doubleday was in fact the "father of the modern game". Many baseball historians still reject the notion that Doubleday designed the first baseball diamond and drew up the modern rules. Nothing in his personal writings corroborates this story, which was originally put forward by an elderly Civil War veteran, Abner Graves, who served under him. Still, the City of Cooperstown, NY dedicated Doubleday Field in 1920 as the "official" birthplace of the organized baseball. Later Cooperstown became the home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

   Doubleday was an 1842 graduate of West Point (graduating with A.P. Stewart, D.H. Hill, Earl Van Dorn and James Longstreet) and served in both the Mexican and Seminole wars. In 1861, he was stationed at the garrison in Charleston Harbor. It is said that it was Doubleday, an artillery officer, who aimed the first Fort Sumter guns in response to the Confederate bombardment that initiated the war. Later he served in the Shenandoah region as a brigadier of volunteers and was assigned to a brigade of Irwin McDowell's corps during the campaign of Second Manassas. He also commanded a division of the I Corps at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg as well at Gettysburg where he assumed the command of I Corps after the fall of Gen. John F. Reynolds, helping to repel the infamous "Pickett's Charge." Strangely, his outstanding military service has been all but forgotten yet his controversial baseball legacy still lives on. Regardless of really being (or not being) the actual "inventor" of the modern version, Doubleday did apparently organized several exhibitions between Union divisions and was an apparent student and fan of the game. Many of these contests were attended by thousands of spectators and often made front-page news equal to the war reports from the field.

   In 1861 at the start of the war, an amateur team made up of members of the 71st New York Regiment defeated the Washington Nationals baseball club by a score of 41 to 13. When the 71st New York later returned to the man the defenses of Washington in 1862, the teams played a rematch, which the Nationals won 28 to 13. Unfortunately, the victory came in part because some of the 71st's best athletes had been killed at Bull Run only weeks after their first game. One of the biggest attended sporting events of the nineteenth century occurred on Christmas in 1862 when the 165th New York Volunteer Regiment (Zouaves) played at Hilton Head, South Carolina with more than 40,000 troops looking on. The Zouaves' opponent was a team composed of men selected from other Union regiments. Interestingly, A.G. Mills, who would later become the president of the National League, participated in the game.

   After the war ended, many men from both sides returned home to share the game that they had learned near the battlefield. Eventually organized baseball grew in popularity abroad and helped bring together a country that had been torn apart for so many years. Coincidentally, another Civil War icon, General George Armstrong Custer, was killed along with two hundred and sixty-four Union Calvary troopers after engaging the Sioux tribe at Little Big Horn the same year the first National League was established. Custer had fought at the first battle of Bull Run, distinguished himself in both the Peninsular campaign as well as Gettysburg and was selected as the Union officer to receive the Confederate flag of truce at Appomattox Courthouse. It has been reported that many members of the U.S. Calvary, most of them veterans of the Civil War, also engaged in baseball games to pass the time while protecting the western territories.

   Today, over a century later, baseball is still a popular American institution and remains a testament to both "Billy Yank" AND "Johnny Reb" who laid down their muskets to pick up a ball and help establish a National Pastime.

War Games

   Although early forms of baseball had already become High Society's pastime years before the first shots of the Civil War erupted at Fort Sumter, it was the mass participation of everyday soldiers that helped spread the game's popularity across the nation.

   During the War Between the States, countless baseball games, originally known as "townball", were organized in Army Camps and prisons on both sides of the Mason Dixon Line. Very little documentation exists on these games and most information has been derived from letters written by both officers and enlisted men to their families on the home front. For the hundreds of pictures taken during the Civil War by photography pioneer Matthew Brady, there is only one photo in the National Archives that clearly captured a baseball game underway in the background. Several newspaper artists also depicted primitive ballgames and other forms of recreation devised to help boost troop morale and maintain physical fitness. Regardless of the lack of "media coverage", military historians have proved that baseball was a common ground in a country divided, and helped both Union and Confederate soldiers temporarily escape the horror of war.

The following table represents a few of the games that had been recorded for historical significance either by participants or observers. (For simplicity, all forms of the game including "townball" and "roundball" will be referred to as baseball.)
 

DATE	CAUSE	PARTICIPANTS	NOTABLES
1862	Union	Trainees from 13th Massachusetts and 51st Pennsylvania vs. themselves	Games were played evenings on the drilling field in many training camps prior to deployment.
1862	Union	165th New York Infantry (Second Duryea’s Zouaves) vs. NY Regiment All-Star nine	Perhaps one of the most famous of all Civil War games, this one was witnessed by 40,000 troops.
1862	Union	The “Irish Brigade” vs. themselves	Confederate sentries stationed across the Cickahominy River watched Union games played during General McClellan’s march to Richmond.
1862	Union	57th New York vs. 69th New York	Incoming Confederate cannon fire ended this game abruptly.
1862	Union	2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of the Potomac vs. selected members of the “Honey Run Club” team	Members of both the brigade and the 1859 champions practiced regularly throughout the war.
1863	Confederate	24th Alabama vs. themselves	Rebels, played daily while stationed in wait of the advancing Federal Army led by General William Tecumseh Sherman.
1863	Union	26th Pennsylvania vs. 22nd Massachusetts vs. 13th New York and 62nd NY Volunteers	All four regiments met for games, but disputed the differences between the MA and NY rules.
1863	Union	13th Massachusetts and 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery vs. misc. Army	Both teams had recorded so many victories; many felt that they were capable of beating any professional team of the late 1800’s.
1863	Union	1st New Jersey Artillery, Battery B vs. themselves	First printed drawing published of a baseball game played before the Battle of Chancellorsville.
1863	Union	Union soldiers encamped in Alexandria, Texas	During this game, the camp was attacked, resulting in the loss of the center fielder and the ball.
1864	Union	2nd New Jersey Volunteers vs. 77th New York Volunteers All-Star nine	Billed as another big game, newspapers openly criticized the 77th after a no-show.
1864	Union	1st New Jersey Artillery vs. 10th Massachusetts Infantry	New York Clipper newspaper covered the game at Brandy Station. NJ lost 13 to 15.
1864	Confederate	11th Mississippi POWs at Union Prison Camp in Sandusky, OH (Confederate Club vs. Southerners)	One game recorded ended with the Confederates winning 19-11.
1865	Both	Union and Confederate soldiers from both the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia	Following General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, soldiers from both sides played to pass the time.
1866	Union	POWs detained at the Confederate Prison Camp in Salisbury, NC	Despite pleasant accounts of baseball early on, many players later died due to overcrowded conditions.

After Appomattox

   At least 618,000 Americans died in the Civil War, and some experts say the toll reached 700,000. The number that is most often quoted is 620,000. At any rate, these casualties exceed the nation's loss in all its other wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam. The Union armies had from 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men. The Confederate strength, known less accurately because of missing records, was from 750,000 to 1,250,000.

   Baseball played during the war was very different than the game we know today. Some rules included: The Striker (batter) gets to choose where he wants the pitch. The Pitcher must throw underhand. No leading off the bag. No base stealing. No foul lines. All balls are fair. See Complete Rules of "Townball".

   A report published in 1908 by the Spalding Commission (appointed to research the origin of baseball) credited Union General Abner Doubleday as being the "father of the modern game". It stated: "Baseball was invented in 1839 at Cooperstown, NY by Abner Doubleday-afterward General Doubleday, a hero of the battle of Gettysburg-and the foundation of this invention was an American children's game call one old cat.""

Sources: From Pastime to Passion, Baseball in Blue and Gray, Civil War Digest, Fort Ward Museum.

Here are the rules to Townball in case you are interested in playing in your backyard. 

"1. The Ball must weigh not less than two, nor more than two and three-quarters ounces, avoirdupois. It must measure not less than six and a half, nor more than eight and a half inches in circumference, and must be covered with leather.

2. The Bat must be round, and must not exceed two and a half inches in diameter in the thickest part. It must be made of wood, and may be of any length to suit the Striker.

3. Four Bases or Bounds shall constitute a round; the distance from each base shall be sixty feet.

4. The bases shall be wooden stakes, projecting four feet from the ground.

5. The Striker shall stand inside of a space of four feet in diameter, at equal distance between the first and fourth Bases.

6. The Thrower shall stand thirty-five feet from and on a parallel line with the Striker.

7. The Catcher shall not enter within the space occupied by the Striker, and must remain upon his feet in all cases while catching the Ball.

8. The Ball must be thrown - not pitched or tossed - to the Bat, on the side preferred by the Striker, and within reach of his Bat.

9. The ball must be caught flying in all cases.

10. Players must take their knocks in the order in which they are numbered; and after the first inning is played, the turn will commence with the player succeeding the one who lost on the previous inning.

11. The Ball being struck at three times and missed, and caught each time by a player on the opposite side, the Striker shall be considered out. Or, if the Ball be ticked or knocked, and caught on the opposite side, the Striker shall be considered out. But if the ball is not caught after being struck at three times, it shall be considered a knock, and the Striker obliged to run.

12. Should the Striker stand at the Bat without striking at good balls thrown repeatedly at him, for the apparent purpose of delaying the game, or of giving advantage to players, the referees, after warning him, shall call one strike, and if he persists in such action, two and three strikes; when three strikes are called, he shall be subject to the same rules as if he struck at three fair balls.

13. A player, having possession of the first Base, when the Ball is struck by the succeeding player, must vacate the Base, even at the risk of being put out; and when two players get on one Base, either by accident or otherwise, the player who arrived last is entitled to the Base.

14. If a player, while running the Bases, be hit with the Ball thrown by one of the opposite side, before he has touched the home bound, while off a Base, he shall be considered out.

15. A player, after running the four Bases, on making the home bound, shall be entitled to one tally.

16. In playing all match games, when one is out, the side shall be considered out.

17. In playing all match games, one hundred tallies shall constitute the game, the making of which by either Club, that Club shall be judged the winner.

18. Not less than ten nor more than fourteen players from each Club, shall constitute a match in all games.

19. A person engaged on either side, shall not withdraw during the progress of the match, unless he be disabled, or by the consent of the opposite party.

20. The Referees shall be chosen as follows: One from each Club, who shall agree upon a third made from some Club belonging to this Association, if possible. Their decision shall be final, and binding upon both parties.

21. The Tallymen shall be chosen in the same manner as the Referees."

Enjoy ~SJ 

 

Scary But True

Indexed just posted this great new card and I thought that I just had to share. It seemed a little too real to me since this is the first week of school, field hockey, of and those pesky doctoral classes.

Enjoy ~SJ

First Day....

Summer vacation is officially over. The coffee is in the travel mug instead of a regular mug and the alarm was set way too early. My classroom is ready, all my stuff is unpacked, the bulletin boards are up, and my lesson plans are done for the week. I'm ready for the first day!

Enjoy ~SJ

Confessions

Today was the last official day of school for the teachers of my school district. All the classes are done for the year, our rooms are packed, and our grades are entered. This is always a bittersweet time of year for me.
Confession 1: I am already looking forward to next school year, and have started to make a list of things that I want to work on over the summer to be ready for next year.

Summer is always a great time to get caught up on the always mounting list of books that I want to read. I tend to spend part of my day down on the dock reading, napping, and swimming. Really it is a rough life.
Confession 2: You may have read that I posed a summer challenge for myself: to swim ever day between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Well, I have been waiting to tell you, my avid reader, I have failed at my swim challenge. I made it about three days in, and then got busy and forgot. There is always next year, right?!

Enjoy ~SJ