i wish encyclopedia brown could have solved the mystery of the pungent air in my classroom today!

today was a very good day...i don't know why, i just feel like it went very smoothly. EXCEPT for the part where there were like 8 kids coughing and blowing noses and i could almost see the germs floating around in the room. and when the 2nd group entered my room, for some reason, there was this strange smell in my classroom that i couldn't place. but it was very strong, like a soap or lysol smell; basically strong enough to overwhelm the room and give me a slight headache.

i still have no idea where the smell was coming from, but it was starting to air out by this afternoon when school was out. i wonder if it was the sub next door. i mean, not that she smelled, but maybe she sprayed something and it wafted through the ceiling tiles...i know, grasping at straws. not that it really matters.

ok, so yesterday i was reading to my students because it was the 12-12-12 reading initiative. so i decided on something i could read in about 15 minutes that wasn't a picture book, yet had some closure. i decided on one of my favorite throw back books from when i was in third and fourth grade: ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN! i explained to them who he was and how i had enjoyed the books and how after each mini mystery, they could turn to the back after trying to solve the mystery and find the answer to the mystery and see how ENCYCLOPEDIA solved it.

well, the story i read had something to do with a boy who performed a 'stupid-human-trick' of being a human blizzard by shaking the dandruff out of his hair...so i explained what dandruff was and what a blizzard was, and one of the students shamelessly said, "oh, like this!" and proceeded to pull a 'breakfast club' over his desk-which i immediately halted. i don't think any of the other kids really thought anything of it...until he went to sweep it off his desk toward the girl in front of him who had a face of horror and she moved backward to avoid contact...

after school i had to swing by walmart to get something...to jingle...just in case. always get something that you yourself might enjoy, or keep the receipt...same with white elephant! anyhoo, while i was there, i saw this pair

i had seen them outside and thought they looked bright because of the sunglasses i had on, but when i took them off, they were even brighter! i suppose it's a great recognition device

when i got home, i found a Christmas ornament i had to work on for a friend that i'll be sending to her with her Christmas card...it looks something like this:

i found an angry/serious face pic which worked wonderfully.

merry mouse...

it's a little ornament book with several different fun pics. the good thing is that i can post it here because i'm pretty sure she does not read this blog!

i got home today and chaco said he wanted to do something fun this weekend, so we may walk down to the vitruvian lights again-he rather enjoyed that...he asked about wearing Christmas lights with a battery pack...we'll have to see about that.

alright, stay away from blizzards if you are inside and there are no blizzard conditions!
julie