New Friend

This is my new friend and church:



I'm fairly certain that on more than one occasion, it will save my sanity.

My other family

This is one of the best things about being part of the theater family.

Milestone

I overestimated* one of my children's ability to hold it.

*Thanks Toph and Carm for the correction. :)

Poeticality

Our first unit in Language Arts for the year is "Friendship." It's very cute. As a getting-to-know-you warm-up-for-the-unit activity, I made friendship packets for my kids that include things like drawing a picture of you and your friend, a word search, coloring pages etc. etc. etc. One page is for the kids to write a poem about friendship titled "Friendship is..." Here's mine:

Friendship is gooey, sugary, buttery goodness wrapped in chocolate and eaten from the pan.
Friendship is long walks and short walks and no walks at all.
Vision boards, and staring at the wall. Breaking beds and breaking hearts.
Friendship is laughing til you're curled in ball on the ground clutching your sides.
Friendship is love sacs, and love taps, and elementary-esque love notes.
Season tickets, seasonal desserts, and seasoned kissers.
Trips to foreign places, and places around the block.
It's crying from laughing, crying from heartache, crying from sleep deprivation.
It's being stranded in an airport with nothing but a jacket and copy of Harry Potter 7.
Friendship is retail therapy.
Friendship is pretty freaking awesome.

What's on your mind?

My summer according to Facebook:

Greg Barnett...

...is so excited for three months of day-time relaxation
...is sad that Treasure Island is over, but excited for Dolly
...is relaxin' at home
...is at the theater
...is heading to Panguitch for some family fun
...is at the theater
...kind of loves Dolly a lot
...should probably be working on school stuff
...is headed home for the 4th
...is at the theater
...watches too many crime shows
...is at the theater
...needs something to do during the day
...is at the theater
...hopes his epic road trip for next summer works out
...is at the theater
...will be in Junction for a few days enjoying the company of his family
...went knee-boarding for the first time and had a total blast!
...is at the theater
...auditioned for another show - no dice
...cried a little during his last performance of Dolly
...is at the theater
...auditioned for yet another show - again, no dice
...finally figured out the plot to Pimpernel after 6 weeks of rehearsal
...is at the theater
...is at the theater
...is at the theater
...is opening tonight, and not sure if he's ready
...is at the theater
...has a free evening for the first time all summer, and isn't really sure what to do with himself
...wanted to work in his classroom, but they were waxing the floors
...is at the theater
...finally got to work in his classroom, and is actually kind of excited for school to start back up
...is at the theater
...will enjoy his last weekend of summer freedom to the fullest
...is starting school being involved in only one show, and that's probably for the best
...is at the theater

The life of an eggplant...or an egghead...

So, aside from family reunions, crime show sprees on cable, and drawn blood in the last three shows at Hale Theater (none of it mine - knock on wood), there hasn't been much going on since school go out. I spent too much money on back-to-school clothes, and not enough time trying to become a better teacher, but such is life.

School is now back in and the first week is past (173 days to go!) And we kick-started it with flair. I got a honeymoon period of about 3 hours with my class this year. I've got some real winners. My class consists of 5 white kids, 1 Polynesian, 1 Vietnamese, and 21 Latinos (2 Carloses and a Jesus). I think it's awesome. Should be an interesting year.

Evidence - beginning of the year, getting-to-know-you surveys about favorite things:

color - red
food - carrot
person - brother
place - park
animal - dog
school subject - math
article of clothing - recess
time of day - lunch
game - Hulk Unlimited Destination xbox live.

subject in school - riteing (does anyone else see the irony here?)

movie - August Rush (surprising, but awesome)

I got lots of Michael Jackson and The three Little Pigs as answers to various questions. I'm not sure what that means.

Anywho, school is back in session, the children have brought their A-games, luckily so have I. It seems to be going well so far. I'm excited to see how many of my kid's favorite animal will be a tarantula when we get to that part of the curriculum, and I'm excited for the weather to cool down as our school has no A/C.

I wanna be this guy

Tuesdays

A random thought on a Tuesday morning, enjoy:

God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future—to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.

-Jeffrey R. Holland

Too soon?

Initial estimates indicate 38 states, roughly 10,000 miles, and just shy of 7 weeks. I'm planning next summer's road trip spectacular across the country. It's gonna be huge.

Usually when I get crazy ideas like this they sound fun for a while, but never amount to much. Stuff like moving to France for a year - just because, or graduating college and working for Disney for the rest of my magical days. This idea, however, is something I really want to make happen. So, here's the deal:

(Imagine me putting on my teacher hat.) One of the best ways to increase comprehension in the young ones is to build and activate background knowledge i.e. if we're going to read a story about farming we see what the kids already know about farming, then we talk about what a farm is and what farming entails. Then, when we read the story, the kids have a better concept of what's going on, and thus their comprehension is increased.

So, here's my idea - I want to drive across the country interviewing the authors of the stories we'll be reading in class. Get their point of view, their inspirations for the stories etc. etc. etc. I'd also like the authors to read the stories on camera, and then I can show that to my kids. I think it would be cool for them to actually hear the story from the person who wrote it, rather than just reading a story written by some person they'll never meet. I also wanna get some stellar background footage like Cape Canaveral and the Moon Landing exhibit for our unit on the sun and the moon. Or The Baseball Hall of Fame and a shot or two of Dodger's stadium for our story about baseball.

I'd also like to try and contact some famous people that the kids can connect with to maybe read one or two of the stories. I think that might motivate the kids to read more and really get excited about what we're doing in class. I don't know anyone famous, but I know people who do, or know people who know people who do. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The authors live everywhere from St. Petersburg, FL to Seattle WA, so it's going to be a rather epic journey. But I'm pretty stoked about it.

I realize it's still early for a lot of this to happen, but I'd also like to not have to pay for the trip myself. I'm looking at getting some grants and/or sponsors to help me out. If any of you know of any grants that I might look into, or any companies that might be willing to sponsor this expedition extraordinaire, please let me know!

Here's to cock-eyed optimism!

progression