stop thief! an electronic game of cops and robbers...and going halfway

well, yesterday i did it! i went to check out 'the dark knight rises.' i decided to drive down to springfield for it, and i'm glad i did-i went alone and watched it in the imax...PHENOMENAL! if you have not seen it, i highly recommend it! and yes, at the end i did have tears-which i tried to blow on to dry them up and since that didn't work real well, as soon as the credits began, i was the first one to the door (the advantage of going alone- no waiting on anyone else!)

i don't know if i've ever mentioned it or not, but my parents are big game people (not like safari elephant big game...more like game board and cards), so the other day we played an old family favorite (one that we played back when i was in 3rd and 4th grade)...STOP THIEF! the electronic game of cops and robbers. my students would be better off in the critical thinking realm if they had the opportunity to play games like this and have family game nights in which they were using their thinking skills. this one was especially good in helping to learn to focus and draw conclusions.

we got through one crime scene and i arrested the bad guys and got the reward money, but then when we began the next scene, the electronic gadget went berzerk on us and it wasn't the battery-just an old machine..about 30 years old...it's held up well until now.

today mom and i went on a little drive around town so that she could show me around. down in the town square (i love old towns with town squares!) there was a mural, which was pretty good-the buffalo probably could've been a little darker brown, but other than that, very nice.

everybody loves a good mural

 then, after sightings of the fire station, the clinic, the police, the water tower...we stopped at the pharmacy-where i found a great little card, and then i wanted to see halfway, the town with a population of 137...it is half way between buffalo and bolivar-creative name, i know.

i got out to take a picture of the population sign, and 3 of the cows were looking at me very curiously...there's one of them...somehow, i must have deleted the picture of the sign. boo.

 but in a town like halfway, you make up the joke...here's halfway elementary, and i think this is where they send the mediocre teachers so that they have an excuse for being mediocre...

i say that in jest, i am sure that the teachers here are probably amazing.

that is basically what i did today-and continued reading in the book that has captivated me this week-the one i mentioned yesterday: the founders on the founders...you get the most accurate portrayals of people by what their own words to others, their diaries, words by their spouses and colleagues as well as mere acquaintances from abroad and even their enemies or opposition have said. the book is interesting because it is more about their character (be it good or bad) rather than their politics...which i would have enjoyed just as much.

staying at mom and dad's is dangerous-it's impossible to say no to mom's cooking and baking, and when they want to grab ice cream..what can i say? (although, i did bring the bullet with me and have had several breakfast concoctions...but it doesn't make up for the other!)

well, i think it's time to get ready for pizza hut...
julie