Jonesing

I've reached my limit. I now know that I can only go 3 weeks and 4 days before I miss Nevy so much that I can't stand it. I seriously need a Nevy fix!

Good bye 5th graders

This week has been the end of my time teaching these groups of kids. I was challenged, excited,

inspired, annoyed and amused by them for three years. We said our emotional good byes...I was quite teary this year...and one boy said to me "Mrs. Bloom, you weren't always nice to me but you were always good for me." A fair enough assessment! It was an honor to be their teacher.

I need help

I'm wondering if this flower child would be available sometime soon for some gardening. Being out most of last summer has meant that I have a lot of catching up on garden chores to do.

I wish I could see this face

Birthday season ends

Ellen's birthday isn't just a day. It's an entire season. Starting three weeks before the actual event with the Bloom Birthday Extravaganza, it ended this year two and a half weeks after the special day with a visit to Crown Hill Cemetery. What celebrant could ask for more?

One last post about Gandhi and gifted kids

What do you do when it's simulation time and you have a child with some serious behavior issues?

Let him be Gandhi. Put him in his prison cell. Use the room next to the government official's office. And be ready to get a lump in your throat when you watch the sincerity of that child, that little gifted kid who has so much trouble in a classroom, as he gives an Academy Award caliber performance.

Does this prove the incredible influence of Gandhi? The power of simulation as a teaching tool? Maybe...but it most definitely shows the sweetness hidden inside this one child. That I know for sure.

Protest process

The long trek to the office

Waiting for an all-clear to enter

Confronting the secretary (for Government Agent confrontation, see yesterday's post)

Celebrating a successful satyagraha

Not just for kids

Although the kids are the stars of the show, there is room for adults too.

To get things organized

To play the bad guy role

To provide "realistic" dialogue

To celebrate and joke with when it's over
Thanks to Phil Downs (pictured here) and the other principals who play along year after year!

I love the earnest expressions and body language.This is important stuff when you are 9 years old.

Post demonstration crazy

This expression is not uncommon after a sit in. I am aware that this hysteria bubbles just under the surface of even the most peaceful child.

The faces of protest

I have told them that Gandhi during peaceful protests was not sassy or sullen...he was serene. That's the look these faces are going for.

Latest favorite

Missing this girl so I'm adding a picture. Tomorrow I'll pick up the Gandhi thread again but tonight, I am thinking about Nevy.

Bad week for the British Empire

Are you kidding me! Another protest! And at this one we have Gandhi himself. You almost have to feel sorry for the British.

Note: Gandhi is standing on a stool so that he literally rises above the crowd.

Trouble brewing

Not all of Gandhi's followers are cut from his saintly cloth. Notice the protester with the bindi dot? While the protesters were milling about the government agent's office in a confused fashion, this one had focused in on the basket of candy on the government agent's desk. Sure enough, when the protest had ended, she had several pieces tucked away in her kadhi sleeve.

I should have known she was a phony. Notice the beads around her neck (which she had made especially for our protest?) A cross hangs from them. She had also made a matching necklace for a fellow Gandhi follower who, in her real 3rd grade life, is a Muslim. Religious ambiguity running rampant!

Another school...

...another protest.

Forget the school board!

And post some Gandi simulation pix instead!All you need are a group of 3rd graders, some sheets and a principal who is willing to play the role of British government official. These young protesters are bravely headed to satyagraha and a world of trouble!

Favorite shot this weekend

This girl loves the sounds her grandpa can make.

Weekend travels

My buddy Eli playing hockey ~ I became his buddy because I was an enthusiastic audience during the several hours of game time.

Our new niece Abbey, happy as long as she could ride high

New cardigan for Nevy ~ finished just in time for our trip

And Nevy herself looking very grown up.

Eli and Abbey were last weekend. This weekend we will be in Cincinnati with our Nevy-girl. Looking forward to a good time with her and with Sam and Gail!

Dinner companions

Please don't disturb us. We have a shower to plan.

(These photos are from Anna's shower.)

Second daily post

It is just time for a Nevy shot, even if it's the second post of the day. This one may be a bit blurry but I love it. Gail takes a picture with her phone once a week, usually on the weekend, and sends it on. This has been a pick-me-up...a small dose of Nevy that does me good! This photo is one of those weekend specials. Keep them coming!

This could be a long summer

These are our neighbors, the kids who think Neighbor is my name. Alex and Zoe are just fine but watch out for Michael, the guy on the left. Just yesterday he called 911 and had the police at their house (Alex wouldn't give him a toy), rode his bike without stopping to look both ways across the busiest street in town (he was looking for the dog, the one he let out when he wasn't supposed to), and picked a big bouquet of my prize daffodils without asking (for his grandma "Cool Grandma, not Grandma"). He rang the doorbell or knocked on the back door maybe 8 times to see if I could come out or to tell me some bit of news. He will go to kindergarten next year....and when is the first day of school?

Oops!

I wasn't home on the 5th and so I forgot to mark a very important day. Happy birthday to the bunny on the far right. (I hear he had an accident and lost his whiskers.) Oops again! I meant far left but have directional issues. Thanks to bunny Sam who is on the far right.

Current favorite picture...

...of Scout. What a hilarious child!

Back on track

I'm back after Spring Break trip #1.

And I'm wondering...Could this picture illustrate what Kate says about these two being a bit wild at times?

Garden tour ~ April 2

I call this a "belly flower"...so small and delicate you have to lay on your belly in the grass to appreciate it.

I don't understand how some people can think violets are weeds?

The forsythia haven't forsythed in a couple of years, due to trimming at the wrong time in the growing season. I love that they have forgiven me and are back.

And of course my daffodil collection!

I plan to document a garden tour on the second day of every month!

Do Buddhists....

...get offended by this?
If so, we owe them an apology.