weeeeeeeee! (ving)

this picture is from last spring, but the tulips are exploding here right now so i thought it was appropriate. so awesome.

we're weaving little pouches at school, which i pulled from the book "you can weave! projects for young weavers". it has lots of accessible and amazingly diverse projects, and has helped me understand the mechanics of weaving better than i ever have. sometimes i think for learning a new skill kid's books really are the best! still working on my frame loom weaving at school; regrettably, no pictures to share. but this is the clutch i wove for a friend's recent birthday...hit a few snags, but for pretty much my first weaving project, it was a success.

i've been trying to become a more informed, worldly individual. spending all day with young children doesn't necessarily fulfill my intellectual needs...and i have to admit that it's hard to get motivated to learn more things after i've been teaching all day. but i figured a book about the state of education would be something i could dig into. after hearing an awesome fresh air interview of diane ravitch, (the former assistant secretary of education under the bush administration) i decided to check out her book, "the death and life of the great american school system: how testing and choice are undermining education". it's starting slowly, full of facts and data. i'm hoping this is a deliberate attempt to lay out plenty of evidence before she comes to conclusions that, based on what i know about her views, i will find more compelling. the interview really struck a chord with me and spoke to so many things that i think are key in understanding the state of education...i won't go into them here but if you are interested you should really give it a listen. http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135142895/ravitch-standardized-testing-undermines-teaching

and. i'm really leaving! very excited. it's sinking in now--the train tickets have been bought, the junk is being packed up. the art room is being deconstructed. it's all happening! one month from now i will be in (sunny?) portland, footloose and fancy free. i've got my game face on. and i'm ready. weee!